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1942: A Love Story More at IMDbPro »

10 out of 15 people found the following review useful:
An absolute masterpiece, 4 June 2005

Author: ank_jabberwocky1 from India

"1942 A Love story" is a portray of a beautiful love story with the backdrop of the Indian struggle for freedom.The plot is still the same of a love story but unlike other Bollywood movies the villains are not the parents but the political turmoil of 1942.

Vidhu Vinod who was just three movie old when he made this movie teams up with the genius Sanjay Leela Bhansali ( screenplay) to deliver a movie which is definitely the best of 93.With an impressive star cast of Anil Kapoor, Prem , Jackie Shroff,Danny, Ashish Vidyarthi and Anupam Kher this one could have never gone wrong.

The story runs on two parallel lines one is the love story between Rajjo(Manisha Koirala) and Narender(Anil Kapoor). The other story is about the assassination of general Douglas.

THe music of the movie is absolutely amazing R.D.Burman delivers yet another masterpiece which was unfortunately his last. Manisha Koirala fits so well in the role of an innocent and beautiful young girl.THe introductory scene of Manisha Koirala is absolutely amazing."Ek Ladki KO " and Kuch Na Kaho are one of the best pasteurized songs. Kuch Na Kaho gets you into the moment so well.THe on screen kiss if definitely one of the best on the Indian screen.

Javed Akhtar wrote the songs that are just a brilliant example of superb poetry.THe songs are a part of the story and since they are so good you don't get irritated when they pop up unlike other Hindi movies.

The story takes a sharp turn just before the interval after the death of Anupam Kher when Manisha Koirala is rescued by Jackie Shroff and the conditions forces Anil Kapoor to jump into the struggle of Indian independence.

performance wise Jackie steals the show delivering the role of a young and self driven freedom fighter he is able to portray the emotions and feelings to picture perfect.BUt that does not undermines the performances of other actors.

I give this movie a 9 out of 10 a must watch for people who believe that Indian cinema is not dead yet and there are great film- makers who will deliver the best when ever they could

4 out of 10 people found the following review useful:
Lavish filmmaking, 14 December 2001
Author: Danny Ledonne from USA

Blending musical poetry with epic spectacle, "1942: A Love Story" stands as a definitive work of Indian filmmaking. As the film follows a pair of lovers through the Indian uprising against imperialist Britain, traditional Indian song is used to juxtapose the harsh realities of an oppressed people. Though the film is grand in size, the fact that a small core of characters inhabits the plot makes for an easily understood picture, even while reading subtitles as I did.

"1942" celebrates the people of India and their struggle for independence. When compared to traditional American films dealing with political revolt, this film wins over in heart. When compared to traditional American musicals of the 1950s and 60s, "1942" displays a deeper social conscience and a more solid grasp on narrative storytelling. Above all, "1942" provides entertainment with a rich cultural tapestry.

4 out of 11 people found the following review useful:
A romantic film and a great choice for my first Bollywood hit!, 14 March 2002
Author: chickof80s from Raleigh, NC

As an ABCD (An American Born Confused Desi) I wanted to make my first Bollywood hit a memorable one...and that this movie was!

While keeping to a simple plot and common theme of love in a war-torn country, the struggles are just and portrayed more seriously than other "love during war" films...

I won't give away the terrific ending, but I will tell you that it is a happy one, and though it is common for Hindi films to have a happy ending, a love story with a happy ending never gets old, does it not?

The only thing non ABCD'ers will find odd/curious is the fact that the movie frequently took a "break" for the characters to lip-sync a song about how they felt. I liked it, but for the first five seconds I was like, "Why are we having a music video in the middle of the movie??"

Overall I give this movie 5 stars out of 4. Is it because I love any Bollywood film? Is it because I'm an ABCD? Is it because I'm a hopeless romantic? I don't know, but I highly recommend you see 1942: A Love Story!

6 out of 16 people found the following review useful:
Foppish caps and 'ang 'em 'igh Generals, 23 September 2005
Author: JoeytheBrit from www.moviemoviesite.com

1942, in common with most of India's movie output is something of a curiosity. It has the scope and scale of a western 'event' movie, yet seems to have no ambitions to widen its audience beyond the borders of its own nation and people, which is a shame. There is much to commend this movie, and it deserves a wider audience, but its long running time – thanks to the obligatory insertion of a dozen songs – effectively precludes it from finding an international audience and the wider recognition it deserves.

The story is nothing more than a spin on Shakespeare's 'Romeo and Juliet', set in India in 1942 against the backdrop of the Indian nation's struggle for independence from British rule. Naren Singh (Anil Kapoor) and Rajeshwari (Manisha Koirala) are our star-crossed lovers: he's the son of a high-ranking Indian official who has sold himself to the British in return for an opulent lifestyle, while she is the daughter of a resistance leader plotting the assassination of a visiting general. At the outset of the movie, Naren is something of a worthless gadabout, dressing like an Englishman –although no Englishman would be seen dead in the foppish caps he wears – and leading a generally aimless existence, until he meets, and falls in love with, the beautiful Rajeshwari.

