Surprisingly good. Review on Yakeen - 2005 - Bollywood

In Malaysia, the only way for a Hindi movie to be a hit is for it to have Shah Rukh Khan in it. I regret that fact because that would mean that a majority of the Malaysian viewers would miss out in good films that releases here. After the surprisingly sensitive Parineeta, comes Yakeen. Released last Friday here in Malaysia, it only opened in two cinemas – a sad affair really because that means lots of people would miss out on it.

I have never had faith when a Bollywood movie taunts itself to be a crime thriller. I’m one of those bias people who believe they should stick to their tried and tested formula of romance bla bla bla.

But Yakeen surprised me. It did and I actually thought this movie passes as a pretty decent thriller flick (as oppose to the almighty disappointing “Kaal”).

The story starts with a horrible accident where Simar wakes up and was told that her husband had been rather badly injured and had lost his memory during the accident. Reconstructive surgery help his regain his face and Simar’s loving care soon brought her husband Nikhil back to his feet and he comes to rely almost totally on his wife.

Problem begins though when he starts getting double story about his relationship with Simar from the people around him. Daunting flashbacks also made the situation worst and now Nikhil was plunged into a search to find out who he really was, and what had happened between him and Simar in the past.

Arjun Rampal was first class in this movie. I always think that Arjun has more to him that people give him credit for. He impressed me in Moksha, again in Aakhen and again in Tehzeeb. This is a man who knows how to work the multi levels of his character, handling even the grey shades of lost lover to badass husband who didn’t give a damn about his wife. He revelled in both given roles. Arjun is good, no two ways about it.

Priyanka, apart from Sushmita, is the only beauty queen in the industry who seems to be showing any talent. Wronged wife, obsessive lover, confused criminal, she knew what each frame required. Priyanka will go far, no questions about it.

When it comes to the flaw of the movie, it has to be the lack of character development. Too many times the director took the easy way out. Like the way Kim Sharma was disposed off. No explanation and what could have been a more intriguing character ended up being there just to be there.

Music wise though, I think there’s nothing worth specifically mentioning. (Is it just me or is Sameer losing his touch – his lyrics was incredibly uninspired.) But in all fairness, Yakeen is a good piece of work. There were so many surprises that the story did not have a chance to drag at all. Sufficiently interesting, this movie gets my thumbs up.

If this movie flops at the box office, I feel sorry for the mass movie going crowd. They’re starting to lose appreciation for good storytelling these days, relying instead on big names and star power rather than an actors own merits.

(Sorry SRK fans - but SRK does not a good movie make)