A Puzzle beyond a solution. Review on Paheli

Amol Palekar s intentions are indeed noble and he does indeed make an impact on the audience with his movie “ Paheli” . The movie has a galaxy of stars and it presents some wonderful aspects of Rajasthan, but the story, based on a folk tale, is the biggest void in the movie and I could still feel something missing as I left the theatre after watching the movie.

The story is about a village girl (Rani Mukherjee) who gets married to a farmer (ShahRukh). The bridegroom leaves for five year assignment a day after the wedding, and it presents an opportunity for a good intentioned ghost ( sounds paradoxical ? I am still not able to figure that out too!!) to take Shah Rukh s physical form and a love story develops. The ghost does tell the truth and still, the lady is full of admiration and love for her husband-ghost. The real man returns after a while, creating some anxious moments and all ends well.

Shah Rukh gives a controlled and good performance and he cannot be faulted for the flaw in the build up of the movie. Rani s performance does not contain anything excellent, but she does justice to her role.

One artist who impressed me the most with her portrayal was Juhi Chawla. She stays calm and composed as her role demands, but still expresses her emotions very subtly and sensitively in her role as Shah Rukh s sister-in-law.

Anupham Kher , Suniel Shetty and Amitabh make it a collection of stars, to take care of the commercial aspect of the movie. Some wonderful music and lively choreography are the positives, but the big flaw is the story itself and the way it is presented.

Amol Palekar kills the thriller aspect of ghost movies even before the act begins – so, there is no suspense . He also fails to explain till the end why a ghost whose intention is to dupe a young village girl is actually “good”. Perhaps, my own prejudice of good spirit( God) and evil spirit( Ghost) refuses to accept it, but there is no powerful build-up to support a topic that is outdated, to say the least.

Yet, despite the big flaw in the foundation, Paheli gives the impression of a construction that is strong and stylish. Paheli may find its way into the heart of Shah Rukh s fans , but it stays as a puzzle even after it is solved.

The wonderful presentation of Rajasthan s desert sand and the forts are a treat for the eyes.

With all its drawbacks, it is still worth watching once , as it has many positives . Still, that does not stop me from giving this movie a low rating.