From the opening titles, in which we see a close-up of the Union flag as the 'Mars' sequence from Gustav Holst's Planets Suite plays, it is obvious that director Vidhu Vinod Chopra has grand plans and intends to tell a story on an epic scale. It's disappointing, therefore, that, after a promising start, he feels it necessary to develop the lover's romantic relationship via a series of soppy song-and-dance numbers that seem to turn up with excruciating regularity. Apparently, Hindi audiences insist on these musical interludes in their films, and so they are possibly included for commercial reasons but, as they are almost wholly superfluous to the plot and do nothing but bring the film to a grinding halt, they are possibly cinema's best argument for judicious editing for an overseas market. The running time of this movie would probably come down to a manageable 105 minutes instead of the bloated 145 minute version that currently exists. The very idea probably amounts to sacrilege in the eyes of the home audience and I'm not in favour of censorship but, hey, skillful editing (together with directorial talent – which Chopra has in abundance) is the core of good movie-making. If nothing else, these musical numbers sit uneasily with the main thrust of the storyline, and nobody in the western world will feel comfortable rooting for a leading man who keeps prancing around like a camp dancer at the drop of a foppish hat.

Thankfully, once Chopra has finally established the strength of the relationship between Naren and Rajeshwari, the story largely eschews musical asides in order to concentrate on the rebels struggle to assassinate the visiting general and things improve considerably. Plot twists come thick and fast, and help build up expectations as we approach a climax that, while both overlong and somewhat overwrought, doesn't disappointment.

Overall, this movie is worth watching despite its bum-numbing length: Chopra shows a sure hand when directing large crowd scenes; he captures some beautiful images on the screen, handles the sprawling plot with assurance, and even manages to transform that camp foppish dancer into a hero worth rooting for by the film's finale. Only the movies' depiction of the British, symbolised by the ridiculously over-the-top sadistic General " 'ang 'im" Douglas (Brian Glover of all people!) who seems intent on lynching or shooting any Indian unlucky enough to come within ten yards of him, leaves a sour taste. No doubt we Brits were harsh rulers, but the point could have been made more forcefully by refraining from turning the one British character into a laughable caricature of a sadistic military bully. Glover seems to realise this, and plays his part with relish, deliberately, one suspects, going overboard in his depiction, while reining in his performance enough to avoid spoiling the film's final sequence.

4 out of 13 people found the following review useful:
Sensationalist drama. Not much substance., 21 January 2006

Author: (sgoswami) from United States

1942: A Love Story, stays unfaithful to its name. Its neither a love story, nor does it contain the factual underpinnings surrounding the events of 1942. But I digress. If those were the only two shortcomings (albeit major) of the movie, it would be bearable. Reality, however, sets in. After watching this sensationalist and inane film, I must confess: I've had more fun watching grass grow on my lawn. And my lawn is dead.

The film attempts to draw you in to its hero, Narendra Singh (played by Anil Kapoor), the son of a wealthy lord of the era, Diwan Hari Singh, who also happens to be an obtuse sycophant of the British Raj. True to fashion of Hindi cinema, there is (predictably) the anti-Raj, aka the freedom fighters. The daughter of one of these fighters, Rajeshwari (played by Manisha Koirala), catches the eye of Narendra, and he is smitten by her beauty. He immediately falls in love and begins his pursuit of her. Mind you, all of this happens in the first five minutes, and it only deteriorates from there.

The hero's propensity to bring calamities to those around him is befuddling (I affectionately started calling him Forrest Gump). In an attempt to portray the yearning and desire he has for his love, the film misses connecting with the audience. Instead, it portrays him as a bumbling idiot who, in a blind frenzied search for a girl he has met for only five minutes, has no hesitation in breaking promises (he states that he will not reveal the identity of the freedom fighters, yet immediately afterwords reveals their identities to his mother) and wreaking havoc (numerous times he foolishly pursues Narendra, only to further expose her identity) on those around him.

Furthermore, much like the hero, the other characters in the film lack dimension and also fail to connect with the audience. In a desperate attempt to draw the film together and make some coherent sense of the madness, sensationalism is thrown into the mixture. And not just any sensationalism, but "Jai Hind" at that. What better way to prey on the emotions of a stupefied audience than to bring in a revered chant of the freedom fighters of the era. The sum of its tattered pieces do not add up to a congruous and solid movie. The plot line is unbelievably predictable, and the acting sub par, sans for Manisha Koirala, who churns out a half-decent tear during the final scene. Sadly, the audience won't shed a drop when this waste of celluloid hits the can. In reality, this movie is more akin to the tripe you find at the butcher's block in Albertsons.

So, should you watch this film? If for some reason there is an extra three hours in your life that is expendable, by all means, go for it. But if you're looking for a movie that has coherency and can grip its audience, you'd be better off looking out your window and at the lawn.

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