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Aa Ab Laut Chalen (1999) More at IMDbPro »

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10 out of 11 people found the following comment useful :-
An entertaining family film., 23 February 2002
8/10
Author: Sanjay

Aa Ab Laut Chale is one of the most under appreciated films of the 1990's. The film really deserved to do much better business than it did, something I would attribute to some very poor marketing and release timing. Anyhow the film itself is quite entertaining and although as most Bollywood films it is bereft with cliches and an oft presented story line, it still succeeds in keeping the viewer interested and entertained. Rishi Kapoor in his directorial debut has done quite a competent job and I give him credit for not letting the film from becoming overly melodramatic as most such films from Bollywood. Almost all in the cast do a pretty competent job, although no one really stands out as brilliant. The music is quite good grows on you the more you listen to it. Rajesh Khanna in a non publicized 'sort of comeback' role, performs well but is hampered by a limited role. All in all it is one of the really better films of 1999.

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4 out of 5 people found the following comment useful :-
not bad for an akshay-starrer...., 19 March 1999
8/10
Author: Arjun (nancake@yahoo.com) from somewhere

This was actually a suprisingly good film. Not astoundingly original, but compared to the usual formulaic trash that succeeds in north india this had a few new ideas. The main plus points are the visuals - aishwarya is stunning and the shooting localities are breathtaking. Songs aren't bad either - brilliantly picturized, especially 'Meri dil tera deewana'.

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3 out of 4 people found the following comment useful :-
Other than Aishwarya, so what?, 4 January 2006
4/10
Author: mamlukman from United States

I watched this as an Aishwarya fan. I think it's her 4th movie, so it's interesting for me to see her when she was "younger"--although that's only a few years ago! She looked really skinny--too skinny! In a couple of the songs, she does not even dance--what was the director thinking? That we don't want to see Aishwarya?? This was probably the worst Indian film I have seen in terms of the subtitles. First, they were in white letters, so they were hard to read. Second, they were often very stilted English--quite often humorous without intending to be. Third, sometimes they repeated the subtitles, sometimes they put on a long subtitle for .1 of a second. Fourth, sometimes they were just nonsense--A great example is when they go to the "Grapp Family Lodge" towards the end of the movie. Of course it's really the "Trapp Family Lodge" in New Hampshire, and yes, it's the lodge owned by the Trapp Family who were the subject of "The Sound of Music." I have a feeling all that was lost on the director--it would have been a great opportunity to have a song set in the hills above Salzburg, where Julie Andrews sang. It would have added a nice touch of humor. But no. Oh well, a great opportunity lost. Why not get a native Engish speaker to proofread the subtitles? Leaving the stereotypes aside, which the other reviewers have mentioned, I was more upset at the heavy-handed "lessons" in the movie. Yes, I have seen this in other Indian movies too, but not as many and not as awkwardly done. There was the "Pakistanis are really good Indians too" lesson, the "family is more important than money" lesson, the "women are more than tokens in the marriage market" lesson, the "forgive those as you wish to be forgiven" lesson, etc. etc.--every five minutes, and no subtlety at all. A movie can have a message, but when you have 35 different messages...well, it doesn't work. By the way, how about a lesson on illegal immigrants working on a tourist visa? To Indians sitting in India thinking they can just get off the plane on a tourist visa and start driving a cab or work at Dunkin' Donuts, forget it. You can't.

Reality checks: New Jersey boardwalk as an exotic, fun location? Please. Are there no hotels/rooms in New York? --why did Akshay and Aishwarya have no choice but to move in with the taxi drivers? Is India that disorganized that a millionaire would find it impossible to find the wife he left behind? And of course all the coincidences would make Dickens blush.

So, as a movie, pretty bad. As a showcase for a young (26?) Aishwarya, OK.

