I See You (2006)

Happened to watch this movie, 'I see you' recently. I have nothing to do with films by profession but whenever I watch a movie, I end up researching a bit on it too. So researching on 'I see you', I found out it was a commercial failure. I kind of couldn't believe it. It was actually a quite good feel good cinema- a similar feel I had when I watched Abhay Deol's debut, 'Socha na tha', which also didn't do well commercially. At some level, movies do need to be commercially viable, but sometimes factors other than a 'good movie' might play a role. I admire Arjun Rampal's body of work but that doesn't mean I blindly believe in all his movies. I didn't like 'Dil ka rishta' or 'Humko tumse pyar hain' for that matter. But 'I see you' was a movie that I really came to like. First of all, the concept of the movie, a spirit showing up in a happy go lucky guy's life from nowhere is of course imaginary genre. But then the movie doesn't try to prove anything about ghosts here. It just shows a weird possibility of such a thing happening to a regular person. And then a little love story developing between the spirit girl and the guy! Then there is a villain doctor who is trying to kill the girl but the guy helps to save her. That way the story is simple. But what is unique here is the treatment. It's like easy breeze, just like the song 'subah subah' (it has three special appearances btw! Sharukh, Hrithik and cute little Mahikaa!!!). The scenes and background music are very easy flowing and without too much drama. I guess this is bit too easy-breezy for the typical Bollywood masala audience who are treated with lots of sensational roller coasters in most movies. What's nice about the movie is the interaction between the spirit and the guy. Once the guy accepts the spirit is a real presence in his life, the flow of energy between them is very natural building up to a romance. The scene where the guy calls the spirit 'khubsoorat', or where he sings along the streets of London with her, or how she transforms his view of life at times is all well done. The movie also carries lots of comic moments around the spirit. But again, it's not your slapstick type. It's subtle and nuanced comedy. The guy, Raj, running away from the hospital, his friend Akshay's disbelief, hospital scenes where Raj and Akshay save a life, Boman Irani as the psychologist, Sophie Chowdhary as the damsel co hostess with Raj, all are quite funny scenes. Performance wise, Chunkey, Boman, Sonali, Sophie, Kirron- all do a great supporting job in their roles. The girl Vipasha as the spirit is likable, but I felt something was amiss. Perhaps her little girl like dress which she had to wear for the whole movie was a set back to her. She needed something more 'spirit' feeling since the movie is about her being the spirit. Acting wise, she is not bad, but could have been more charismatic with an aura especially again for being a spirit. But the best part of the movie other than its music is Arjun Rampal. He looks gorgeous in all his movies (well he may look great just out of bed, brushing his teeth also, still..), in this movie, he looks one of his best looks. He is posh, stylish, suave, well spoken (hindi or English, the guy says his lines with such ease and charm, with that amazing baritone).. but the best part is he is endearing. His comic timing is subtle but effective. He emotes just enough never going overboard, nor underplaying. He is so charming as the flirt and then this really nice guy who comes around to help the spirit. Now coming to the flaws of the movie- I feel the spirit should have been more enchanting than it is. Because the movie is based on the spirit and the romance between her and Raj. The climax should have been more effective perhaps. Because when it all builds up, the movie just ends without cashing on it. The last scene where the girl and the guy meet again could have been more interesting too. Cinematography and music in the movie are top notch. With all this, I see you, is still a really nice movie to watch on a gloomy day and feel nice. I think it failed because of not having the masala factors, item songs, sloppy jokes and OTT sequences! Was multiplex a thing when the movie released? I don't know! Yet, I would recommend it to all feel good movie fans and Arjun Rampal fans! Lovely it is!

"I See You" is a remake of the Reese Witherspoon/Mark Ruffalo film "Just Like Heaven". While the film does have its flaws, it is not by any means the worst film to come out of Bollywood that has been 'inspired' by a Hollywood film. Arjun Rampal stars as Raj Jaiswal, the host of the successful NRI show British Raj. He moves into a new apartment but soon finds that it is being haunted by a ghost, Shivani Dutt (Vipasha Agarwal) that only he can see, the catch is, she's not a ghost but a doctor who is in a coma after an accident. His friends ponder his senility, but his close friend Akshay (Chunky Pandey) supports him as much as he can. Shivani informs him of a plot that involves doctors stealing and harvesting organs of healthy patients at her hospital.The story has it's flaws, for one, the added story line of the harvesting of organs isn't really needed and doesn't contribute to the story being a romantic comedy. It actually does nothing for the story overall. If they had stuck with the original story, the film would have worked more. At certain points, it is unclear which story line is the central plot.The location and setting is a tired one. The film is set in London but it could have been pulled off in Mumbai or any other Indian city. There is little charm in the way London has been used and the location never fully comes alive.The acting is far from perfect and very flawed. Arjun Rampal manages to carry the film but because the film is heavily flawed and unnecessary, his character tends to replicate that fact. He has persona and charisma, but not enough to make this film work or enough to make it a pleasurable experience. Vipasha Agarwal sleepwalks through her performance and isn't worth a second glance. It is because of her that the film suffers, there is little chemistry between her and Rampal even though he tries his hardest to make it work. The supporting co-stars don't do much but the stand outs are Chunky Pandey as Akshay who is Raj Jaiswal's best friend and Michael Maloney who plays Inspector John Smith, the English Hindi speaking detective investigating Shivani's accident.The writing is un-inspired and the direction is useless. This film joins the ranks of other cheap knock offs that help hold back Indian (or rather Bollywood) cinema rather than allow it to flourish. The high point for some will be the ten second cameo's by Shahrukh Khan and Hrithik Roshan, but at the end of the day, it is their cameos that are selling the film. Not the story, not the writing, not the director and certainly not the actors.4/10: "Just Like Heaven" is far superior over this tripe, even though it is quite a mediocre film itself.

