Aankhen (2002)

Based on the heist English-talking movie from Philippines (Blind Rage – 1978) or not, this is a new experience for the Indian cinema. But unfortunately old habits die hard ! There are many problems that ruined the good material. First, it is the bore. Some scenes could have been shorter. And the songs did interrupt the pace. But aside from being part of the original formula in their movie-making, it's in the Indian blood to sing !Secondly, the second half. All of it is nearly a long joke. Since the start of the heist, things ranged between being a heist movie and a ridiculous comedy. How many times (Amitabh Bachchan) got into the operation; that was enough to suspect him. Look at the incredibly hideous make-up of the blind thieves; it's like "we're masked thieves, come and get us" !!. Confessing everything, with the names and the places of the robbers, in front of the driver they chose was beyond dumb. And the changing of the boards that tell the place and time of every single scene; was at first thrilling, then it turned into something unnecessary and pure annoying !Then, we come to the terrible matter of the last 15 minutes. The end of the drunken blind man; here's melodrama fits a damn usual Indian movie. The girl kills herself while she doesn't know the place of her brother; this is the "blind" Indian tragedy at its best ! Let alone things like : the gang is having all of their fights, screams, gunshots while the door of the villa, where the training center is, is WIDE OPEN (so the neighbors are deaf !), the situation of "switch the light off, so we're equal now" gave the worst remake ever for (Wait Until Dark – 1967) since the lights were on everywhere, and the faces of the actors were so clear, the police officer believes that the 2 living members of the gang are blind so fast, and last but not the least the too much dialog at the end when (Bachchan) is trying to prove the very members guilty gave me a real headache !Thirdly, the acting. Surely with that atmosphere the matters must grow bad. I don't think that the 3 actors who acted the blind men got any time to watch and observe actual blind men. Their performance was fake, without the small details that a role of that kind demands. In a word : they were actors who act as blind. The big B takes on a fine role, being an evil man for a rare, very rare, time which says a lot about an actor in him who wants to take chances. And although he was great in his silent scenes as angry wounded man and wily mastermind, but in his talking scenes he raised his voice a lot, and gone theatrical. Now I think this is the appropriate time to blame the director of this movie !So…songs, melodrama, naive points, too much dialog; it's the same old Indian cinema all over again and in its so weak shape as well. The ambition to be different was tangible, but it isn't enough alone. Obviously, nature beats nurture…and this movie too !

Vipul Shah inspired from a Gujarati play made this film The story was quite novel and looked nice on paper This was something quite novel in 2002 when most filmmakers went through the safe formulaThe film starts brilliantly with Amitabh's character shown as a mental character and then the entire decision to plant a robbery is fantastic The flashbacks of the other 3 characters are well handled the training sessions start well but then the writer goes slow and start showing romance, comedy more But Akki's sixth sense scenes are well handled The entire bank robbery is too childish though, the handling is damn weak The script has some flaws like the romance between Arjun and Sushmita, Sushmita forgetting her brother and also Bachchan's track gets sidelined too often The second half gets too slow paced too but then towards the climax things get better like Amitabh confronting Akshay and Arjun and then the entire Amitabh- Arjun- Akshay clash towards the climax But the climax in Hindi version is too lame and childishVipul Shah makes a nice debut and handles several scenes well but his screenplay lets him down at places Music seems forced, but some songs are nice like Phatela JebAmitabh steals the show, Having played negative roles in PARWANA, DON.etc Here the actor seems totally charged and gives one of the best performances of his career His expressions, evil look all are fantastic Akshay too seems great in his role and his sixth sense scenes are wonderful Arjun seems too uncomfortable in his role though Sushmita Sen is excellent, Paresh Rawal entertains but does overact at places and get too loud Aditya Panscholi is alright in his part

The movie is about a recently fired schizophrenic bank manager scheming to get even with his employers by robbing the bank with the help of three blind men and a beautiful blind school teacher! Amitabh Bachchan as the bank manager excels in his role. He is one of the most talented guys out there today. Pity not all his movies are as good as this one or his earlier Aks. The movie moves with a fast pace initially, but slows down towards the middle with cursory song and dance sequences spoiling its pace(the two songs - one with the three blind guys and the other in the bar are very painful to sit through). It picks up pace towards the end and even has quite a few surprising twists that I most certainly didn't expect in a mainstream hindi movie! Good job director and script writer! Thank goodness you didn't make the movie boring by removing those twists and giving us a bland fare which most box-office fearing mediocre directors would have done. Akshay, Paresh, Arjun and Sush all perform their roles well. There are a few glitches in the movie - like the name of the bank. A most ridiculous name. Then the location of the bank itself. A bank that has a lobby looking like that of a 3-star hotel is located in the midst of a busy and dirty side street in Mumbai! Sure! None of the songs are appealing, except the one with Bipasha Basu - in fact the rest of the songs are really irritating and definitely jarring in the midst of an interesting screenplay. Directors of India - I LOVE songs in a movie; but not when it interrupts the movie's flow drastically. Overall, a must see movie.

The expression "Whoah !" comes running to my mouth as I step out of the cinema hall having consumed Bollywood's answer to the popular gujarati play -- 'aandhlo paato'.Racy, wild ... thrilling ... I think you're getting the picture !Needless to say, the trump card held by Vipul Shah (director) is the intricate and intriguing plot of this "tighten-your-seat-belts" extravaganza !Bravura performances by the infallible Big B, Akshay Kumar and the proficient Paresh Rawal ... a gripping pace ... an unusual story and technical finesse bring to you a product that is almost flawless !There ... ! That's the catchword --- "ALMOST" ! Yes ... the beautiful visage of this film is marred by a few unsightly blemishes.The sidey lovey-dovey twosome working in the bank grate on your nerves each time they make an unwanted appearance. And pray ... WHY oh WHY the name "Vilasrao Jefferson" for the bank that resembles a 5-star hotel lobby ?Moreover, the sharp-as-nails and witty-as-can-be Paresh Rawal is shown putting his foot in his mouth over the silliest of issues and royally messing up the bank robbery. Without mincing words, there are times when you are tempted to whack him on his behind and warn him not to reduce the most dramatic sequence of the movie into a farce.These minor moles and warts apart, the movie is a delight and a must-watch for every soul thirsty for innovation and creativity in Indian Cinema. I give this one an 8 on 10 !