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1 out of 1 people found the following comment useful :-
Return of Rajesh Khanna, 6 June 2008
10/10
Author: alokc from India

Rishi Kapoor's directorial debut brings for the first time on RK films banner Super Star Rajesh Khanna. This movie was released after a five year exile by Rajesh Khanna. He appears in the movie as a character actor who shoulders the second half and climax of the movie. The movie has Vinod Khanna's son as the lead hero who is playing Rajesh Khanna's son who like his father Rajesh ( Balraj) runs away from his motherland to make money. He makes emotional blunders, cannot mix with the culture abroad, gets cultural shock and then mends his ways. He then meets his estranged father. The father and son then return to their home land. A good clean movie by Rishi Kapoor which should have done better if the editing could have been made crisp and some songs deleted to put in some action sequence which would have catered to the masses. Over all a good movie, good music, good location, good acting and over all a performance which cannot go unnoticed Rajesh Khanna, who plays his role as if he had never gone away. Let us hope we see him more often.

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1 out of 1 people found the following comment useful :-
A good tale about the immigrant experience..., 11 March 2006
10/10
Author: Sherazade from United States

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

There are several plots within this film so let me just tell you the main one. Aishwarya Rai plays a young Indian woman who comes to NYC from India only to find out that her brother has sent for her with the intention of marrying her off to his boss to get promotions and incentives at work. Terrified, she runs off and is rescued but a cab driver (Played by Akshaye Khanna) who also came from India only to be disillusioned upon his arrival. He takes her to Queens where the men who took him in during the time of his crisis accept her as a sister and she begins to live with them and take care of them. Along the way, she falls in love with her rescuer but he has plans to marry his current girlfriend with the hopes of getting a green-card out of it. She (Rai) takes it upon herself to make sure that he doesn't go down the wrong path with this but his brutal shunning of her sends her running off to seek shelter in the home of her employer in New Jersey. Great songs and locations round out this utterly blissful breeze of a film. A Must see for all! It's almost perfect.

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2 out of 3 people found the following comment useful :-
It rouses emotions straight from the heart, 20 March 2006
6/10
Author: Hurdy_Gurdy_Man from Pune , India

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

Rishi Kapoor does not disappoint on his debut . AA AB LAUT CHALEN is your average masala movie (but no heavy-duty action sequences) and it rouses the viewers' emotions about his/her parents , friends , the futility of deserting your loved ones for money and most importantly , your country , your motherland . This is the movie's major success point .

Rohan Khanna (Akshaye Khanna) is a jobless graduate living in Delhi with his widowed mother (Maushumi Chatterji) and grandfather (Alok Nath) . His father Balraj Khanna (Rajesh Khanna) had perished in an accident many years ago . One day Rohan meets his USA-returned friend Ranjeet Kapoor (Jatin Sial) who coaxes Rohan to fly to USA and search for a lucrative job there . So Rohan leaves for New York .

In New York he finds shelter with Iqbal (Jaspal Bhatti) and Sardar (Kader Khan) . Rohan becomes a cabbie to earn a living . During one of his trips he meets Pooja (Aishwarya Rai) who has been abandoned by her brother . Rohan brings Pooja to his home .

Pooja falls in love with Rohan but Rohan wants to make money and hence wants to marry a rich NRI (Non-Resident Indian) girl and secure American citizenship . Opportunity arrives in the form of Loveleen (Suman Ranganathan) , a spoilt rich girl , whom Rohan decides to woo and marry . When his friends oppose his decision , Rohan leaves their home .

Later there is another subplot when Balraj Khanna is reintroduced in the script . Turns out that he wasn't dead but ran away to USA and became very rich . Will Rohan ever realize his futile ambitions and return to Pooja ? Will Pooja forgive him ? Will Rohan forgive his father when they come face to face ? Watch AALC to know .