***It has spoilers about (Just Like Heaven - 2005) Too***The Indian cinema makes about 900 movies per year ! So when they remake many American movies I don't blame them at all ! The American cinema itself used to remake a lot of its movies or others' movies, so the thing isn't the idea of the remake as an evident of insolvency inasmuch as it's the quality of it first ! Here it's a remake of an American one (produced 1 year earlier !) named (Just Like Heaven) which seemed like optimistic comic copy of (Ghost - 1990) yet it was genuine and fair. However the Indian one has no recognition about the original source of its story !! How they gonna deal with the American copy protect ?? It's not my problem ! My problem IS the script of this movie ! It just told us everything from the start including the state of the female doctor as alive in a coma ! That was one hell of a surprise at the original ! So blowing it up like this maybe was to give hope to the audience so they'll guess the happy ending YET this script must compensate it by another thrilling surprises, good comedy or tender romance but the ugly truth is that there isn't almost anything of the above in here ! I thought that they made some changes to create more profound movie. For example the hero/young man became here an announcer in some entertaining TV show maybe to make an ironic situation about the doctor's ghost (as a scientist who'll ask him to believe in fantasy and to judge by his heart), and him (as someone works at the business of art as less imaginative and more materialistic man; namely blinded by the liar flashes of his world) but I was such a naive ! Because the movie disappointed all of that ambitious depths ! Like the wonderful scene when she makes him walk blinded to see clearly, to feel the reality of humans and things, to be more sensitive or to be "lighter" just like her (as we all want to be : a pellucid spiritual humans) but unfortunately it was just slight scene in flood of boredom ! So now when I look at the reason why they didn't bother themselves making some CGI to show her like a transparent ghost I don't think that it was a trick to make us focus on the events as love story with philosophical meanings..NO my dears.. It was maybe a trick to cut the budget ! Probably you'll never stand the gullibility of that script like : why the sprite came to him in particular ?! (he didn't rent her flat as the original !), when he went to the hospital as a doctor to steal the body he didn't even disguise (not to mention that he's working as a TV announcer for one popular show !), when she forced him to kidnap her body from the hospital to save her from the evil doctor, she (as a doctor herself) didn't do a thing to cure herself ! Instead of that she begged him to leave the body so they could BOTH go to a party thus we have the opportunity to watch one big hot dancing number !!, it was weak link between the British officer and the sidekick (just to find out who robbed the ambulance !), she was the one who makes the officer see the body because she loved that announcer and now she wants no troubles for him !?? (Actually that what will bring the troubles for him !), though when the officer discovered the truth he didn't accuse him of anything ?!, if she knew about the real crimes of that doctor why didn't she (as a ghost) unearth some proofs at the hospital so our very hero and his idiot friend make some thrilling comic mess till they expose the crimes.. or anything instead of that poor climax (the officer catches the criminal so easily !), and at last it's too much already to add how stupid & slow the way that the felon doctor was trying to kill his colleague with, during her coma !!! The acting was near to horrible ! (Arjun Rampal) wasn't a comedian or trying to be one ! Being so dull like a male model in a fashion show !, (Vipasha Agarwal) isn't pretty at all yet she was definitely better than him as an actress but with a script gave her nothing to do except to smile all the time!, and being in very fabricated romantic scenes like when he was losing her at the end, thinking that she was dying..she was talking sadly about her being a ghost all her life before the accident ! In fact that was important storyline in the original movie which had absolutely no presence here ! So what the hell she was talking about??!, and the officer's personality ? It looked at the start like inspector (Clouseau) then turned out to be mixed up between being funny or serious ! and what about the matter of making the whole movie in England where the announcer, his crew, the doctor, the receptionist of hospital are all Indians !? (with English officer who can also speak Indian !). Despite the well-meaning message of it, and the too many Indian guest stars (like Shahrukh Khan as a guitar player in the street !??) this as an Indian movie was wretched and inferior, and as a remake it wasn't a romantic comedy as the original but a romantic silliness ! So my advise to its makers : Please…watch more movies !

If you are going to watch this movie for the sake of watching movie, then give it a go cause 'i see you' disappoints you by the lousy script even the storyline was new and could have been made better.Raj, a TV anchor stumbles down a girl or rather a spirit,Shivani who needs his help to get back to her body which is at the ICU (i see you!!) since none else can see her or hear her.Raj initially is shocked but later accepts the realty of being interacted by a spirit, den he falls for her blah, blah, blah.........etc....Arjun Rampal is average, so is the debut actress Vipasha,the saving grace of the movie are its songs and performances by Chunky Pandey and Boman Irani A typical bollywood pot boiler after the first 30 mins.,manages to get a smile on your face by its few comic moments.