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Not okay, Sallu bhai
Mimmy Jain
Dear Sallu bhai,
I am quite a fan of yours, and have just got back from seeing Har Dil JoPyar Karega. So I thought of writing to you with a few thoughts that struckme while watching the movie:
1. That Har Dil.. has been lifted loosely from While You Were Sleeping hasbeen announced in practically every paper recently. And when you areadapting a Hollywood hit for India, it stands to reason that you mustIndianise it. So be it. But do you have to Bollywoodise it so that the firstinteresting thing that happens in the movie is a surprise just before theinterval? No, don't worry, I won't spoil the few chances Har Dil... has ofdrawing even at the box-office by breaking your bhanda.
2. You are a Bollywood veteran now. Don't you think it's time you didsomething a little different, a bit more mature? The Jim Carrey act was goodwhile it was new-after so many long years of it, one can't even summon ayawn any more. Strange noises and weird gestures are no longer cool, Sallubhai, grow up.
3. Where were you when they were shooting the introductory song in HarDil...? One could see you were miles away, totally dissociated from the bevyof firangs jostling you. Maana a song that goes Ik garam chai ki pyali ho,koi usko pilane wali ho can turn even the most enthusiastic actor thanda.But surely you could summon up a slightly less disinterested expression? Orif you couldn't, surely you could have advised director Raj Kanwar that themovie would work just as fine without the song?
4. Cool sets and designer clothes made Kuchh Kuchh Hota Hai a hit, or so youbelieved. But what you and Raj Kanwarji missed while watching KKHH was thatit also had a very tightly scripted story. Not one scene could have beendescribed as in excess. Har Dil... could have easily been one and a halfhours shorter, and no one the sorrier. I myself would suggest the first 25minutes, and maybe the last one hour?
5. Both Rani Mukherjee and Preity Zinta are hot and happening. Preityespecially is really cool. But why is it, do you think, that they seemed tovibe better with each other in the movie than with you? Rani to fell into acoma the moment she saw you. Did Kanwarji promise her Shah Rukh at the endto get her back to reality?
6. Sallu hai, a Hindi movie can be made without a fight and still be a hit.For reference, please watch Kya Kehna.
7. Apart from the initial aberration, Anu Malik has come up with some nicenumbers for Har Dil.... But when you insist on taking the songs to fantasyland and shooting them in foreign locales, it's like you're taking a breakfrom the film itself. At least that's what the people around me thought.Most of them walked out for Pepsi refills. Some never came back.
Sorry Sallu bhai, I was really looking forward to Har Dil Jo Pyar Karega,but having seen it, I am wondering why I expected something new from you.After all, you fail me each time.
In disappointment,A Fan.
Har Dil Jo Pyar Karega *ing Salman Khan, Rani Mukherjee, PreityZinta, Avtar Gill, Kamini Kaushal; Directed by Raj Kanwar; Music by AnuMalik.Copyright © 2000 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
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