Yaadein - a review

By Fuad Omar.

Subhash Ghai's Yaadein is a movie which deals with the relationship that exists between a parent and child and between lovers and friends. It also dwells into the realm of memories and how any one event or circumstance can trigger off a trip down memory lane, and also how even the smallest moments can become the most memorable. It sets the scene swiftly after the first frame and you are immediately introduced to the characters whose world you will become a part of over the next three hours, namely the characters of Jackie Shroff, Kareena Kapoor and her two sisters, and Hrithik Roshan and his family.

It tells how Raj Singh Puri (Jackie Shroff) tries to raise his three daughters after his wife dies in an accident and does so heeding the advice of his wife: 'Treat your children as your friends'. This begins what is the essence of the movie and the relationship that exists between elders and the youth of today. Ronit (Hrithik Roshan) is Raj's neighbour in London who is a close friend of the family's and cannot say 'no' to his Raj Uncle for anything, who is more a best friend than anything else. Kareena plays Isha, Raj's eldest daughter and closest to him, who understands her father more than anyone else and tries to keep him happy. What follows is a simple plot laced with complicated emotions and situations youngsters will relate to. The film appears to be targeted (and successfully) at the international Asian audience who this film will appeal to on a familiarity level, given its roots in reality.

The first half begins well but fails to gather momentum and maintain a pace that grips the viewer, although it does establish Jackie Shroff's character well and his relationship with his three daughters, as well as introduce the setting for the story Ghai is about to weave.
The second half more than makes up for the slow moving first, as it can be counted as among Ghai's finest moments on celluloid. His mastery of direction shows in his efforts to capture raw emotion as his characters feel it on camera, and he succeeds. He has etched out his characters in great depth and so knows how they'll react in any given situation and shows this in superb style rich with spontaneous emotional combustion. He has handled his characters well and achieved top performances from his actors, although in certain scenes he loses the flow of narrative through executing too many shots and this in turn leads to erratic sequences which are not as effective.

The background score is very much in tune with the moods represented in the film and complement the scenes well, adding another trump card in Subhash Ghai's cinematic presentation. The lighting and cinematography by Ghai's faithful Kabir Lal is par excellence as he knows exactly how to light Kareena, Hrithik and Jackie to highlight their features, and his camerawork is of the usual high standard as seen in his previous ventures Taal and Pardes.

Performance wise Jackie Shroff excels in a role suited to him perfectly, as with those deep eyes he conveys the pride in his children, the love for his wife and sadness as he reminisces of days gone. His presence is such that it uplifts the film and it would seem the role was written for him, given his brilliant performance. His performance is full of conviction and he steals the thunder as the cool, calm and doting father who is simply trying to raise his children right, while being in tune with their feelings.

Hrithik gives a hard-hitting and very mature performance, showing he has improved leaps and bounds from his first film a year and a half ago and risen steadily, growing with each movie. His ability to make the most of comedy, dramatic and emotional situations is taken advantage of and for the heartthrob of the nation, this really is a different role. His character is such that it requires his personality to come through in his actions as Ronit is a young confident extrovert, and Hrithik assays this well. Whereas his character is not allowed to develop as much in the first half of the movie, in the second he dominates, where many sequences thrive on his timing and rhythm as an actor and he shines through with full marks.

Kareena Kapoor is definitely a wonder to watch on screen. Her grace and effortless composure of the eyes, mouth and demeanour allow us to believe in and understand her character immediately. Isha is a simple girl who wants to take care of her father, and this is relayed through her every gesture and she rises above, even in the scenes where she's not required to do much. Again the camera loves her when she's shot well and it is to Kabir Lal's credit he knows his heroine. She vibes well with Hrithik on screen and together they complement each other not only as two superstars but great up and coming actors.

The film is realistic but with the trademark makings of a Subhash Ghai film. Whereas some characters and situations are slightly exaggerated, it also has real characters and deals with real situations and emotions that can arise between friends and the complications that come in between. So the subject itself is as complex as the raw emotions Ghai is attempting to deal with in a semi-commercial movie which is daringly different from its maker's predecessors.

The core essence of the movie is the relationship between parents and their children, and the one between friends: Two that don't necessarily have to exist separately. A brave subject dealt with extreme delicacy, good direction, presentation and laced with excellent performances make this one of Ghai's finest films.

One sees this as the rebirth of a filmmaker driven with a new passion and appealing to a new generation. A memorable experience altogether.



Stars of Yaadein on their most memorable moments:
Subhash Ghai:
"I have far too many memories to be able to remember just one right away. In fact, I have one memory for everyday, so I'll write a book called 365 memories of Subhash Ghai, that way I'll be able to share with you one yaadein of mine everyday of the year."

Jackie:
"Seeing my little boy in the incubator when he was born and when he was taken into where all the little kids are kept. All the other kids were crying away but he was lying there and he just turned his head and he had a smile on his face. That little innocent boy with his little face and cute smile, who didn't know what kind of world he was getting into, he just looked amazing."

Hrithik:
"I couldn't imagine my delight the day I got a call from Subhash Ghai asking me to do 'Yaadein.' I was totally floored. And now the movie is ready for you to see. Another yaadein of course was when Subhashji was showing me how to do a shot in a boat on the high seas and the boat toppled over and both of us fell in the water. Subhashji didn't know how to swim and so I had to save him. But thank God that when we fell he wasn't the one on top."

Kareena:
"I come from a film background and I have seen my sister enjoy tremendous stardom and I always knew that I would eventually get into the field myself. It came as pleasant surprise to me when I got a call from J.P. Dutta's office signing me for Refugee, and that too in Abhishek's launch film. I had always been an admirer of J.P.ji ever since I saw Farha's tremendous performance in 'Yateem.' I agreed to do the film at once and it'll always remain one of my most cherished memories."