For U.S.viewers unaccustomed to the mix of escapist musical numbers with disturbing plot content, i.e., a "terrorist musical," Mani Ratnam's romantic drama may prove to be frustrating; with those who are more adventurous, fascinating. Most US films clock in at about 2 hours; most Hindi and Tamil films at about three, and that many hours allow for the inclusion of family drama, romance, singing and dancing in places seemingly unrelated to the plot--in short, a little bit of everything for the time spent.
This film is more serious than most of it's kind, dealing with the threat of terrorists (director Ratnam followed it up with a second along the same line, Dil Se) and what a community does about them. My biggest complaint with this film is about the quality of color in the DVD; old Technicolor musicals from Hollywood are restored to an amazing brilliance, while this has been allowed to fade and the film shows the wear of time in print quality. All that said, it's an effective example of it's kind, with several touching performances and a poignant finale.
This film is more serious than most of it's kind, dealing with the threat of terrorists (director Ratnam followed it up with a second along the same line, Dil Se) and what a community does about them. My biggest complaint with this film is about the quality of color in the DVD; old Technicolor musicals from Hollywood are restored to an amazing brilliance, while this has been allowed to fade and the film shows the wear of time in print quality. All that said, it's an effective example of it's kind, with several touching performances and a poignant finale.