After seeing this film I must say straightaway that it is about what Bollywood is best at---trying to build bridges between India and Pakistan....futile bridges of course, for no film has succeeded in making the two countries even an inch closer . But at least this film can't be accused of being anti hindu like PK was by some people ( not me ) and is not anti India like HAIDER .
I liked Salman Khan in the film ; that's because he plays what he is adept at playing due to his real life personality---a {censored}....
Of course , in the film he is a lovable {censored} unlike his real life where the {censored}ic traits of his personality have gotten him into trouble with the law . Due credit must be given to director Kabir Khan because he has extracted maximum possible acting from some one like Salman who is just an entertainer and not really an actor .
And such is the film that it requires some acting....above all it is a very non Salmanisque film . For it requires Salman to get beaten up on a number of occasions and not play invincible superstar like he has played in other films . And the film has some real emotional scenes that bring you close to tears---again , very non Salmanisque .
So on to the story---
Sweet little Shahida who cannot speak since birth is brought to India from Pakistan by her mother to visit a holy place in the hope that the holy visit will cure her inability to speak . But she gets lost in India as she is separated from her mother when she alights from her train , and then she meets Pawan ( Salman ) who decides to help her get back to Pakistan.
Pawan is a devotee of the hindu God Hanuman ( also called Bajrang bali ), and is so simple and honest that he never speaks anything but the truth . This makes his landlord's daughter ( played by Kareena Kapoor ) fall in love with him . To complicate matters comes Shahida . Is it so easy to take her back to a country India is perpetually at loggerheads with ?? Watch the movie for the answer to this question .
The scenes of Pawan and his fiancee discovering that Shahida is not just a muslim but also a Pakistani , his various attempts to send her back to Pakistan , his meeting of mean people with devious intentions on the way , until he is forced to decide to take her back himself---all this does build your interest in the story .
Of course , there is the usual Bollywood angle of showing the Pakistanis as better people than they are depicted in the news that daily comes out of that country ; but in this film one feels that the story would not have moved forward if they had been shown as no holds barred India haters .
All this sets the stage for the heavy emotionalism towards the later part of the movie ( and very effective emotionalism at that ) in the setting of the region on which the two countries are at loggerheads---Kashmir what else....
Acting by everyone is effective , though no one can be called fantastic . But the scenes of emotion towards the end would move even a hardened person , so moving they are .
Songs and music is really good , and perfect for the emotional and moving scenes in the film . Photography is splendid , of the the Thar desert silhouetted by the golden sun and of the lengthening and shortening shadows over snowy valleys of Kashmir as the sun rises and sets . Technically , the film is very good---just like you expect from a Kabir Khan film .
The one who steals your heart is Harshali Malhotra who playes Shahida . She is just cuteness personified , with rosy cheeks and nose that turn red in the sunlight .
The journey of an honest God fearing Indian from 'Bajrangi' ( devotee of Bajrang bali ) to 'Bhaijaan' ( Pakistani word for brother ) is well worth a watch....
Verdict---Good .
Four stars .
I liked Salman Khan in the film ; that's because he plays what he is adept at playing due to his real life personality---a {censored}....
Of course , in the film he is a lovable {censored} unlike his real life where the {censored}ic traits of his personality have gotten him into trouble with the law . Due credit must be given to director Kabir Khan because he has extracted maximum possible acting from some one like Salman who is just an entertainer and not really an actor .
And such is the film that it requires some acting....above all it is a very non Salmanisque film . For it requires Salman to get beaten up on a number of occasions and not play invincible superstar like he has played in other films . And the film has some real emotional scenes that bring you close to tears---again , very non Salmanisque .
So on to the story---
Sweet little Shahida who cannot speak since birth is brought to India from Pakistan by her mother to visit a holy place in the hope that the holy visit will cure her inability to speak . But she gets lost in India as she is separated from her mother when she alights from her train , and then she meets Pawan ( Salman ) who decides to help her get back to Pakistan.
Pawan is a devotee of the hindu God Hanuman ( also called Bajrang bali ), and is so simple and honest that he never speaks anything but the truth . This makes his landlord's daughter ( played by Kareena Kapoor ) fall in love with him . To complicate matters comes Shahida . Is it so easy to take her back to a country India is perpetually at loggerheads with ?? Watch the movie for the answer to this question .
The scenes of Pawan and his fiancee discovering that Shahida is not just a muslim but also a Pakistani , his various attempts to send her back to Pakistan , his meeting of mean people with devious intentions on the way , until he is forced to decide to take her back himself---all this does build your interest in the story .
Of course , there is the usual Bollywood angle of showing the Pakistanis as better people than they are depicted in the news that daily comes out of that country ; but in this film one feels that the story would not have moved forward if they had been shown as no holds barred India haters .
All this sets the stage for the heavy emotionalism towards the later part of the movie ( and very effective emotionalism at that ) in the setting of the region on which the two countries are at loggerheads---Kashmir what else....
Acting by everyone is effective , though no one can be called fantastic . But the scenes of emotion towards the end would move even a hardened person , so moving they are .
Songs and music is really good , and perfect for the emotional and moving scenes in the film . Photography is splendid , of the the Thar desert silhouetted by the golden sun and of the lengthening and shortening shadows over snowy valleys of Kashmir as the sun rises and sets . Technically , the film is very good---just like you expect from a Kabir Khan film .
The one who steals your heart is Harshali Malhotra who playes Shahida . She is just cuteness personified , with rosy cheeks and nose that turn red in the sunlight .
The journey of an honest God fearing Indian from 'Bajrangi' ( devotee of Bajrang bali ) to 'Bhaijaan' ( Pakistani word for brother ) is well worth a watch....
Verdict---Good .
Four stars .
