Some family this!

Dharmendra and his two sons, Ajay (Sunny) and Vijay (Bobby), come together for Apne ("our own people" or "our loved ones"), a movie about a father and his two sons.

The director makes his intentions clear right in the beginning. Baldev Singh Chaudhry, played by Dharmendra, was a prodigous boxer who was falsely accused of doping and banned from the sport. Thus humiliated, the fighter pledges to redeem himself through his son, and the film essentially follows his troubled relationship with his elder son who won't box and younger one who can't.

While Baldev is the main protagonist, he is far from being "the hero", having his own vulnerabilities and flaws, which only make him that much more real. Similarly, the sons Angad and Karan have the best of intentions. It's just that their visions don't coincide. But, of course, when it comes to the family, each one rises to the occasion in his own way. This is reminiscent of an era when movies had no villains, just adverse circumstances. Even the rouge betting-fixing ring has not been personified in this movie - a dramatic departure from Bollywood movies in general, and the Deol movies in particular.

The boxing choreography by Chris Anderson (Mad Max, King Kong) is realistic and impactful, quite at par with Rocky Balboa and Million Dollar Baby. It is really a shame then that the boxers, including Aryan Vaid, don't seem even close to being heavyweight fighters. And it's not as if Anil Sharma had a dearth of people with suitable physique. Why, he could just have drafted the sardarjee from Baldev's gymnasium as Gaurav.

This is not a film about boxing, though. It is about a simple family that fights for honor, family, country, and the sport. More importantly, it is about the relationship between a disgraced father and his sons.

This movie does not try to ride the coattails of a popular sport, a la Lagaan. Instead, it picks up a sport shrowded in obscurity in the country, and engages the audience intimately. Also, unlike Lagaan, Apne does not believe in giving a blow-by-blow account of what happens on the path to progress. It provides the highlights as far as the sport is concerned, and focuses on the family drama.

SPOILER ALERT

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Sunny Deol's Angad is out-of-shape and unfit for a competitive boxing match, let alone one with a world champion. Interestingly, that's what keeps it real. Angad pants and puffs profusely while training, and is told by Baldev, "Boxers retire at your age". In the ring, he is pounded by Luca's machine-gun punches, and takes numerous jabs and hooks.

But he's not looking to become a world champion. For him, it's not about how hard and how frequently he hits Luca; it is about how much punishment he can take and still stay standing to deliver the final blow. I half expected someone to say this, but the treatment has a delightful subtlety quite uncharacteristic of recent Sunny Deol movies.

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Then again, it's not really a Sunny Deol movie. This one belongs to Dharmendra, who got Amitabh the break of his career in Sholay. Most people would remember Dharmendra for his "He Man" image and action movies, which is understandable as he is undeniably the original action hero of Bollywood. Moreover, he was the protagonist of the first decent war movie made in India - Haqeeqat.

However, before he was Veeru (Sholay) or Kumar (Shalimar), he was Bipin (Majhli Didi), Rajesh (Baharon ki Manzil) and Jai (Aaya Sawan Jhoom Ke). In fact, he gave The Burning Train and Professor Pyarelal as late as 1977 and 1981 respectively. And who can forget the comedy classic Chupke Chupke, one of the best ever Bollywood comedies, if not the best. If one had any doubts about the histrionic prowess of this method actor, all one needs to do is watch the song "Mere dushman" from Aaye Din Bahar Ke.

Like another accomplished actor, Mithun Chakraborthy, Dharmendra too has done some pretty bad movies, especially late in his career. But in Apne, he proves that stardom may fade, but actors just get better.

Sunny Deol probably has the shortest footage among the three Deols, but he is very effective while on screen. And he doesn't have to scream at the top of his lungs either. One wishes that someone had found him better hair, though. Brother Bobby, the youngest of the three, looks good and acts well, sensitively depicting the frustration of one crushed under the uncomfortable relationship between his two idols.

Shilpa Shetty and Katrina Kaif don't have much to do except looking pretty, which they manage to do well. In fact, Shilpa has hardly ever looked as good as she does in the peacock dress in the song "Ankh vich chehra yaar da". Kirron Kher has a lengthier and more substantial role than the girls, which is great as she's quite the thespian. Victor Banerjee is as efficient as ever. Divya Dutta has been wasted, which has become the case of every film she is cast in. More's the pity, because she is one of most underused, underrated, brilliant actresses of her generation.

The music by Himesh Reshamiya is the Archilles' heel of the film. But then again, one doesn't expect much from Reshamiya, despite his recent meteoric ascent in the Bollywood music scene. The saving grace, I suppose, is that Sharma has not picturised complete songs except for a couple. The only good one is the title song, sung by Sonu Nigam, who is clearly in his element. Good to have you back, Sonu!

Kabir Lal's cinematography deserves accolades as it brings out the best of Chandigarh and New York, without taking the focus away from the cast or the story.

While the climax is a bit lengthier than it needed to be, the screenplay by Neeraj Pathak provides the Deols the perfect platform to re-establish their acting credentials. And truly, Anil Sharma could not have chosen a better story to bring the three Deols together on the silver screen for the first time.

In India many, if not most, youngsters still choose careers based on what their parents tell them, rather than on what they themselves want to do. This film should strike a chord with them, even though the young, cineplex crowd tends to stray away from Deol movies. On the other hand, parents should like the movie too, not the least because of parental dilemmas so realistically depicted by an actor from their times.

