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PostPosted: Tue Dec 16, 2003 10:06 pm 
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Bad reviews for Aanch have flooded websites lately. I went into Aanch w/ very low expectations and long after was buzzing from Nana's performance. Sure he always gives a strong performance, but I have not seen him put this much into a performance in years! I am a huge Ajay fan but I must say Nana tops his great Gangajaal performance! The movie itself (Aanch) was good but in strong need of some editing. Paresh Rawal gives his worst performance to date (and this is coming from a fan of his). He handles most scenes well but completely bungles the dramatic scenes. Raghu Yadav is completely misused as a comedic servant (GET OVER LAGAAN!). What would have made this film 10x better is if Raghu and Paresh would have switched characters! The new hero (what's his name?) is below average, miscast and was not ready to handle this role. Despite all these flaws the gorgeous cinematography, Nana's performance and an excellent climax make this film worth the watch. Think of Virasat but more violent!


Btw, how can reviews completely shoot down this film yet praise worthless films like Tehzeeb?


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PostPosted: Tue Dec 16, 2003 10:41 pm 
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Location: Sunny Manchester..............
ure method of reviewing movies reminds me of Taran Adarsh... for a guy who thinks sholay is awful... i doubt i can consider your review for Aanch truthful.. i watched it the other day and have to say its one of the worst films of the year!!


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PostPosted: Wed Dec 17, 2003 2:29 am 
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"ure method of reviewing movies reminds me of Taran Adarsh... i watched it the other day and have to say its one of the worst films of the year!!"

Actually you remind me of Taran Ardash

Here is Taran's review of Aanch (he shares the same opinion as you)


Aanch

By Taran Adarsh

Depicting realities on screen has its share of advantages and disadvantages… The main advantage being, the viewer is enlightened about a story that may be straight out of life. He may have heard/read about it, but is watching it all happen on the big screen for the first time.

Now to the flip side! The stark reality projected on screen may put off a major chunk of the audience, who are, week after week, fed on a diet of make-believe/escapist/candyfloss fares. 'Serious' or 'dry' subjects that depict crude behaviour and overtly aggressive attitude are major put offs!

AANCH looks at the war of words and bullets between two village heads in Uttar Pradesh. Though the film makes an attempt to project the lifestyle in a realistic fashion, the narrative reminds you of the recent Nana Patekar film SHAKTI – THE POWER that also gave an insight into the jungle rule that's prevalent in some parts.

Nana Patekar and Paresh Rawal belong to two different villages. However, the village folk don't see eye to eye with each other for reasons best known to them. At this point of time, Suchinder's father [residing in Paresh's village] and Sharbani's brother [a resident of Nana's village] decide to get them [Suchinder and Sharbani] married.

The preparations to the marriage ceremony begin, with neither the boy nor the girl knowing what the other looks like. In the meanwhile, the two villages get ready to confront each other in case of a quarrel.

The wedding ceremony is underway when a nautanki number triggers off a brawl. All hell breaks loose as guns and country-made rifles are out. The women, children and the elders run helter-skelter as the two villages battle it out. In this melee, the revelry is forgotten.

A heart-broken Sharbani decides to go back to the city to pursue her studies. Meanwhile, Suchinder also returns to the city to continue with his academic activities. They first bump into each other in the train, then in the college, completely unaware of the facts.

For Suchinder, its love at first sight, but Sharbani doesn't respond to his overtures. In fact, so troubled is Sharbani by Suchinder's attitude that she packs her bags and heads straight for her village. In the meanwhile, Suchinder gets learns of the facts – that Sharbani is his legally-wedded wife – and decides to get her back from the clutches of two warring villages. But it's not an easy task…

AANCH has an interesting story and set against two villages in Uttar Pradesh, the viewer slowly slips into an environment where uncouth, illiterate, gun-totting locals lead a life that is a far cry from civilisation.

Sadly, the story comes to a screeching halt after a point since the two village heads – Nana Patekar and Paresh Rawal – keep hurling abuses at each other, instead of putting their words into action.

The simmering hope in this flick is the romantic track [Suchinder Bali, Sharbani Mukherji], but even that lacks the sensitivity so essential to evoke feelings of the cinegoer.

Director Rajesh Singh's work is patchy – the film looks well shot at times, but extremely tacky at places. Also, he has chosen a theme that restricts it to a region. Universal acceptance for this genre is absolutely ruled out.

Although the first half is at least tolerable, the post-interval portions are devoid of thrilling moments. Besides, the goings-on get too dreary at this juncture and the viewer impatiently waits for the culmination to this saga.

However, the second half is quite lengthy, which adds to the boredom. There was no point making Nana Patekar break into a song because [i] it doesn't gel with his characterisation and [ii] it comes as a speed breaker in the story.

The writing [Kamal Pandey] is not convincing either. The writer has made an attempt to juxtapose romance with the war-like attitude of the villagers, which looks pretty fine, but the effort is least convincing. Even the confrontations between Nana and Paresh lack fire.

The climax, which begins soon after Nirmal Pandey's murder, is equally half-baked. The sudden emergence of Ayesha Julka and her kid on the battlefield and their death also looks unjustified.

The final sequence – Nana placing a revolver on his head and firing the gun and the bullet, flying from his skull to Paresh Rawal's skull – makes you stare in disbelief. Sequences like these actually remind you of the cinema of 1970s, when the hero would punch one person and six people would fly in the air!

Sanjeev-Darshan's music is a minus point. Not one song in the entire film is worth mentioning. Cinematography is strictly functional. Dialogues are well penned at places.

Nana Patekar is plain average. One has seen the actor in winning portrayals in the past, but this one is not a patch on his earlier works. Paresh Rawal is loud – again, not in form this time around.

The love interest – Suchinder and Sharbani – perform better. Suchinder is an okay actor, but lacks the trappings of a star. Sharbani shows a marked growth over her previous performances. She does her part well.

Ayesha Julka is wasted. Ditto for Nirmal Pandey, who gets nothing concrete to do. Poonam Jhawar gets negligible scope. Akhilendra Mishra is competent.

On the whole, AANCH is a dull and dry fare, offering minimal entertainment to the viewer. At the box-office, the film has some chances in the Hindi belt [since the film is set in Uttar Pradesh], but in the wake of tough oppositions like KAL HO NAA HO and JANASHEEN and also uninspiring and low-key publicity, AANCH will face an uphill task.

Rating:- *.


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