Taal

Early in the film, Akshaye Khanna is shown basically stalking Aishwaria Rai and secretly taking photos of her while she's bathing and undressing, and then hangs all the photos on his wall and sits there and looks at them. So I thought this movie was going to be a "psycho-stalking" movie. But then my wife explained to me that in Indian movies, the standard way of developing a romantic story is to show the man stalking the woman and obsessing over her in a fashion which might, in other cultures, be considered criminal behavior. Armed with this new found knowledge, I was able to enjoy the movie. The music of A.R. Rahman, who appears to carry the burden of creating the music for every one of the 400 movies to come out of Bombay every year, is catchy and the stars look good.

The plot of this film is the usual bollywood fare, poor girl, rich boy, disapproving family. The acting and the script are the usual yada yada. So what makes this movie incredible? It is A MIND BLOWING AUDIO/VISUAL TREAT! At the end of the movie, I was frozen! I could only exhale a modest "WOW". Someone pulled out all the stops for choreography, costuming, scene dressing and location! Your eyes and ears will thank you! The overwhelming beauty of this film together with the fantastic rendering of songs makes you want to get up and dance. Scene after scene make you want to gasp. I highly recommend it. Only Aishwarya Rai could have done this, her eternal beauty with the backdrop of India are the show stoppers. Must see!

My first introduction to a Hindi movie in the cinema and it certainly won't be my last. This film is lush in its use of colour, music, location and good acting. The cinematography is breathtaking in many areas not least being a wonderful tracking/crane shot over treetops apparently made without the use of a helicopter(the leaves are perfectly still). The story is predictable but welcome and the musical segments hold your attention like a vice. The use of Dolby surround is perfect and the actors make leaving your seat impossible. Even if you don't speak Hindi (as I don't) this movie is well worth the price of admission.

What the heck is a digital floppy camera - and where did they get one with as high a resolution as in the movie? One of the many mysteries of life.

Taal is an average movie. With slightly above average music in the generic mould of A R Rahman.

Subhash Ghai's extensive use of Coke jars throughout the movie, and the hotchpotch of scenes and plotlines stolen from other Hindi movies makes for jarring viewing.

Some very strange things go on in the movie, starting with the casting. Aishwarya Rai, while made of plastic, is beautiful, but rustic she is not. 'Dehati' women (and my knowledge of them may be flawed) seldom sport plucked eyebrows, immaculately waxed legs and shaved armpits. Though of course the alternative would mean audiences would have little to whistle at, so perhaps it is best to let that pass.

Akshaye Khanna's acting seems to consist of making weird faces - an absolute ham, if there ever was one. I'm saddened to see a person of Alok Nath's acting talent reduced to roles such as this. One can expect little else from Amrish Puri, who plays his stock-in-trade with all the same expressions that we have come to live from other brainless flicks. 'Mogambo' all over again.

The movie itself boasts of pathetic lyrics (where do they get the inspiration for this tripe?). Subhash Ghai's guest appearance jars more than an ST bus on the road to Pune.

The only saving grace is Anil Kapoor's acting. Akshaye Kumar would do well to take lessons from him - just the right amount of hamming for the most part (although the sentimental drivel being pushed across as acting by the others seems to affect him too in the end).

To summarize: this movie should never have been made. Take a few scenes from Hum Aapke Hain Koun, Dilwale Dulhaniya and Bombay and paste them together instead. Not that the result would be any better.

Also, the concept of using the Coke bottle for indirect kisses is lifted from Salman Rushdie's book, 'The Moor's Last Sigh.'

The problem is, audiences in India have become so used to worse films that rotten pig-kidneys like this movie become hits and the standards stay low all the time.

It's an okay Bollywood flick. Cliché story line. What sets it apart from other is the music. After almost 18 years it still one of the master class of a musical that Bollywood ever produced. A R Rahman was at his best. The lyric and sound engineering was almost unparalleled to other Hindi movies.