| |
|
|
By Taran Adarsh, March 1, 2003 - 16:59 IST
Reels Express Inc.'s VALENTINE DAYS, directed by Sumeer Sabharwal, is a love story that is anything but exciting.
Jeena [Gina Marie], the only offspring of an Indian father and American mother, settles down in India after her father's demise and faces a cultural crisis, but soon learns to adjust.
On the way, she makes friends with Samir [Nikhil Sakhrani], a wealthy and warm-hearted man, Aditya [Samir Kochhar], who likes to possess everything at all costs and Vishant [Manoj Bidvai], belonging to a middle class family, who believes in values and principles.
Soon, friendships turn into relationships and the three begin to adore Jeena. Also in the race is Jeena's step-mom Naina [Protima Chadda], a nymphomaniac, who is of the same age as Jeena and is a serious competitor to Jeena's wealth. How Jeena identifies the man of her heart is the crux of the story.
The title of the film raises a lot of expectations, but the content hardly matches. The film leaves a lot to be desired right from the word go. One of the major flaws is that it lacks tender moments, though one does expect romantic sequences in abundance. As against love, there are several sensuous moments, where sex takes precedence over love.
The title is misleading as well. Picturising a song and showing a fashion show on Valentine's Day is all that the film manages to portray to support its title.
Another weakness of the film is its painfully slow pace, which keeps dropping after the interval. In fact, the proceedings tend to get boring after a point. Even the climax is an absolute letdown.
Sumeer Sabharwal's direction is uninspiring. The musical score [Jayanta Pathak] fails to elevate the proceedings. Dialogues [Mazahir Rahim] are mediocre. Even the cinematography [D.N. Anil] is no great shakes.
Gina Marie looks glamorous, but she needs to work hard on her acting skills. Neither Manoj Bidvai, nor Nikhil Sakhrani give a convincing account of themselves. Samir Kochhar does impress in a few sequences, though he too needs to brush up on his acting skills. Protima Chadda is fairly convincing.
On the whole, VALENTINE DAYS is poor in content and having been released at a wrong time [World Cup], the prospects appear dim.
 
|
|
|
|
