Ashutosh Govarikar has come up with yet another hit. Jodha-Akbar, starring Aishwarya Rai and Hrithik Roshan, respectively, is a must watch, despite its long running length and it promises to take Govarikar's directorial skills to an entirely new levels. The movie is just not about the unspoken love between the Mughal emperor Akbar and the Rajput princess Jodha, but it also gives out a message of secularity of India to the ones who are hell-bent on forgetting that India is a secular nation.



The movie is grand, as are the movie sets, the actors' costumes, accessories( read 8 kg gold jewellery for Jodha), Govarikar has succeeded in recreating the Mughal grandeur. A R Rehman has once again proved his mettle. The music for the movie is top notch. The songs, 'jashne bahara' and 'ajeemo shan-shehensha' are really good and they definitely immerse you into the story and don't hinder the story.



Hrithik was a little apprehend while shining this movie but he has done a real good job as has Aishwarya. The scenes where the duo talk to each other with their eyes are really romantic. This movie takes on-screen romance to new levels. Especially Hrithik and Aishwarya's on-screen chemistry gets better here after Dhoom-2, where they lip-locked, but here they scarcely touch each other. Their eyes do the whole magic.



Beautiful People. Beautiful Movie. Kudos!! :) ... More ... Collapse

Akash Bhardwaj is a poet and a singer, but he sings publicly and publishes his poems under the pen-name of Nishant as his dad does not approve of his hobby. During one of his presentations, he meets with a breath-takingly beautiful young woman, Shikha, and instantly falls in love with her. He finds out that she is a fan of his, and after a few misunderstandings, she too falls in love with him. While Akash's dad wants him to marry another young woman, Asha, Akash is adamant that he will marry Shikha only. Finally, his dad gives in but Shikha refuses... Tension :) ... More ... Collapse

Circa British rule in India, a subhedar, along with a regiment of soldiers, is sent to collect taxes due from a small town. When the lusty Subhedar feasts his eyes on a young married woman named Sonbai, he wants to have his way with her, but she humiliates him, runs and takes shelter in the enclosed compound of a pepper factory, chased by soldiers. The elderly, but brave, Chowkidar Abu, closes the reinforced door to the factory, and refuses to let the soldiers in. This angers the Subhedar, and he asks the town Mukhiya, to get Sonbai to him, or else he will destroy his town. The terrified Mukhiya and the rest of the townspeople decide to turn over Sonbai to the Subhedar, so that he can leave them in one piece, on the condition that they do not molest any more women. The Subhedhar is angered at this show of defiance, and refuses to agree to any conditions. The villagers and the Mukhiya must now decide whether to hand over Sonhai to him, or let him get her and destroy their village, and molest their wives, daughters, and sisters. ... More ... Collapse

A textbook Bollywood love story. ISHQ HAI TUMSE is all about relationships. It tells the story of two friends, Alok Nath, a Muslim and Vikram Gokhale, a Hindu. Their families are so close that it looks like one big happy family.



When the families meet each other during a marriage ceremony, the youngest son of the Hindu [Dino Morea] falls in love with the youngest daughter of the Muslim [Bipasha Basu]. It is almost love at first sight.



A few days pass off without the lovers expressing their feelings for each other. When Dino is supposed to return home, he makes an effort to express his love to Bipasha. But, at this juncture, his father is hospitalised due to kidney failure. The friendship between the lovers' fathers gets better as Bipasha's father donates his kidney to save Dino's father from premature death.



Dino realises the depth of friendship between the two friends and fears that if he expresses his love for Bipasha, it may lead to the break-up of friendship between the two friends. So he keeps his love for Bipasha to himself.



The lovers meet once again, but it's time for Bipasha to marry now. Will Dino be able to express his love for Bipasha? Will their parents accept their love and agree to their marriage?



Flashes of HUM AAPKE HAIN KOUN and DILWALE DULHANIYA LE JAYENGE cross your mind as the story of ISHQ HAI TUMSE unfolds on screen. Besides the marriage ceremony, even a few other sequences seem heavily borrowed from H.A.H.K. specifically.



Take for instance the sequence in H.A.H.K., when Renuka Shahane gets to know of Salman and Madhuri's love for each other and the next scene depicts her falling from the stairs and her subsequent demise. In ISHQ HAI TUMSE, the sequence when Dino's uncle expires, gives the viewer a feeling of d?j? vu.



To be honest, the story hardly moves in the first half. The viewer is subjected to the same old stuff that he has witnessed since time immemorial. The post-interval portions do have some interesting sequences to offer, but they are far too less.



From the scripting point of view, the rationale behind Dino not expressing his feelings for Bipasha looks bizarre. The youngsters today are used to making fast moves, so concealing his feelings, even though the relations between the two families in the film are rock-strong, seems a little difficult to digest.



Moreover, the romantic sequences between Dino and Bipasha lack fire. The chemistry, so evident in RAAZ, is missing this time around. Even the romantic scenes just don't appeal, mainly because they're not well penned at all.



Another disadvantage is that those looking for some 'hot' scenes, courtesy Bipasha Basu and her post-JISM image, will be in for a shock, as the actress is shown 'covered' from head to toe. No itsy-bitsy outfits, no hot scenes? the hoi polloi is sure to be disappointed!



Director G. Krishna is an average storyteller. The sequences between Alok Nath and Vikram Gokhale are well executed, but you can actually count the impactful scenes on your fingertips. He is partly letdown thanks to a lackluster script. Dialogues are strictly okay. Cinematography is of standard.



Himesh Reshammiya's music is amongst the highpoints of the enterprise. Not only are the songs tuneful, even their picturisation is striking. Amongst the songs, 'O Soniya' is the pick of the lot mainly due to its foot-tapping orchestration.



Dino Morea looks ill at ease in a role that demands histrionics. At times disinterested, at times not too expressive, Dino just doesn't convince. Bipasha Basu does her part well, getting into the skin of the character. But, as mentioned above, the role is in sharp contrast to her image, which may not go down too well with the masses.



Alok Nath and Vikram Gokhale enact their parts like seasoned performers. The remaining cast is passable, endorsing their parts mechanically.



On the whole, ISHQ HAI TUMSE has an attractive star cast and tuneful music as its strong points, but its too much of the same crap we've seen all too often. ... More ... Collapse