Woh Lamhe (that moment) is about an actress who is often the subject of controversy and her inevitable downward spiral. Sana Azim approaches an acclaimed (by Time magazine, even) Bollywood movie director who has badmouthed her on numerous occasions and as a result of this, the paths of the controversial and prideful actress and the brutally honest director cross until he sees that she may not be as shallow as he initially believed.
I love how Sana throws it all on the line once her identity is threatened by Aditya. She herself hates the fake life she lives, and it's only when she finds someone who agrees with her, even if he's antagonizing her, that she feels like she can possibly give it up. I found it a little strange how Aditya considered her more fake than other actresses, though. I'm not sure why it was her that he found especially fake. Anyway, I also found it interesting how Sana apparently only made it in the industry thanks to the help of a cruel rich director who uses her in more ways than one. It's easy to hate him, and he isn't too much of a caricature to believe. One thing that bothered me was the rape scene. Not the scene itself, as it was executed surprisingly believably for Bollywood, but the fact that it was never addressed afterward. Sana doesn't show any signs that rape was more traumatic than, say, being slapped or beaten up. Considering how disturbing the scene is, I found that very odd.
Anyway, I found many scenes in the movie clever and enjoyable. I liked the first exchange between Sana and Aditya, where Aditya actually calls her ugly, and Sana asks his friend if he thinks she's ugly and he says no. She then says that his opinion isn't necessarily right because his friend disagrees with him, and Aditya counters this by saying that most people are blind, etc. Anyway, their verbal sparring is intense and it's captivating seeing their relationship evolve to feeling sympathy and even love for one another. I found the dialogue relating moments in life to a sand castle that's knocked down on the beach touching.
Then there's the darker aspects of the film that touch on mental illness, specifically paranoid schizophrenia. This is a touchy subject that could have been executed horribly, but I felt the movie portrayed the disorder in a decent way, at least. I liked how they had her hallucination be of an old roommate who was 'jealous' of her fame. Many of these sequences were a bit creepy and you can understand how she would be so terrified and find it incredibly difficult to trust anyone or anything anymore.
Kangana Ranaut is a great actress who I think is especially good when it comes to more quiet and intense scenes. Shiny Ahuja mostly has one expression in the film, but aside from that, he portrays emotion more believably than the average Bollywood actor. I feel that he and Kangana have a lot of chemistry and that makes up for any poor acting.
The songs fit into the movie very well and are very easy on the ears. 'Kya Mujhe Pyaar Hai's tune was lifted from a song called 'Tak Bisakah' by the Indonesian band Peter Pan, and who knows if the lyrics are original. Either way, the music video is very nice. Also liked the song 'Chal Chale'.
I read that this movie is based on Parveen Babi's life, and if that's the case, it certainly made me want to watch some of her films. Woh Lamhe is an angst-filled roller coaster ride that is one of the better Bollywood films from recent years.
I love how Sana throws it all on the line once her identity is threatened by Aditya. She herself hates the fake life she lives, and it's only when she finds someone who agrees with her, even if he's antagonizing her, that she feels like she can possibly give it up. I found it a little strange how Aditya considered her more fake than other actresses, though. I'm not sure why it was her that he found especially fake. Anyway, I also found it interesting how Sana apparently only made it in the industry thanks to the help of a cruel rich director who uses her in more ways than one. It's easy to hate him, and he isn't too much of a caricature to believe. One thing that bothered me was the rape scene. Not the scene itself, as it was executed surprisingly believably for Bollywood, but the fact that it was never addressed afterward. Sana doesn't show any signs that rape was more traumatic than, say, being slapped or beaten up. Considering how disturbing the scene is, I found that very odd.
Anyway, I found many scenes in the movie clever and enjoyable. I liked the first exchange between Sana and Aditya, where Aditya actually calls her ugly, and Sana asks his friend if he thinks she's ugly and he says no. She then says that his opinion isn't necessarily right because his friend disagrees with him, and Aditya counters this by saying that most people are blind, etc. Anyway, their verbal sparring is intense and it's captivating seeing their relationship evolve to feeling sympathy and even love for one another. I found the dialogue relating moments in life to a sand castle that's knocked down on the beach touching.
Then there's the darker aspects of the film that touch on mental illness, specifically paranoid schizophrenia. This is a touchy subject that could have been executed horribly, but I felt the movie portrayed the disorder in a decent way, at least. I liked how they had her hallucination be of an old roommate who was 'jealous' of her fame. Many of these sequences were a bit creepy and you can understand how she would be so terrified and find it incredibly difficult to trust anyone or anything anymore.
Kangana Ranaut is a great actress who I think is especially good when it comes to more quiet and intense scenes. Shiny Ahuja mostly has one expression in the film, but aside from that, he portrays emotion more believably than the average Bollywood actor. I feel that he and Kangana have a lot of chemistry and that makes up for any poor acting.
The songs fit into the movie very well and are very easy on the ears. 'Kya Mujhe Pyaar Hai's tune was lifted from a song called 'Tak Bisakah' by the Indonesian band Peter Pan, and who knows if the lyrics are original. Either way, the music video is very nice. Also liked the song 'Chal Chale'.
I read that this movie is based on Parveen Babi's life, and if that's the case, it certainly made me want to watch some of her films. Woh Lamhe is an angst-filled roller coaster ride that is one of the better Bollywood films from recent years.