By Jamila Hussain
The verdict is out. The people have spoken. After much ado over whether or not the "Jats of Punjab" would work their magic over the Indian audiences when they came together in one film, the overwhelming audience (in some parts of the country) has proved once again that Garam Dharam is still a force to reckon with and could give the Khans and Bachhans a run for their money.
Finally one of the most awaited movies "Apne" released on 29 June 07 and it seems to be doing really well at the box office after over two weeks of running House Full in many places. The film has got good reviews from film critics and Apne is doing seemingly well with family audiences. As claimed by the director of the movie, Apne is just not another movie, it is a representation of the importance of Dharmendraji and his emotions, and his relationships with his near and dear ones.
'Apne' is the story of a disgraced boxer (Dharmendra) who wants to win back his honour by making his elder son (Sunny Deol) a boxer of international repute. Though as fate would have it, ultimately it is the younger son (Bobby Deol) who steps in to fulfil his father's dream when the elder one refuses to become a boxer. The movie also features Shilpa Shetty and Katrina Kaif in interesting roles. The music by Himesh Reshammiya seems to be a hit among audiences. Tracks like "Apne" and "Mehfuz" were quite liked by the audience. The romantic number "Dekhoon tujhe toh pyaar aaye" is also nice though not an overall hit with the junta. The music is slow yet not overly boring.
Most viewers had very similar takes on the movie. Prateek, an engineering student from Bangalore who claims to be a movie buff says, "the movie is well made but too lengthy, it is a family entertainer and the boxing sequences were shot very well." "Dharmendra is simply outstanding. He delivers a heart warming, emotional performance. His expressions in the emotional scenes are just amazing and natural; he has not lost his charm even though he has been away from the big screen," says Hussain, an IT professional.
"Every aspect of the movie is well shot, even the supporting actors, Kiron Kher and Aryan Vaid have done a good job with their characters. Aryan's performance is good on screen and he has done justice to his Role, " opined Maria, an undergrad student in Bangalore. Shruti, a freelance journo and Mass Comm student said that most of her friends who saw the movie came out happy. “It was a nice, family entertainer and left you with a nice feeling including a patriotic fever. I think almost all my friends have seen the movie and loved it – given the fact that most screens in Bangalore charge Rs 150 to Rs 250 per seat, it was paisa vasool,” she added.
"Apne" has been accepted and loved by most audiences, there are hardly a few who were not impressed. Maybe the movie was not ‘impressive’ for some but none were disappointed. Sunaina Sen, again an undergrad from Bangalore, opined that she had great expectations from the Deols and wasn’t impressed with the entire package. “Though I wasn’t disappointed either,” she explains. The Deols’ screen presence has made an impact not only on Indian audiences but also appealed to audiences abroad in the U.K , U.S of A and Canada. Dharamji has empowered the film with his overwhelming personality and real life acting. Sunny and Bobby have kept pace with their father and have been well appreciated for their characters. "Bobby's dancing is just amazing but he needs to work on his body," says Tasneem a student from Christ College. Katrina's presence is absolutely wasted, she has no role in the movie, same can be said for Shilpa who seemed to be over doing her role as "bahu" in the family. But, these flaws have not affected the overall presentation of the film. The boxing sequences were well shot and also well appreciated by audiences, though not all of them. Shruti says, "There is too much blood shed and gore which looks gross and the movie seems to be filled with only boxing which was a slight put-off."
Even though the movie has done better than average at box offices in Bangalore in the first two weeks, the idea of real life families working together on screen seems to click well with the audiences. Trishaala says "the Deols are looking simply superb on the big screen, they stand as equal to the Bachchans or even better on screen"
On the whole, "Apne" is rich in emotions and has struck a chord with families. Those who love emotional fare loved the theme. At the end of the day "Apne" is a movie to be watched with your own apne..
