WITHOUT GIVING THE MOVIE AWAY (Hindi movie reviews...and a little more)
4th April 2008

Shaurya - Notepad

posted in Hindi Movies, Movie Notes, meetu |

This page has additional observations, other than the ones noted in the main review.

Quick Review

Shaurya dishes out a strong flavor of anti-fundamentalism with a negligible measure of sermons. That in itself is a rarity. While it might not rise up to the standards of “A few good men”, it has its intense moments that work.

Rating: Watch for sure - preferably in theatre (Rating Scale)

See full review

Plot Summary

Happy-go-lucky Army Lawyer Major Siddhant Chowdhari (Rahul Bose) finds himself defending Jaaved Khan (Deepak Dobriyal). The supposedly open-and-shut case has more to it than meets the eye.


What worked

  • For a change we knew what actors were thinking by them speaking their mind out loud rather than a voiceover telling us so. (Siddhant’s thought about his dad)
  • The tribute to Chupke Chupke when Siddhant is talking to Kavya (Minnissha Lamba) over coffee, Shakesperean reference, et al.
  • Smoke from the gun mixed with rain - nicely done.
  • It was a pretty good decision not to bring Javed Khan’s mom back in the end. At least they avoided that bit of melodrama.


What didn’t

Note: This section simply lists the things that I did not like in this movie. This is not the overall impression about this movie. Please read the full review here
  • Pray, what was that item number in the pub doing in a movie like this? In fact, this one could have easily done without the songs. I wonder - does it take more courage to have a movie without songs or to have one with songs like these!
  • Dubbing was off at various points.
  • Uh…did Kavya ever get out of jail?

Nitty-Gritty

This section lists things that I think are not important to the overall impact of the movie. In most cases, it could be explained away by something like, “we noticed the glitch after the scene was shot and there were schedule/budget issues and thus we could not re-shoot it”. I like giving the makers the benefit of doubt, but I am amused nevertheless. Hopefully, they will tickle you too.
  • Couldn’t they get proper dust on the photo hanging on the wall!?

Back to main review

This entry was posted on Friday, April 4th, 2008 at 1:54 pm and is filed under Hindi Movies, Movie Notes, meetu. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

There are currently 5 responses to “Shaurya - Notepad”

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  1. 1 On April 7th, 2008, Sunit said:

    Saw the movie last night and actually liked it quite a bit. But it could have been better.

    I’m no movie critic, but definitely an avid watcher. What I felt about Shaurya was that though it had all the ingredients necessary to make a really impactful film, it did fall short in some areas. Let me try to make sense.

    One of the essential themes here is the transformation of Rahul Bose’s character from happy-go-lucky to one with a just mission to live for. There are numerous stories of the type, too many to recount. But in such stories, there is always a pivotal point in the story line which really causes the transformation. The trick is to make the audience experience exactly what the character in question is going through at that time. I felt this was missing in the movie. It came across as if the plot just had to move on and that’s why Siddhant had to suddenly get up and start getting serious in life.

    The best example of transformation that I can think of is Swades. The scene when Mohan Bhargava drinks water in India for the first time (from a poor boy selling water in the train) is absolutely mind-blowing. And all this without a single line of dialogue!

    If I really were to think, it would appear to be a direction flaw. The screenplay was there - dialogues, scenes, etc. But somehow they didn’t grab you like Swades did.

    There… I think I’ve now transformed into a movie critic. Didn’t mean to but there it is.

    posted on April 7th, 2008 at 1:47 pm

  2. 2 On April 7th, 2008, meetu said:

    Hey Sunit,

    The more I have such discussions, the more I feel it is a matter of personal liking or otherwise. I, for one, don’t like it when just one incident transforms the character. So, Siddhant is gradually changing, when it is proven that he doesn’t know anything about the case, when his friend is pushing him to plead guilty, when he visits Javed Khan in his cell. It is a gradual process. I would have actually liked a deeper transformation.

    In Swades, to a certain extent there was a build-up, the visit to the villager who owed them money being the key. If you are talking about one particular scene that confirms the transformation, Shaurya had them, but they were subtle, built into the story. To me both the first time he does the plastic bag thing and when he pleads not guilty. I am a sucker for subtelty, so these things worked for me.

    Yet, Shaurya ofcourse could have been better - too many things fell in place way too easily and things seemed simplified.

    posted on April 7th, 2008 at 2:02 pm

  3. 3 On April 7th, 2008, Sunit said:

    You’re absolutely right about personal liking. Also, about the build up in Swades. Don’t get me wrong… I did like the movie a lot. Just wish it could have been more touching. There was potential.

    I haven’t yet seen A few good men. Will catch it to compare soon.

    posted on April 7th, 2008 at 2:28 pm

  4. 4 On April 8th, 2008, meetu said:

    A few good men should just be watched. Don’t spend your energy in comparing, Sunit, you might miss out on the little nuances of the characters.

    posted on April 8th, 2008 at 4:56 am

  5. 5 On April 20th, 2008, Sameer said:

    Hey Guys,

    I am no movie critic either, rather writing first time about any movie. But I had to write about Shaurya.

    I have always been a fan of war or military movies and “Actors” like Rahul Bose or KK. So I was little excited about Shaurya. But when I realized it’s a rehash of ‘A few good men’, I made my mind it’s going to be the same typical hindi movie. For my surprise it delivered more than I had anticipated. I never doubted acting abilities of Rahul Bose or KK.

    Even though it was not 100%, I enjoyed this movie. I will recommend it for at least for one watch.

    Meenu, awesome review. I will keep reading your reviews.

    Thanks,
    Sameer

    posted on April 20th, 2008 at 11:05 am

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