Movie Review: Woh Lamhe

Directed by the 25 year old Mohit Suri and starring once again, 20 year-old Kangana Ranaut and Shiney Ahuja, this Mahesh Bhatt Production delivers the same emotional intensity and wide-eyed choking as Gangster did (if you are the kind that chokes with tears at movies). Made along the same lines in terms of cinematography and treatment, telling a story which once again puts the female protagonist in a dominant role and treats her gently, despite this being a story that is equally the male's - Woh Lamhe is a sensitive, semi-autobiographical story of a young director striving to make it big, the film star he uses unconventional tactics to woo for his movie, her brittle life splintering apart at the seams, complete with an abusive, philandering, power-hungry boyfriend, a mercenary mother, and mony-grubbing contractors.

An insecure girl, Sana Azim's paranoid schizophrenia comes to the fore when she leaves the supposed security of her boyfriend, mother and home, to tear herself free from the shackles that bind her, be they sponsors or contracts or a trust borne out of blackmail and emotional dependency. Developing faith in the controversial Adita Garewal because of his honesty, hard-hitting for her though it may have been, she shoots his movie and falls for him, and he unwittingly for her, though that was never part of his plan. The day he refuses to make her any promises, she starts having her halllucinations, of a scary girl who causes her to break her trust in everyone, leading to scandals on the sets and a trip to the hospital. When the doctor prescribes electric shock therapy to hasten her cure, Aditya spirits her away to a friend's home away from Mumbai where he works on curing her and restoring her faith in himself and him. He fails though - and one day she disappears. He comes upon her at long last.

Supposed to be a tribute to Parveen Babi and his affair with her, Mahesh Bhatt has succeeded once again in showing a woman's failure to overcome the suffocating powers that bind her, the myriad ways she copes, and the ways in which her healing is hindered numerous times by the very selfish people who only claim to have her best interests at heart. How much women can be in danger of losing themselves when they put others before themselves. That it takes a great deal to heal a broken spirit. That love is not enough, that its flawed in many ways because its human. That it still can overcome, but in a way one doesnt expect or even want.

I was personally held motionless by horror when I saw the way she was abused, because its so common in our society that we dont even recognise it. How much do couples emotionally blackmail each other - hurt and impose guilt on each other, pretend they are making huge sacrifices, when it is mostly for perosnal gain. How much do we try to feel good about ourselves by putting others down? How much do we fail to value others for their intrinsic worth rather than the worth we perceive? How many people are together because of need, because of fear, because of insecurity and social concern, and not because of a mutual desire that stems from an independent choice not created out of coercion or power? When sometimes the flak gets so much that something in us just breaks - or maybe most of us think we're mad of stronger stuff or we havent had our defences tested sufficiently?

God willing none of us has to go through any experience in which our tolerance ever has to be tested. *shudder*

Oh, the songs are ok. I like Kya Ye Pyaar Hai best. Otherwise theyre timepass. Wonder if Kangana and Shiney will be the next Kajol-Shahrukh?

Conclusion: Watch it if you liked Gangster, if you like intense love stories, and if you're willing to overlook Kangana's speech and accent trip-ups.