Taal (1999)

This is a long film with a very clichéd plot (rich boy loves poor girl but snooty parents object). The only reason to see this film is some decent acting by Amrish Puri and Akshaye Khanna, as well as some sweet songs, scored by AR Rehman. The lovely Aishwarya Rai is beautifully choreographed dancing to melodious tracks. She is average in this film as far as acting is concerned, but her dancing skills are flawless. Anil Kapoor overacts his way as the third lead, a hyperactive music producer who's obsessed with money and success. Worth a watch on television or DVD.Overall 6/10

I liked this movie a lot, but the first hour drags and is pretty darn silly. When the story moves to Bombay it takes off, and there's hardly a letup in interest and music video dazzlement until a rather slow and awkward conclusion. The female lead is astonishingly beautiful, I could stare at her for hours, not unlike the male lead's behavior in the first hour or so. (I'm not sure if I'm getting close to spoilers here, so I've checked the option just to be safe).Anil Kapoor is a wonderful supporting character, though his "change of heart" seems a bit weak. But it's the music, singing, and dancing that makes this movie work. Two quibbles, though: first, the choreography of the "chorus line" or backup dancers was very boring and routine except for a few gymnastic feats; second, when the female lead and her father stumble into the middle of a musical number, the editing got pretty annoying, giving you a constant flip-flop between the performance and "reaction shots" of the two characters. I understand that this was supposed to be a significant moment for them, but there should have been a smoother way to "sell" this without chopping the performance into half-second "takes." I've only seen about four Bollywood films, so I can't say too much about how this compares. Certainly you could see a lot of money on the screen in sets, costumes, and stage effects; that was impressive.I watch these films for the music, dancing, and beautiful women, and this film has these in abundance. Good.Alan Nicoll

a fresh feel, a fresh look, a fresh conceptTaal is a great movie. Great story, great performances, great songs and great look & feel. It should be the utopia of modern Indian cinema and it should represent what all movies should aspire to be like. This can be classed as one of the best, if not the best movie ever made by Subhash Ghai. The cast is great, including the supporting cast. The star of the show is Ashwaria, whose portrayal of a simple village girl coming to terms with love, hurt and pressures of modern life is excellent. It was probably the role that helped her to shed her Barbie doll image and her acting was very natural, full of character and spot on. It was good to see the transformation from the first half where she is the small town girl, to the second half where she is a reputable icon. Akshaye was great in his role as Manav, a determined, strong headed, love bitten guy. Akshaye always gives sound performances and never lets you down as in this case. Anil Kapoor is fab in this role. His comedic side always hit the right note (best part being the rules of life!!). Alok Nath & Amrish Puri gave good performances and really do support the movie. The story is simple, to the point and not extra bits added in. Manav sees Mansi and is smitten by her and slowly she develops feelings for him (through some fab songs like Taal and Ishq Bina) and then he goes back to the big city. She follows him and is cast aside by his family. Becoming more determined she pursues a sing job, becomes really good. Her career is helped by Vikrant who also has feelings for her and proposes to her. The climax helps to bring things together. If one was to think of something bad to say about Taal, then they will be thinking for a long, long time.

What a breath-taking movie. I loved it from start to finish. I was initially not a very big Aishwayra Rai fan, but after her performance, i have begun to re-evaluate that thought. She was excellent. The rest of the cast was good too. Akshaye Khanna was good in his role, perhaps lacking a bit of conviction, but a more than decent performance.So the plot? Rich Boy see's poor girl, falls instantly in love, and the uphill battle ensue's for love to prevail. Nothing groundbreaking, but the cinematography was brilliant, and the soundtrack is wqually beautiful, if not better. A must see!