Aa ab Laut Chalen (1999)

Its not Excellent however its a Good Movie, Different from a typical Bollywood Movie, A Good Family Entertainer, and also things to be learn, but for people who want ACTION sequences when not required, some HOT, SPICY scenes just for the heck of it, this movie will be a disappointment. Location and the cast were awesome, and the sets made in R.K. studio which were the NY Apartments were really a great job. The part which i liked was When Rohan is forced to reside with Indian cab drivers who take him in as a member of their family. The plot thickens when Rohan meets Pooja, a stunning Indian girl who is in the same predicament as he is and Loveleen, a spoiled rich kid with money to throw at Rohan's direction. The Story seemed to be losing Track sometimes however not so disappointing. Just to wrap up A GOOD MOVIE, WITH A MORAL.

I watched this as an Aishwarya fan. I think it's her 4th movie, so it's interesting for me to see her when she was "younger"--although that's only a few years ago! She looked really skinny--too skinny! In a couple of the songs, she does not even dance--what was the director thinking? That we don't want to see Aishwarya?? This was probably the worst Indian film I have seen in terms of the subtitles. First, they were in white letters, so they were hard to read. Second, they were often very stilted English--quite often humorous without intending to be. Third, sometimes they repeated the subtitles, sometimes they put on a long subtitle for .1 of a second. Fourth, sometimes they were just nonsense--A great example is when they go to the "Grapp Family Lodge" towards the end of the movie. Of course it's really the "Trapp Family Lodge" in New Hampshire, and yes, it's the lodge owned by the Trapp Family who were the subject of "The Sound of Music." I have a feeling all that was lost on the director--it would have been a great opportunity to have a song set in the hills above Salzburg, where Julie Andrews sang. It would have added a nice touch of humor. But no. Oh well, a great opportunity lost. Why not get a native Engish speaker to proofread the subtitles? Leaving the stereotypes aside, which the other reviewers have mentioned, I was more upset at the heavy-handed "lessons" in the movie. Yes, I have seen this in other Indian movies too, but not as many and not as awkwardly done. There was the "Pakistanis are really good Indians too" lesson, the "family is more important than money" lesson, the "women are more than tokens in the marriage market" lesson, the "forgive those as you wish to be forgiven" lesson, etc. etc.--every five minutes, and no subtlety at all. A movie can have a message, but when you have 35 different messages...well, it doesn't work. By the way, how about a lesson on illegal immigrants working on a tourist visa? To Indians sitting in India thinking they can just get off the plane on a tourist visa and start driving a cab or work at Dunkin' Donuts, forget it. You can't.Reality checks: New Jersey boardwalk as an exotic, fun location? Please. Are there no hotels/rooms in New York? --why did Akshay and Aishwarya have no choice but to move in with the taxi drivers? Is India that disorganized that a millionaire would find it impossible to find the wife he left behind? And of course all the coincidences would make Dickens blush.So, as a movie, pretty bad. As a showcase for a young (26?) Aishwarya, OK.

The story line goes thusly :Abroad ! the term itself has a kind of honey-money reminding effect! Indian men are ready to wash dishes and be a waiter, drive cabs, sweep the Airport premises to keep it clean …all this just to be in a foreign land as they get paid in dollars - which when converted to Indian currency makes him a rich and sought after groom in India.Indian parents , of daughters especially, forget everything else when they see that a man is having a bank balance good enough to support their daughter for the rest of her life ! This happens probably in the following circumstances : 1. parents are illiterate and do not believe/ understand / know that literacy can help. So they never educated their daughter as its an age old adage that a woman is but a machine to continue with the progeny of whichever family she weds – be it Pandavs or Kauravs ! 2. Both parents along with children are foreign crazy….some habits die hard – or maybe genetically transmitted . Have you noticed dear Indians…. whenever there is a movie showing struggle for independence, it is usually shown that one or two British officers are commanding and giving orders to their servants- the Indian subordinates – working as soldiers – and in fact they are the ones – Indians ie, who used to charge the freedom fighters (FF) with laathis and even gunned them down.now please do not give me examples of 2-3 such soldiers out of 500-1000 soldiers working as spies to the FF – I am talking about majority – Might is right …? Is'nt it? – here I would in fact like to appreciate the British officers to train the otherwise sluggish Indians and made them work…for them of course ! what motivation they must have had ..by the virtue of which they counseled their Indian soldiers (ie. working under their wing) – to kill the Indian FF.3. Now dear Indian they must have also got married….what does one do after marriage – but of course ! no points for that….they give birth to a baby !- the reason why people get married in the first place ! – to make a woman complete! – she ..it seems is incomplete without the experience of a baby crying at midnight for milk or nappy change …- anyways suffice to say that even their generation has grown – and probably they are the ones who indulge in all the things which cause general ruckus and unrest in the country – like – boozing, mid-night partying, womanizing – collecting wine, wealth and woman in their database – not bothering about anything else – just following the drain culture and copying the foreigners in every possible way….as taught to them by their forefathers ! Select few might not be so..the ones who used to be spies to the FF… 4. Continuing with the circumstances which cause the Indian parents wed their daughters with foreign based men …..in spite of several told and untold miseries such marriages bring about ! – Basically lack of knowledge and education and also probably lots of greed for money – which can buy one new expensive dresses and jewelry …another set of necessities required to make a woman complete…or look good enough in order to turn on the husband who will eventually part with his secretions (refer movie "Look who is talking too" title sequence - where the fertilization is shown in 3-d animation …made the sperms look like devils …traveling through the fallopian tube & later only one succeed in invading the wall of the ovum ) and give the greatest opportunity to a Woman – motherhood !..to be later kicked by them,as shown in Bagbaan… Anyways story of Aa ab laut chalen – So the hero wants to make quick easy money – gets hooked on to a rich girl – who has shown a lot of her skin , cleavage etc.- who boozes and drinks – dances with other boys and treat him as dirt – but greed keeps him clinging to her.In the meanwhile Aishwarya (heroine) also lands up in foreign – she had also come to try her luck in marriage – the only vital reason of human birth, meets him and falls in love with him ! He turns her down as is has a better deal in hand – a rich, well endowed, beautiful , seductress looking woman for whom all men yearn ! Ash, in order to win his heart tries to look voluptuous and seductress by wearing skimpy outfits as suggested to her by Indian cab drivers, and others of their category, but it does not work ...she sings thusly: dear dear turn around your sight – your heart is here – where else are you looking ! …its night there – its only here (with me) that's broad daylight) Heart broken she joins as a nurse to a multi billionaire who is Akshaya's (hero's) actual father actually – had humped his mother and later had settled down in foreign and was living happily ever after with wife and child. His mother , who was a pure, chaste, innocent & religious Indian woman kept the child – which she had conceived out of wedlock ( a momentary lapse had made her forget totally about chastity, purity, innocence and religion btw.).

Aa Ab Laut Chale is one of the most under appreciated films of the 1990's. The film really deserved to do much better business than it did, something I would attribute to some very poor marketing and release timing. Anyhow the film itself is quite entertaining and although as most Bollywood films it is bereft with cliches and an oft presented story line, it still succeeds in keeping the viewer interested and entertained. Rishi Kapoor in his directorial debut has done quite a competent job and I give him credit for not letting the film from becoming overly melodramatic as most such films from Bollywood. Almost all in the cast do a pretty competent job, although no one really stands out as brilliant. The music is quite good grows on you the more you listen to it. Rajesh Khanna in a non publicized 'sort of comeback' role, performs well but is hampered by a limited role. All in all it is one of the really better films of 1999.