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"If you love someone, express it."

H. Bala | Carson - hey, we have an IKEA store! - CA USA | 05/24/2007

(3 out of 5 stars)

"They met when they were kids and from the moment Kaajal talked Raj into roller skating despite his having braces on his right leg, Raj has been madly in love with Kaajal. Ever since she was a young girl, Kaajal has had a fascination with airplanes, so Raj joins the Air Force to become a pilot and fulfill his childhood promise to her. But when he goes home on leave from the military, he finds to his dismay that Kaajal has met someone and is engaged. At the wedding, Kaajal discovers Raj's feelings for her but it is, of course, too late. They part ways.

It is on a New Year's Eve when Raj meets the sexy but inebriated Jiya (Priyanka Chopra) at a nightclub and unwillingly helps her out of a jam. Jiya falls for him and tries to catch his interest but to no avail. But, undaunted, the plucky Jiya presses on and eventually wears down the reluctant Raj. They get engaged and Jiya takes Raj to meet her parents, and this is where the improbable twist happens. I'll say no more.

ANDAAZ is a decent 2003 Bollywood film, made auspicious by the starring roles of both Miss Universe (2000) Lara Dutta and Miss World (also in 2000) Priyanka Chopra. This is, in fact, Lara Dutta's film debut. ANDAAZ tells of unrequited love and sacrifices made and how our lives and destinies are sometimes determined by our cultural trappings. This movie is very well served by Akshay Kumar's nuanced acting performance. The only other film in which I've seen Akshay Kumar is KHAKEE and I thought he was particularly good there, also. As Raj in ANDAAZ, Akshay shines. As Raj, he manifests such deep love and devotion for Kaajal, and he does this so convincingly, that his feelings are almost this palpable force. Poor dude. Even his bittersweet participation in the wedding musical number is a gut-churning thing to see. Even if the song has a nice melody and a worthy message: "If you love someone, express it - before it's too late."

Lara Dutta, for a first-timer, shows great promise. She delivers a performance distinguished with a decided demarcation: first, she is Kaajal the perky, strong-minded girl who doesn't hesitate to beat up on her buddy Raj, then later, she is Kaajal the mature and inconsolably heartbroken woman. Unfortunately, the uninhibited, sometimes childish role of Jiya negatively affects my opinion of Priyanka Chopra's acting. Jiya got to be annoying in spots. But a part of it is that Priyanka's effort here really is less than scintillating. There's even one point where I thought her character was turning into an outright villainness, before she redeems herself. Priyanka does save her best acting for the finale.

ANDAAZ is a heartwrenching, tearjerker of a film and, in the watching of it, threatened to drown me in romantic depression. But it kept me involved enough, even thru the cliches, that I wanted to see how it would all turn out, and, believe me, I wasn't sure who Raj would end up with. Being a Bollywood feature, ANDAAZ also comes complete with song numbers, the two most powerful being the wedding number "Kisise Tum Pyar Karo" and also "Rabba Ishq Na Hove," which explores the triangle of Raj, Jiya, and Kaajal. The most fun song, though, is "Shalala Baby." If you get nothing else out of this film, at least, consider once again its underlying message: "If you love someone, express it." You wouldn't want to go thru what Raj did. That would suck.
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