BBC - Shropshire - Bollywood (original) (raw)

Lakshya (meaning the aim), deals with the conflicts, a man faces when growing up.

This is the story of Karan Shergill who is very confused about the directions he needs to take in life.

Coming from a well off family, he never gave it a thought on what he wants to be, when he grows up. So he just ends up in the Indian Army with no choice of his.

The only person he can rely on is Romila Dutta (Priety Zinta), a bright ambitious young woman who is capable of standing on her own two feet.

She loves Karan since childhood and believes that one day he will find himself.

As days go by, Karan finds it difficult to cope with the gruelling army life. Unable to take it any longer, Karan resigns from the academy.

But his home coming is strongly dissapproved by his father and Romila. This also creates bad feelings between Karan and his girlfriend. So they go their separate ways.

Some time later, Karan and Romila meet again, under different circumstances. India and Pakistan are at war. Romila is now a war correspondant for a television channel.

Based in Kashmir, she comes across Karan who by now has graduated as an army officer. An officer with one aim and that is to fight for his country tooth and nail. . . .

Young Farhan Akhtar, proves yet again that he is one of the finiest directors Bollywood has to date.

He has paid full attention to the script and the technical aspects, giving rise to a polished product similar to his debut film, Dil Chahta Hai.

Farhan did good in hiring German Christopher Popp who has captured the cinematography of Ladakh beautifully.

The action scenes are worth mentioning. Unlike other mediocre Bollywood films, the war scenes appear realistic.

The sequence when Lt. Shergill and his fellow soldiers climb the cliff to surprise the intruders at the top of the mountainous Kargil region, is well executed by the director.

Background score by the music directors, Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy add further inpact to the film especially towards the climax.

Hrithik Roshan has already proved in Koi Mil Gaya that he is a versatile actor. He has shown that he can play different characters.

In Lakshya he sports a different hairstyle which adds dept to the happy go lucky character of Karan Shergill.

It's so refreshing to see how he transforms from a carefree youth to a matured soldier full of determination and courage.

Priety Zinta looks good throughout and holds her own thorughout the film.

Other casts including Amitabh Bachchan, Om Puri, Amrish Puri Sharad Kapoor, Boman Irani and Sushant Singh, make full contribution to the storyline.

On the whole, Lakshya is a well crafted film different from other Bollywood masalas currently being released.

Well worth watching! No doubt it will do tremendous business in the UK with a high entry in the UK top ten charts.

Reviewed by Manish Gajjar, BBC Shropshire's Mr Bollywood.