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DVD Review |
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By Joginder Tuteja, September 4, 2008 - 15:32 IST
MOVIE DETAILS
Cast: Rajeev Khandelwal
Director: Raj Kumar Gupta
Producer: UTV
Music: Amit Trivedi
Lyrics: Amitabh
THE FILM
Every quarter Bollywood throws up one surprise or another when it comes to small films making an impact. Quarter 1 of 2008 saw the release of Mithya which went on to be a success. And just before Quarter 2 of 2008 was coming to a close, arrival of Aamir ensured that in the middle of all the hardcore 'masala' movies (which after all do run Bollywood, recent example being Singh Is Kinng), there is a space for a film like Aamir as well.
Raj Kumar Gupta is a man with intelligent sensibilities. He keeps the commerce factor in mind as well as he takes complete charge of Aamir while being responsible for the film's story, screenplay, dialogues and direction. He picks up the string of the film's plot i.e. a simple young man (Rajeev Khandelwal) finding himself in the mercy of an unknown caller who is giving him instructions to land from one place to another. Moving in real time, the film has its central protagonist traveling from one location of Mumbai to another while completely psyched and outplayed by the mysterious caller - a terrorist.
With an Akshay Kumar or an Aamir Khan in the lead, the film would have been called a hardcore commercial thriller. But with Rajeev Khandelwal in the lead, it is suddenly bucketed as an offbeat drama! Now that's unfair since the film is hardly offbeat in nature. What is offbeat is the way UTV pitched this film in the market (quite intelligently), created awareness about the film and handpicked a target audience. All of this meant that first and foremost Aamir went on to be called as a 'small film' and once the film started speaking for itself and word of mouth started spreading, the success made 'big' news. Quite a smart route picked up by the makers!
Coming back to the film Aamir, the good part about it is that it doesn't try to preach. Yes, it does have a communal angle to it but thankfully this was not a part of the film's publicity plan which ensured that Aamirstuck on to be a thriller at heart. A man being deprived of food and water with a classic good cop/bad cop psychology game being played with him keeps the film's narrative tout and tense. What particularly impresses is cinematography by Alphonse Roy which should be a definite candidate for all awards once they are announced early next year. In spite of the lens capturing some of the unheard of locations in Mumbai, the frames never loose their sheen, hence ensuring that even a 'small film' like Aamir boasts of rich sheen and polish.
It's hardly breaking news if one comments that Aamir is one of the best launchpads for a newcomer. Rajeev Khandewal could have gone ahead with a conventional lover boy debut but in the role of a 'common man', he excels and how! Simply flawless, now he would be expected to deliver goods on the big screen in every appearance of his.
PACKAGING
The DVD boasts of a sleek-n-glossy packing made of plastic and paper combination
DURATION
The film comes in a single DVD pack with the film's duration being 134 minutes
SPECIAL FEATURES
- Making of the film
- Music videos of 'Phas gaya' and 'Ha Raham'
Aamir comes with a 21 minutes segment of 'Making of the film' and frankly, if one hasn't seen the movie first, it would not be a bad idea at all to watch this segment first. This is one of the best 'making of the film' segments that one would have found in so many other Bollywood DVDs since it truly takes you through behind the scenes happening. Shooting hassles, nervous moments, camera placement, crowd control, apprehensions - all the drama unfolds here which makes for an interesting viewing.
TECHNICAL DETAILS
- 16:9 Anamorphic Widescreen Presentation
- Subtitles in English, Arabic, Tamil and Telugu
- Dolby Digital 5.1 and Stereo
PRICE
Rs. 299/=
CONCLUSION
Well, if one looks at it closely, at the heart of it Aamir too has enough 'masala' to keep you entertained. Weren't films like Khamosh, Kalyug, Mirch Masala, Ardh Satya, Pratighaat, Ankush, Drohkaal and many more entertaining enough? Didn't they too follow a 'masala' route even if they showed reality? After all fact is always stronger than fiction and what else could make for a better take than have a real story unfolding at a rapid pace for an audience to be entertained!
  
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