‘Anjaana Anjaani’: strangers on a mission - Movie Review
October 6, 2010
By EKTA R. GARG
Starring Priyanka Chopra, Ranbir Kapoor
If you knew you were going to die in 20 days, what would you absolutely have to do before the final drastic event? Now, what if you knew you were going to die because you'd scheduled your suicide—but then found something to live for? Director Siddharth Anand delivers a cool, trendy response to those questions in Anjaana Anjaani.
Ranbir Kapoor plays Akash, a ruthless, selfish stockbroker. After his incredibly risky financial decisions leave him and his colleagues worse than broke in December of 2009, Akash decides to jump off the George Washington Bridge in New York City. Just before he takes the plunge, though, he meets Kiara (Priyanka Chopra), who is drunk but clearheaded enough to know she's there to achieve the same goal. A series of unlikely events thwarts the duo's plans and subsequent suicide attempts, and they begin to think it's a sign that one of them has something left to do in life. So they postpone the suicide for December 31 at the stroke of midnight. In the meantime, they become roommates and start revealing their most secret wishes to one another. Kiara and Akash eventually drive across the U.S. together in their quest to fulfill one another's last wishes, not realizing they're more alive now than either has been in a long time.
After making three films under the prestigious Yash Raj Films banner (the third being Kapoor's 2008 film Bachna Ae Haseeno), the director made this film with a different producer, Nadiadwala Grandson Entertainment. Switching producers did nothing to hamper Anand's contemporary filmmaking style however, and as a director he knows how to keep it refreshingly real. In one scene, Kiara, in a fit of anger, cuts her hair with a small pair of scissors, and in the next scene, she appears with her hair still in its messy ugly cut—no magical styling from one scene to the next. In another scene, Ranbir cries while driving, and he doesn't just tear up like the standard Bollywood hero. This boy bawls, making us feel his pain and providing further evidence of his acting range.
Anand puts forth a screenplay that takes its time to build up to its climax, and some moviegoers might get impatient for the story to move along. But Chopra and Kapoor are terrific together. These two share onscreen chemistry that can be felt in the back row of the theater. The music by Vishal-Shekhar also deserves a mention, particularly “Tujhe Bhula Diya,” which is filled with longing and is lyrically clever.
Anjaana Anjaani is rated Worth Watching.
Community - News - Reviews - Commentary - About
