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DIL KA RISHTA - (Reviewed By Komal Nahta)

Director: Naresh Malhotra
Music: Nadeem-Shravan
Lyrics: Sameer
Producer: Shabbir Boxwala, Aditya Rai
Starring: Aishwariya Rai, Arjun Rampal, Priyanshu, and Rakhee

RATING: 1.5/10

Target Films Pvt. Ltd.'s Dil Ka Rishta is a love triangle with the angle of amnesia thrown in. A rich and handsome man, Jai Mehta (Arjun Rampal), falls madly in love with a pretty girl, Tia (Aishwarya Rai), the moment he sees her. His love gets a severe jolt when Tia spurns his proposal for marriage as she is in love with Raj (Priyanshu) who is a middle-class boy and whom she marries. Unable to reconcile to the fact that Tia can never be his, Jai hits the bottle. In a drunken state one day, he drives into Raj's car by mistake, killing Raj in the bargain. Tia, who is travelling with Raj, is seriously injured. When she does recover, she loses her memory and doesn't even remember that she was married and had a little son. The doctors advise Tia's mother to not even attempt to remind her of her past as that could prove fatal for her.

To atone for his crime, Jai pleads with Tia's mother to let him take all of them (Tia, her son and the mother) to a new place (South Africa) so that Tia would never remember her past even faintly, and thereby minimise the risk to her life. So as not to raise any doubts in her mind, Tia is told that the little child is Jai's son and that Jai's wife had been killed in the accident. Tia not only looks after the child, taking him to be Jai's son, but also falls madly in love with Jai. But Jai, scared of the consequences if Tia ever regained her lost memory, holds himself back and refuses to marry the very girl he was crazy about some years ago. Ultimately, Jai tells Tia the truth about her marital status and then offers to marry her. Luckily, news of her past doesn't endanger Tia's life.

The story (Vrinda Rai), although different and interesting in parts, appears dated and quite unbelievable. But the bigger drawbacks are the faulty screenplay and the choice of the actor to play Jai Mehta's character. The complex role demanded an actor of a high calibre and a true performer but unfortunately, Arjun Rampal is quite wooden.

Coming to the glaring flaws in the script now. Once Tia loses her memory, the writers (Shabbir Boxwala and Vrinda Rai) also seem to have had a mild attack of amnesia! For, rather than portraying the sufferings of Tia (which was the demand of the story), the drama takes a different direction and focusses on the sufferings of Jai. Since the viewer knows the truth about who has lost whom in the accident, it doesn't make sense for him to be subjected to the problems (half-real and half-made up) of Jai. Put differently, the writers have chosen to highlight the sufferings of a loser in love as against those of a woman who has lost her memory and her husband. Nothing could be more erroneous. Resultantly, Tia, oblivious to her past, is shown to be enjoying life while Jai broods.

Further, amnesia is supposed to make a patient forget his/her past but Tia also becomes insensitive to others' feelings after her amnesia. For, although she is under the impression that Jai has lost his wife, she prods him on to get married to her and even insults him and his feelings when he lies that he has not been able to forget his dead wife. Isn't it natural for a guy to not be able to forget his past so easily? Then, why does Tia behave so insensitively? No reasons given! Obviously, because that's the easy way to further the drama. But even if it's the simple way, it is also the silliest way. While Jai's character is uplifted because of this part of the drama, Tia's character falls down terribly. Climax is hurried and childish. There is no drama in the end, for which the audience had been waiting all along.

Because of the aforesaid errors, emotions in the drama barely touch the heart. The second half is also terribly slow as the film meanders here and there, reaching nowhere. Dialogues are fair.

Aishwarya Rai looks simply marvellous and also acts very well in emotional and dramatic scenes. Arjun Rampal is unable to conjure up the varied emotions of a lover-boy, a loser in love, an emotional anchor etc. He messes up a meaty role with a performance that's not even mediocre. Priyanshu has a flair for comedy and does well in a brief role. Raakhee leaves a mark in some emotional scenes. Isha Koppikar gets very limited scope and is fair. Paresh Rawal's talent remains untapped except in a couple of scenes in which he is wonderful. Tiku Talsania is quite good. Rajesh Vivek, Pankaj Berry, master Hitanshu and the rest lend fair support.

Naresh Malhotra's direction is limited by the weak subject and defective screenplay. Still, his touches don't go unnoticed in scenes like Aishwarya's birthday, Paresh Rawal's feigned heart attack and the memories of the accident haunting Jai. Overall, however, the director has not been able to involve the viewer, whatever the reasons. Nadeem Shravan's music comprises two hit numbers, 'Saajan saajan' (well-picturised) and 'Daiyya daiyya daiyya re' (extraordinary choreography). The other songs will be liked by some but not by all. Ashok Mehta's camerawork is splendid and a treat to the eyes. Production and technical values are very good.

On the whole, Dil Ka Rishta fails to appeal to the dil and, therefore, its rishta with the box-office will rest on a shaky foundation. Considering its dull start at most places, it will not be able to even touch the average mark despite some appeal for ladies. Its failure will underline the importance of the grammar of screenplay-writing.

RELEASE DATE: 17th January 2003

REVIEWED BY KOMAL NAHTA