Unintentional Theme Week at the Gorilla’s Lament concludes with Judwaa, yet another tale of mistaken identity.
Prem and Raja (Salman Khan) are twins separated at birth. Literally, in this case; they’re Siamese twins, and judging by the way the babies are bandaged, they were joined at the upper arm. (I can’t quite picture how the delivery happened, but I’m sure it was uncomfortable for all parties.) Being Siamese twins, the boys have what the doctor describes as a “shared reflex.” If you’ve seen many twin movies, you probably already have the general idea; what one twin feels, the other feels, as long as it’s convenient to the plot.
The boys are the sons of Bharosa Malhotra ( Dalip Tahil), an heroic policeman. Unfortunately, Malhotra’s nemesis (Deepak Shirke) is being treated at the same hospital where the boys are being born. There’s an escape attempt, which ends with Mrs. Malhotra (played by Everybody’s Other Mom, Reema Lagoo) a vegetable, baby Raja missing and presumed dead, and the criminal’s son Tiger (later played by Mukesh Rishi) vowing vengeance.
A quick digression - in American action movies, there’s usually a little bit of backstory inserted to explain why the hero is so tough. he may be an everyman in every other respect, but the film is careful to explain that he’s an ex-Marine, or has a black belt, or whatever. Indian action movies don’t work that way; the hero’s an amazing fighter because he’s the hero, and the audience is expected to accept that and move on. Raja’s an example of this principle. He grows up as an orphan, but even as a child we see that he has amazing fighting prowess. Why? Just ‘cause.
Raja grows up and becomes a thief, complete with his own sidekick, Rangeela (Shakti Kapoor). Raja also picks up a devoted admirer, Mala (Karisma Kapoor), a spoiled rich girl who seems to steal in order to amuse herself. Mala pursues Raja with single-minded and slightly frightening devotion. Mala’s father, meanwhile, wants to marry her to Prem, a singer and son of his old friend Bharosa Malhotra. Prem, meanwhile, is more interested in Roopa (played by Rhamba.) Identical twins, two sets of lovers, a criminal bent on revenge, and the obligatory comic relief sidekick. Does wackiness ensue? Indeed it does.
What I found most interesting about Judwaa is that the characters often behave as if they know they’re in a movie. The characters will discuss their respective roles as heroes and villains, and they often comment on the songs. I caught a number of clever Bollywood references (like Karisma singing a snatch of a tune from Raja Hindustani), and I’m sure there are many more that I missed.
The acting is hit and miss. Salman emotes well, but he’s always playing Salman Khan here; at times, the only way to tell the twins apart is by which girl they’re with. Karisma has been much better. I was actually most impressed by Anupam Kher, playing an incompetent policeman; his character is mostly comic relief, but he has a moment of real drama later in the movie and injects it with genuine pathos.
The action scenes are well choreographed. So is the dancing. The music is good but not great, and there’s an early song/rap which is simply dreadful.
There’s also a remarkable Only In Bollywood moment: Mala and Raja (and Prem) take a bath together. This would be shocking, except that everybody stays fully clothed.
If you’re a Salman fan, you’ve probably already seen Judwaa. Otherwise, it makes a decent Friday night’s entertainment, but it’s not the sort of movie that you must see right away.
A closing note: Mala’s horoscope says that she will marry a thief, and rule the world. Half that prediction is fulfilled in this movie, so I really want to see a sequel where Karisma Kapoor rules the world with an iron fist.
Prem and Raja (Salman Khan) are twins separated at birth. Literally, in this case; they’re Siamese twins, and judging by the way the babies are bandaged, they were joined at the upper arm. (I can’t quite picture how the delivery happened, but I’m sure it was uncomfortable for all parties.) Being Siamese twins, the boys have what the doctor describes as a “shared reflex.” If you’ve seen many twin movies, you probably already have the general idea; what one twin feels, the other feels, as long as it’s convenient to the plot.
The boys are the sons of Bharosa Malhotra ( Dalip Tahil), an heroic policeman. Unfortunately, Malhotra’s nemesis (Deepak Shirke) is being treated at the same hospital where the boys are being born. There’s an escape attempt, which ends with Mrs. Malhotra (played by Everybody’s Other Mom, Reema Lagoo) a vegetable, baby Raja missing and presumed dead, and the criminal’s son Tiger (later played by Mukesh Rishi) vowing vengeance.
A quick digression - in American action movies, there’s usually a little bit of backstory inserted to explain why the hero is so tough. he may be an everyman in every other respect, but the film is careful to explain that he’s an ex-Marine, or has a black belt, or whatever. Indian action movies don’t work that way; the hero’s an amazing fighter because he’s the hero, and the audience is expected to accept that and move on. Raja’s an example of this principle. He grows up as an orphan, but even as a child we see that he has amazing fighting prowess. Why? Just ‘cause.
Raja grows up and becomes a thief, complete with his own sidekick, Rangeela (Shakti Kapoor). Raja also picks up a devoted admirer, Mala (Karisma Kapoor), a spoiled rich girl who seems to steal in order to amuse herself. Mala pursues Raja with single-minded and slightly frightening devotion. Mala’s father, meanwhile, wants to marry her to Prem, a singer and son of his old friend Bharosa Malhotra. Prem, meanwhile, is more interested in Roopa (played by Rhamba.) Identical twins, two sets of lovers, a criminal bent on revenge, and the obligatory comic relief sidekick. Does wackiness ensue? Indeed it does.
What I found most interesting about Judwaa is that the characters often behave as if they know they’re in a movie. The characters will discuss their respective roles as heroes and villains, and they often comment on the songs. I caught a number of clever Bollywood references (like Karisma singing a snatch of a tune from Raja Hindustani), and I’m sure there are many more that I missed.
The acting is hit and miss. Salman emotes well, but he’s always playing Salman Khan here; at times, the only way to tell the twins apart is by which girl they’re with. Karisma has been much better. I was actually most impressed by Anupam Kher, playing an incompetent policeman; his character is mostly comic relief, but he has a moment of real drama later in the movie and injects it with genuine pathos.
The action scenes are well choreographed. So is the dancing. The music is good but not great, and there’s an early song/rap which is simply dreadful.
There’s also a remarkable Only In Bollywood moment: Mala and Raja (and Prem) take a bath together. This would be shocking, except that everybody stays fully clothed.
If you’re a Salman fan, you’ve probably already seen Judwaa. Otherwise, it makes a decent Friday night’s entertainment, but it’s not the sort of movie that you must see right away.
A closing note: Mala’s horoscope says that she will marry a thief, and rule the world. Half that prediction is fulfilled in this movie, so I really want to see a sequel where Karisma Kapoor rules the world with an iron fist.
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