Bollywood has churned out numerous capers, from Avtaar to Baghban (which, by the way, are reminiscent of Do Raaste), that depict the sacrifices made by parents for ingrate children. Apne takes a different route: it is about how even though everyone is doing their best, sometimes rifts can emerge in relationships. It is about how blood is, after all, thicker than water.

With this desi-at-heart movie, I think Anil Sharma is back with a bang. And so are the Deols.

Fanaa: The Death of Sensibility

Fanaa means destroyed (or destruction) or dead (or mortality/death). As is the case with poetry, here the word is used in the sense of sacrificing oneself to the extent of complete destruction (yes, I do notice the redundancy of "complete" here).

The movie is about (you guessed it) love and sacrifice. And as it quite explicitly labors to convey, it is also about making difficult decisions; choosing between the right and the wrong is easy, but choosing the better among good paths and the proper among the wrong options, that's what defines our lives.

So far, so good. To start off on a high note, Shibani Bathija's story is quite good, and had a lot of potential. And writing stories is what she should stick to, as her screenplay is a wreck. Kunal Kohli's dialog is mostly just plain bad and bombastic. I did get one gem, though: Insaan ki khwahish ki koi intihaan nahi, do ghaz zameen chahiye do ghaz qafan ke baad (There's no limit to man's desire; he wants six-feet of land after getting six-feet of coffin).

Some people might say that Kunal Kohli earned his spots in direction with Hum Tum, but judging from this film, I'd say he should dump his megaphone. Film-direction is not his cup of tea. This movie is pretentious, inadequately prepped, and tackily treated. And there are some rather glaring inconsistencies too. For instance, in the latter half of the movie "the storm" stops for some work, and for a song, but Rehan, who supposedly had been stalled by the storm, doesn't get on with his mission. The storm itself is badly executed - from a mean, long snowstorm, one would expect at least knee-high snow on ground, and a thick layer of snow on porch railings and windows. Guess what? No shovelling required at all!

Nobody ever explains how Zulfiqer Ali Beg figures out that the "electronic part" in Rehan's jacket is a "nuclear missile trigger". Similarly, why Zooni, with newly-gained eyesight, is asked to identify Rehan's body, remains a mystery. There were so many people - the coworkers, the girls, and presumably the neighbors - Rehan was supposed to know well and weren't called in, that one just has to wonder how much thought and effort the director actually put into pre-production.

The attempt to create an FBI-CIA sort of jurisdiction tension between Bureau of Military Intelligence and RAW is totally lame. And there is no depth in the characters of RAW psychologist Tyagi and BMI Anti-terrorist unit chief Sushil Rawal, or even in the operations and methods of these agencies. The comparison of the terrorist organization IKF to CIA, KGB, Mossad and RAW is simply ludicrous.

The action scenes are the worst. The filmmakers' attempts to rip-off classy action-sequences from films like the James Bond movie The World is Not Enough come across, at best, as poor imitations, and rather hokey to be frank. Rehan's invincibility is reminiscent of Tauheed's in Hindustan Ki Kasam. Now, I have no problems with the protagonist being an incredibly good fighter, and almost invincible. But to achieve that effect, the scenes have to be shot right; this movie's presentation is ridiculous, and I draw the line at unconvincing. And I won't even bother to divine why, when the chopper has to be shot down in the climax, the honors are done by the RAW psychologist, not some army sharpshooter.

For most part the movie takes a very predictable path. Let me be clear here: I have nothing against predictability. There have been many movies that have taken the beaten path and yet proven to be delightfully entertaining. But almost by definition, a mystery or a thriller can not be a good movie if the viewers can anticipate what's going to happen next.

Quick comment on production design: Not good. One example: The looks for Aamir's two avatars are clearly "inspired" by Hrithik Roshan's double-role in Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai. But plagiarism was never a sin in the Indian film industry.

This movie is about as realistic and convincing as the Sunny Deol-strarrer The Hero. And the music of The Hero was better. Which is a pity since The Hero's music was no great shakes while Yashraj Films' productions have typically had exceptionally good music that goes on to become super popular. Not here, though; Jatin-Lalit's score is uninspired, and the only tunes worth humming are the ones "borrowed" from previous hits.

The acting is above average. Kirron Kher and Rishi Kapur are appropriately cast as Zooni (Kajol)'s parents. They deliver convincing performances, as has come to be expected of them. Kajol is a complete misfit as a Kashmiri girl, but her acting somewhat makes up for this casting error. Aamir Khan was probably the right choice for the role of Rehan. Unfortunately, his acting oscillates between the extremes. For the most part, he is Aamir Khan. But occasionally, and not very often, he magically dives into the soul of the character, and then the result is mesmeric. Tabu and Sharat Saxena are miscast, given underdeveloped characters, and made to look like idiots. They do whatever is expected of them, but don't you look for stellar performances; you aren't about to get any. Jaspal Bhatti is in for one joke, and is completely wasted. You won't even notice Lara Dutta. Master Ali Haji playing Rehan Jr., is a disappointment. Normally, child-artistes deliver performances even better than seasoned professionals; this performance is one of the worst I have ever seen on screen.

Don't get me wrong. Fanaa does have its moments. The climax scene where Rehan turns around to shoot Zooni is one of them, however clichéd and predictable it might be (not to mention badly shot). But here's the problem of this movie: As a thriller, it never makes you slip to the edge of your seat; as a drama, it never touches your heart and soul.

Final verdict? Fanaa just about slips through the cracks to qualify as barely watchable.