I went to see Yaadein on opening night at a theatre in Diamond Bar.There was an unprecedented crowd at the box-office for a Bollywood movie. Despite my best effort I could not get a ticket and had to return home. This was a first for me in my 22 years in America that I had returned home without seeing a Bollywood movie on its opening night. I finally saw the movie on Sunday at the 5 p.m. show.
It was a disappointment in the sense that I expected a lot more from Subhash Ghai. Subhash Ghai has certainly let down his fans and admirers. But to suggest that it is a failure at the box-office would be totally wrong. Kareena Kapoor and Hrithik Roshan are brilliant. Anu Malik's score, despite poor lyrics by Anand Bakshi, is one of his best in recent times. At least four songs - the title number and three others - are going to be big hits.Another asset of the movie is its outstanding photography by Kabir Lal.
The movie has hit the top ten list in U.K. and is 19th in the US.Just in 3 days it has grossed approximately $645,000 from 59 theatres giving it one of the highest per theatre average. This is no mean achievement. To the best of my knowledge no other movie from Bollywood has reached this level of business in the US.
However, from this Ghai should not conclude that his critics are wrong and he is right.In future he should shun those product placements. And he should never, never write.Is it not enough that he is a great director? Why should he try to be a screenwriter and editor as well.This is arrogance of the worst kind and will prove to be his undoing if he persists in it. In Hollywood all great directors from Capra to Hitchcock to Spielberg have based their best work on solid scripts written by others. But I want to give Ghai example from India itself. Did Raj Kapoor ever write his scripts(It was always K.A.Abbas or one of the other established writers)? Did Guru Dutt ever write his scripts(It was always Abrar Alvi), Did the great Mehboob(It was Ali Raza or Wajahat Mirza or Agha Jani Kashmiri). In the all-time classic Mughal-E-Azam, Asif used as many as four writers - Kamal Amrohi, Wajahat Mirza,Aman and Ehsaan Rizvi.So there you are Mr. Ghai. To be a movie director is a great thing in itself. You don't need any other titles.
Besides, the Bombay film industry has great writers even today. Salim-Javed may not be writing scripts any more, but there is Javed Siddiqui who is equally good and with whom Mr.Ghai has collaborated very successfully in the past and can do so with greater success in the future.
Finally, as moviegoers we should all go to see Yaadein and enjoy the great performances of Kareena and Hrithik and the intoxicating music of Anu Malik.
It was a disappointment in the sense that I expected a lot more from Subhash Ghai. Subhash Ghai has certainly let down his fans and admirers. But to suggest that it is a failure at the box-office would be totally wrong. Kareena Kapoor and Hrithik Roshan are brilliant. Anu Malik's score, despite poor lyrics by Anand Bakshi, is one of his best in recent times. At least four songs - the title number and three others - are going to be big hits.Another asset of the movie is its outstanding photography by Kabir Lal.
The movie has hit the top ten list in U.K. and is 19th in the US.Just in 3 days it has grossed approximately $645,000 from 59 theatres giving it one of the highest per theatre average. This is no mean achievement. To the best of my knowledge no other movie from Bollywood has reached this level of business in the US.
However, from this Ghai should not conclude that his critics are wrong and he is right.In future he should shun those product placements. And he should never, never write.Is it not enough that he is a great director? Why should he try to be a screenwriter and editor as well.This is arrogance of the worst kind and will prove to be his undoing if he persists in it. In Hollywood all great directors from Capra to Hitchcock to Spielberg have based their best work on solid scripts written by others. But I want to give Ghai example from India itself. Did Raj Kapoor ever write his scripts(It was always K.A.Abbas or one of the other established writers)? Did Guru Dutt ever write his scripts(It was always Abrar Alvi), Did the great Mehboob(It was Ali Raza or Wajahat Mirza or Agha Jani Kashmiri). In the all-time classic Mughal-E-Azam, Asif used as many as four writers - Kamal Amrohi, Wajahat Mirza,Aman and Ehsaan Rizvi.So there you are Mr. Ghai. To be a movie director is a great thing in itself. You don't need any other titles.
Besides, the Bombay film industry has great writers even today. Salim-Javed may not be writing scripts any more, but there is Javed Siddiqui who is equally good and with whom Mr.Ghai has collaborated very successfully in the past and can do so with greater success in the future.
Finally, as moviegoers we should all go to see Yaadein and enjoy the great performances of Kareena and Hrithik and the intoxicating music of Anu Malik.