Sunday, March 16, 2008

Why brothers suck, and other woes of a girl. Doli saja ke rakhna.


I was going do another "Let's talk about ...!" post about my favourite underdog Akshaye Khanna, but then I got to thinking how little Akshaye movies I've actually seen and how few of them I've really appreciated, even though I often consider him a favourite. It's truly a puzzle; the man is picky but picks crappy roles.

So instead I will talk about one of the Akshaye films I found worth mentioning. Doli saja ke rahkna I knew I had to see mainly for its jodi: the North-Indian actress Jyothika/Jothika debuts here before she moves to the Tamil cinema (and whose work there I adore), and of course, Akshaye showing off his puppy eyes.

So the story's old as time itself; they meet, fall in love, we get a couple of fun songs and then things generally go to hell because Jothika has three brothers who oppose the match. Oh and naturally Akshaye's rich parents aren't too fond of the less wealthy girl he's mad about, either.

It starts out a fairly cute romantic movie, but the dramaticness of the latter half simply drags the whole thing down. I also found myself disappointed with Jothika; the girl is full of life and energy in her Tamil roles, even when her characters aren't all that. But in here she's a subdued figure, dull to be frank and almost annoying in her lack of expressiveness. However, this was her debut performance. I forgive.

Even if on the whole the film is nowhere near spectacular and might even fall short of 'okay', there are highlights, too. The A R Rahman soundtrack is one of my favourites of his, and I find myself revisiting the song picturization "Boli sajni.." where Jothika reads a book and envisions herself and Akshaye as its characters. Akshaye does a lovely job and even with Jothika's lack of just about everything, the chemistry is good.

But it just sucks that it's such a rare movie where I don't have to continue "good Akshaye role" with "but kind of a sucky movie". And this is just one of those; I would not recommend it to you unless your name is Beth (in other words, have a profound affection towards Akshaye Khanna) or you have a girlcrush on Jothika.

Do give the soundtrack a spin, though.

13 comments:

Beth Loves Bollywood said...

Couldn't agree more with this fundamental problem of talking about Akshaye movies. Every time I think he'll do significantly better, he doesn't. Race will be in my town right after I get back from Vienna so I'll be there with bells on. Hopeful, starry-eyed bells.

This one has been on my list for ages but I still haven't watched it yet. But I will. Oh yes I will.

veracious said...

I have a feeling Race will provide laughs; just as well, though, Saif and Akshaye on the same screen is a rare treat.

Unknown said...

Hi,
Came across your blog by chance as I have a google alert on Jyothika and Surya...I became a fan of Jo much later and have been trying to get this movie on DVD in Malaysia but with no luck. I don't watch Hindi movies only Tamil but this is one Hindi movie I want to watch because it was Jo's first film. Luckily for Tamilians (and Surya!), the film flopped big time and Jo came over to Tamil films.
I don't know whether you are aware that this film is a remake of the hit Tamil film Kadhalukku Mariyathai starring Vijay and Shalini -- now Ajith's wife -- in her first adult role in Tamil film. This Tamil film was a remake of a Malayalam film which also starred Shalini. The song by AR Rahman for this movie were copied straight from one of his Tamil movies (can't remember the name though -- maybe someone can help me!)Ar Rahman actually did a cut and paste job of his music from a Tamil film...he sometimes does that. Some of the songs from the Jyothika-Prasanth starer Star was from a Hindi film.

Cheers
MenakaBaskaran@gmail.com

veracious said...

Hello! I know the film was a remake of a Malayam film - as Priyadarshan films often are, but didn't know about a Tamil version, too. I've seen Shalini in Alaipayuthe. Lovely girl.

A lot of Tamil-Hindi composers do that. I don't mind it, as long as they don't plagiarise anybody else's material.

Thanks for the comment. :)

Shweta Mehrotra Gahlawat said...

I honestly really liked Jyothika, even though she doesnt have much to do here, she was fresh and v sweet- but never did any other hindi movies for whatever reason :S

On Akshay- I have a hunch he was just lazy about the movies he used to do- perhaps he didnt initially read scripts- I cannot understnad how else we can find "Doli" (bad), and "My father G-" (good) on the same dude's resume!

DonnieBrasco said...

hey check this out,
the year 2007 in bollywood
http://www.flickr.com/photos/decaflatte/2345264511/

DonnieBrasco said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Anonymous said...

I am an Akshaye Fan. Have been so since the Taal mullet.

Of his recent performances Salaam E Ishq & 36 China Town are my favourites.

But while in India i was watching on tv one of those sing & dance shows that they have and there was a "Race" special which Akshaye appeared in. My sister and I (both Akshaye fans) were distraught to find him with obvious hair plugs or half wig or something on his head. It looked so fake it was laughable.

So i like to look back at his Doli Saja Ke Rakhna days as the days our beloved Akshaye had hair!

Anonymous said...
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Anonymous said...
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CanadianKen said...

If I had to pick my favorite musical sequence in Hindi films -ever - it would probably be the "BOL SAJNI" number from DOLI SAJA KE RAKHNA. A beautifully conceived and ravishingly executed fairy tale. Practically a movie in itself. As a matter of fact, all of the picturizations in the film are superb. So I have to admit I have a very soft spot for this movie. And, next to Aishwarya, I don't think Akshaye's ever had a better screen partner than Jyothika. She's adorable. And I was always so disappointed she didn't make any more Hindi films. Tamil fans were certainly justified in taking her to their hearts. Now a decade later, she's retired. So I guess I'll finally have to give up hopes of ever seeing an Akshaye-Jyothika reteaming.

veracious said...

Jules - Yeah, I hear you. Also an Akshaye fan but not sure how this happened.. The man just features in such crap, makes you wonder.

CanadianKen - You know, I had the extreme disfortune of watching the movie on one of the crappiest DVD's I've ever spent money on. It had working subtitles - that's about the only good thing about it. Perhaps for that, while I love Boli Sajni, I would not call it the best. The colors etc looked quite dull on my DVD, sadly.

And yes, Tamil audiences are truly lucky to have Jyothika. Even more so, Surya is lucky to have found her. But yes, if she ever does films they'll probably be in Tamil (maybe with her husband?).. And I'm not sure if Hindi audiences would welcome her back even if she did do another Hindi film! Which is sad, of course.

the world i live said...

hey hello. you are a real bllywood fanm. and you arae a DDLJ FAN. aditya chopra is making another movie with SRK all these years. its called RAB NE BANAYI JODI which means couples are made in heaven or couples are made by god. aditya is directing this movie and it styars a new girl along side shahrukh khan