Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
Shah Rukh Khan | ... | Kishanlal / Ghost | |
Rani Mukerji | ... | Lachchi | |
Anupam Kher | ... | Bhanwarlal | |
Naseeruddin Shah | ... | Male Puppet (voice) | |
Ratna Pathak Shah | ... | Female Puppet (voice) (as Ratna Pathak) | |
Amitabh Bachchan | ... | The Shepherd (Special Appearance) | |
Sunil Shetty | ... | Sunderlal (Special Appearance) | |
Juhi Chawla | ... | Gajrobai | |
Dilip Prabhavalkar | ... | Kanwarlal | |
Neena Kulkarni | ... | Mrs. Bhanwarlal | |
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Padma Rani | ... | Bhanwarlal's aunt |
Sharvari Jamenis | |||
Rajpal Yadav | ... | Bhoja | |
Aditi Govitrikar | ... | Kamli | |
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Palak Jain |
Parsimonious Bhanwarlal is a Bania (businessman) who lives in Navalgarh, Rajasthan, along with his wife; his sons Sunderlal and Kishanlal; Sunderlal is married to Gajrobai and has a son. During the annual camel race, Sunderlal loses the race to the Thakur and out of shame leaves home, never to return. Now Kishanlal has come of age and is married to Lachchi. But on the very next day of the marriage, he must leave for Jamnagar to expand business, and can return only after 5 years. A tearful Lachchi bids him goodbye, but to her pleasant surprise he returns within a few days, and informs his dad that he met a holy sage who had instructed him to return as he will find five gold coins every morning. Pleased with this, Bhanwarlal does not object to Kishanlal's return. After four years, it is now time for the camel race again, and this time Bhanwarlal's camel wins, much to the chagrin of the Thakur who suspects witchcraft. Then Lachchi gets pregnant and on the day of the child's birth the ... Written by rAjOo (gunwanti@hotmail.com)
I came to see Pehali just to see two of my favourite actors displaying their wonderful talents on the screen. At the same token, i wished that the slightly strange storyline wouldn't falter anywhere. It didn't, but really, the film wasn't as good as it looked.
The story is different no doubt, but there wasn't any serious core to it naturally (its about the 'eternal love story' of a ghost!). This kind of prevented me from taking the film seriously.However, a very nice set design and simply superb colours made the film not entirely a joke.
The cast, as expected, was superb. Shah Rukh brought his unique and mature attitude to the screen once again and Rani just looked amazing. Anupum Kher was also excellent and performed the most subtle comic role i have ever seen in Hindi cinema. This was really what made the film enjoyable. The special appearances were also much appreciated; Juhi making a now rare appearance in mainstream films! The music is great, and Shah Rukh is successful in bringing another cinematic surprise to the silver screen. All in all, the film is fun to watch, although I feel 'Parineeta' was much better. But finally, Hindi films are starting to feel more original!