Akshaye Khanna is natural to the core . His weeping is very believable , unlike that of Rajesh Khanna who merely opens and closes his mouth repeatedly and thinks he is weeping ! Aishwarya looks gorgeous as usual and gives a spirited performance . Everyone else , from Kader Khan to Paresh Rawal (who is a cop on weekdays and a pundit on weekends) lends able support . The only blot is Rajesh Khanna (a big eyesore) .

GOOFS/SPOILERS : It is unpalatable that Rajesh Khanna asks Aishwarya to marry his other son (Aditya Hitkari) and takes her agreement for granted . Also , the swiftness and ease with which Maushumi Chatterji forgives her husband .

Nadeem-Shravan's music is functional except for the title track . "Yeh Kaisi Mulaqat Hai" was unnecessary in the script . Sameer Arya's camera-work is flawless . Rajiv Kapoor has brutally put his editor's scissors to use but it helps to shorten the movie's length . Overall AALC is a good watch for emotion-lovers .

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Aa ab Laut Chalen, 28 August 2007
10/10
Author: girish-cosmos from India

Its not Excellent however its a Good Movie, Different from a typical Bollywood Movie, A Good Family Entertainer, and also things to be learn, but for people who want ACTION sequences when not required, some HOT, SPICY scenes just for the heck of it, this movie will be a disappointment. Location and the cast were awesome, and the sets made in R.K. studio which were the NY Apartments were really a great job. The part which i liked was When Rohan is forced to reside with Indian cab drivers who take him in as a member of their family. The plot thickens when Rohan meets Pooja, a stunning Indian girl who is in the same predicament as he is and Loveleen, a spoiled rich kid with money to throw at Rohan's direction. The Story seemed to be losing Track sometimes however not so disappointing. Just to wrap up A GOOD MOVIE, WITH A MORAL.

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0 out of 1 people found the following comment useful :-
Why this bias?, 27 March 2009
4/10
Author: silvan-desouza from India

Why do filmmakers like Subhash Ghai show Indians as good people and NY people as bad people? Was a big question in my mind now even Rishi Kapoor feels the same in AALC which is very bad

I mean please the superficial way of showing America puts people off and in today's overseas audiences dominating times this isn't good

The first half moves in different lanes and the love triangle is done to death

and the second half gets better a bit Akshaye's realization is well handled and then the film ends well but the sudden change of the other son is too much

They are many problems in the film like the first half which moves in different lanes and not proper treatment is given to most of it

Rishi Kapoor directs some dramatic scenes well but he needs to improve his storytelling, overall a decent debut by one of the finest actors as a director Music is okay

Akshaye Khanna shines in his role, He was always a good actor but signed bad films those days Barring his receding hairstyle he leaves a huge impact as an actor Aishwarya is plastic as ever Rajesh Khanna is okay Kader Khan and Jaspal Bhati are good Satish Kaushik is funny Paresh Rawal is good

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2 out of 5 people found the following comment useful :-
Cliched family entertainer, 5 February 1999
6/10
Author: DudeE from Dubai,UAE

This movie follows the previously tested theme - western society is "badly influencing" our traditional Indian culture.

The story picks up pace once Akshaye goes to USA,but fails to live to one's expectations in the last couple of reels.

Fantastic cinematography of New York & Perth, Australia. For once Ash Rai attempts to "act". NRI (Suman Raganathan) is a stunner!! Rajesh Khanna in his comeback role is heavily "made-up". Paresh Rawal is surprisingly "different". The music is a let-down, accept for the title track.

All in all, thanks to Rishi & RK banner for attempting a family entertainer.

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0 out of 2 people found the following comment useful :-
Passable Fare, 24 January 1999
6/10
Author: anonymous from Mumbai,India

The movie as a whole was the standard fare with the story-line being as predictable as most India movies. I feel Akshaye Khanna's talent is being wasted by doing these kind of movies. He needs more intense role to prove to the audience that he can act and he not just there for his looks. Take for example the role in BORDER. That really was a demanding role as compared to the other run-of the-mill movies he is doing presently. I wish him all the best for the future.

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