|
By Taran
Adarsh, September 14, 2007 - 13:29 IST
 Right intentions don't necessarily translate into
right results. NANHE JAISALMER is a case in point.
Director Samir Karnik's second outing is truly
unconventional. It's a simple story with no commercial
paraphernalia and trappings, stars a kid as a
protagonist, there's no heavy duty drama here and nor
is there the mandatory hero-heroine routine that Hindi
films are made of. Oh yes, Karnik gambles big time
this time around.
As a storyteller, Karnik gets it right with NANHE
JAISALMER. He has grown as a raconteur and his
handling of a couple of sequences is indeed
impressive. But it's the writing, more specifically
the pre-climax and climax, that ruins the show.
Imaginary relationships were handled with dexterity in
THE SIXTH SENSE and Karnik tries to do a SIXTH SENSE
in NANHE JAISALMER, but fails to pull it off.
NANHE JAISALMER progresses smoothly [there're
aberrations in between] and you're keen to know how
Karnik and his team of writers would culminate this
offbeat story eventually. But the climax is such an
anti-climax!
In a nutshell, NANHE JAISALMER appeals in bits and
spurts. But that's not enough!
 Young Nanhe [Dwij Yadav], a 10-year-old kid, is the
breadwinner of his family. He lives in Jaisalmer,
Rajasthan with his mother and sister. Nanhe's room is
full of colorful pictures and posters of his favorite
movie star -- Bobby Deol.
Nanhe is a diehard Bobby Deol fan. He watches every
film of his. He communicates to Bobby through letters
written by his elder sister. Nanhe lives, eats,
breathes, talks about his friend all the while. And
one sunny morning, Nanhe comes face to face with his
idol in the desert.
NANHE JAISALMER holds your interest at several points.
You're awe-struck as you watch the kid carry the show
on his puny shoulders. In fact, it's tough to hold the
viewer's attention from start to end and the biggest
of stars cannot guarantee that, but you're mesmerized
by the kid here.
The emotional moments do strike a chord. The sequences
between the mother [Pratiksha Lonkar] and the kid [Dwij]
are well treated. Those between the kid and the
grown-ups, especially after the 'Gadha' episode, are
interesting.
But NANHE JAISALMER is not without its share of loose
ends. The songs [Himesh Reshammiya] are a big bore.
Barring the title track and to an extent, the marriage
song, the two Bobby Deol songs seem forced in the
narrative. Also, the sequences in the night school can
do with trimming.
Binod Pradhan's cinematography is topnotch. The
dialogues are simple and that works in a film like
this.
NANHE JAISALMER belongs to Dwij Yadav. His performance
can be rightly described in one word -- magnificent.
He's adorable and supremely talented. So good is this
wonder kid that all actors in NANHE JAISALMER pale in
comparison. A matchless performance!
 Bobby is a complete miscast. The role demanded a
hugely popular star, someone like SRK, Salman, Aamir,
Hrithik or Akshay. Had it been a superstar enacting
the character, the identification with it would've
been immense then. The viewer knows that Bobby is not
in the top bracket and that's why this character
appears fake.
Pratiksha Lonkar and Bina Kak are competent. Sharat
Saxena, Vivek Shauq and Rajesh Vivek are passable.
Vatsal Sheth is wooden.
On the whole, NANHE JAISALMER has been made with noble
intentions, but will find very few takers. At the
box-office, it's a non-starter.
Rating:- * 1/2
|
