Armaan (2003)

Director:

Honey Irani

Writers:

Javed Akhtar (dialogue)
Javed Akhtar (screenplay)

Release Date:

16 May 2003 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Family | Romance

Tagline:

Love... Ambition... Desire...

Plot:

Dr. Siddharth Sinha is a dedicated selfless doctor who dreams of building a state-of-the-art hospital...

Plot Keywords:

Hospital | Doctor | Marriage | Patient | Heart Attack

Awards:

3 nominations

Cast

Amitabh Bachchan	...	Dr. Siddharth Sinha
Anil Kapoor	...	Dr. Akash Sinha
Preity Zinta	...	Sonia Kapoor
Gracy Singh	...	Dr. Neha Mathur
Aamir Bashir	...	Dr. Sanjay
Randhir Kapoor	...	Gulshan Kapoor
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Arun Bali
Anjula Bedi
Chandan Bisht
Preeti Dayal
Vallabh Gada
Mangala Kenkre
Ahmed Khan
Rajiv Kumar
Ram Bahadur Renu
Suhita Thatte
Prithvi Zutshi

Runtime:

UK:158 min

Country:

India

Language:

Hindi

Color:

Color

Certification:

India:U | UK:U

Company:

Aarti Enterprises

Trivia:

Directional debut for Honey Irani.

Goofs:

Audio/visual unsynchronized: Ventilator sounds can be heard throughout the subdural procedure but the patient is not intubated

Movie Connections:

References Dil Apna Aur Preet Parai (1960)

Brilliant subtlety marks this first-time director's effort

I must admit that after seeing this film the first time a couple of weeks ago I was less than impressed. Bachchan, of course, was excellent, but I felt that movie was missing something, or maybe it was trying to hard to be something else, or perhaps it was Preity Zinta's villainous departure from her previous girl-next-door roles.....I wasn't sure.....

But, upon watching it a second time yesterday, the film's brilliant subtlety exploded on the screen. It was all there: wonderful dialogues and performances from Bachchan, Kapoor, Singh (and -- yes - Zinta: she's a little over-the-top in her performance, but in the end the effect works [the character she creates truly is weird/creepy]); a remarkably restrained and appropriate camera style from Verman (including his interesting use of 180-degree-arc two-shots during key dialogues); outstanding sound recording and perspective matching from Kamte and Dev; brilliant music and choreography (sans the chorus lines); and some excellent writing -- particularly the development of key thematic parallels and negations.

For example, Irani masterfully, yet subtly, contrasts the two dominant child-parent relationships -- Soniya-Gulshan and Akash-Siddharth -- to comment quietly on the impact of western materialism on the values of successful Indians living abroad. The theme is reinforced by the masterfully directed wedding scene -- starkly devoid of the colorful mise-en-scene, music, and traditional practices that are picturized in typical Hindi film weddings -- in essence emphasizing the alien(ated) character of the proposed relationship. The effect is reminiscent of Subhash Ghai's Pardes (1997), but without the grandstanding that dominates the earlier film. Additionally, Irani's selection of neurosurgery as Akash's profession provides an excellent metaphor for the exploration of the film's climatic theme, which --without giving too much away -- involves the resolution of a key moral dilemma.

All-in-all, Irani demonstrates remarkable restraint and deftness in her directorial debut. The film's naturalistic look belies the subtle thematic complexities that inform the storyline. Watch this film more than once -- you might be surprised!