Dharmesh Darshan's Mela, billed as The Complete Entertainer. Paired with his most-reliable asset, Aamir Khan, who helped the director give us Raja Hindustani back in 1996, Mr Darshan has chosen the opposite route of his previous blockbuster with a more action-orientated movie.
But after directing Raja Hindustani in 1996, it is obvious expectations are at an all-time high for Mela.
Living up to those expectation's is a very difficult task for Mr Darshan and he falls a long way short with his latest release.
While watching the movie at Star City Cinema, I was constantly reminded of the 1975 classic, Ramesh Sippey's Sholay.
Though it would be wrong to compare an all-time great such as Sholay to a not-so-great Mela, Dharmesh Darshan has deliberately directed the movie with Sholay on his mind.
But if you compare Mela to Sholay, which everybody seems to be doing, then the film will bomb at the box-office.
On the other hand if you see Mela strictly as an 'entertainer', excluding shades of the 1975 classic, it is quite an enjoyable movie.
The main story is that of the Seven Samurai, with the devastated heroine Rupa (Twinkle Khanna) vowing revenge on Gujjar (Gabbar Singh's younger brother??), the villain who brutally murdered her brother and young friend.
While on the run, she bumps into Kishan Pyare (Aamir Khan) and Shankar Shanay (Faizal Khan) - the gold-hearted, friendly duo who immediately seem ready to give up their lives for her.
As for the reason why, we can only imagine!
A predictable story-line with nothing original, complemented by a weak script, full of holes and inconsistent editing, Mela is rescued by the comedy sequences from Aamir, Faizal and Johny Lever.
As a comedy film, the director has done a sound job, though the sequence with Aamir and Johny was very similar to the Hollywood flick Dumb and Dumber starring Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels, but nevertheless it was funny.
Aamir Khan looks impressive again as Kishan Pyare (shades of Dharamendra), the full-of-life character he brilliantly portrays.
Of course, Aamir Khan was great and he did carry a lot of the movie, but every movie I've seen with him he tends to outshine everyone else.
Supported by brother Faizal Khan who has impressed many with his role of Shankar Shanay, there is no doubt he will receive many offers in the near future.
But for all you Twinkle Khanna fans out there, I am sorry to say but she totally ruined the film for me.
First of all, the lady cannot act, she cannot dance and she has no screen presence at all!
It is not surprising considering she is the daughter of so-called Seventies Superstar Rajesh Khanna who was equally as bad, if not worse.
You may think I am sounding a little harsh on Ms Khanna, who is incidentally getting a little cosy with all three Khans (Salman in JPKSHH, Shah Rukh in Badshah, Aamir in Mela), but the bottom line is SHE CANNOT ACT!!
Looking on the positive side, Tinu Verma, who is best known as a fight director, is very impressive in his role as the evil villain Gujjar (rhymes nicely with Gabbar).
Considering it is his very first role in a Bollywood pic, Tinu Verma has all the tools to become a regular villain in the industry (even if he has to shed that excess baggage around the waistline).
Johny Lever is his usual self, this time as Inspector Pakkar Singh or more oftenly referred to as lnspector Pakora' Singh.
The music score is nothing special but it does tend to grow on you the more you listen to it.
The same could be said for Anu Malik who has started to sound like a scratched record, reproducing his own tunes over and over and over again.
But the one song that stands out from the rest is Chori Chori Hum Gori Se sung by Udit Narayan and Abhijeet.
Overall, Mela is a disappointment from Dharmesh Darshan.
The expectations were simply too high and the director failed to satisfy the public.
Personally, I have seen a lot worse than Mela.
I personally feel that Karisma kapoor at the peak of her career would have been perfect for Mela but it was not to be, she would have played the role of (Rupa) very well.
Karisma Kapoor also shares great on screen chemistry with Aamir Khan. Maybe Mela would have been sucessful as Raja Hindustani.
Twinkle Khanna spells murder!
Shocked? Don’t be.
We are only talking about her films.
Actors who play Twinkle’s reel-brothers invariably end up being killed in the said films.
In International Khiladi, for example, Vivek Shauq played her brother and was killed on screen. Deepak Tijori played Twinkle’s brother in Baadshah; he too was murdered in the film.
More recently, in Mela, Ayub Khan falls prey to Tinnu Verma’s bullets in the initial reels, leaving his sister Twinkle unprotected in the big, bad world.
Mela may have missed the bus in cities across India, but it has done good business in 'B' and 'C' class centres.
The smaller centres like action films and although this one stars Aamir Khan, a romantic hero, as well for its places where action sells.
It was a Hit in Bihar, C P Berar, C I and Rajasthan and did well in Delhi.
Mela Overflowed North and Central India But Flopped every where else.
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