I have seen quite a few Indian films (often from the 1990s) where you have a male protagonist who is a spoiled, rich playboy who falls for a woman....and by the end of the film, he's changed and they fall in love. "Anjaam" looks much like one of these but then instead of the protagonist reforming, this guy becomes dangerous....which is MUCH more realistic than him becoming 'nice' by the end of the story.
Vijay (Shah Rukh Khan) is the obnoxious playboy in this film. He sees Shivani (Madhuri Dixit) on a TV commercial for the airline for which she's a hostess and he's smitten with her. He repeatedly follows her and acts boorish but instead of her falling for this, she marries another man. Does that stop Vijay? Nope...because he's emotionally unstable and twisted...and he will either get her or destroy her. I'll say no more...I don't want to spoil the suspense.
So is the film good or not? Well, it's a bit of both. Since it was made in the 1990s, the acting is a bit less subtle in films you'd see today. The music, also, like older films is a bit dated. Also, the cross-dressing trio just seem way out of place in such a serious film...I was never sure why they were there in the first place. Otherwise, it's a very good, suspenseful and creepy film...and SRK lovers might be surprised at how twisted and sick he is in this one. If you thought he was bad in his gangster films like "Don" or "Raees", well he seems a lot worse and dangerous in "Anjaam"! So, if you are looking for a sweet love story...keep looking! Instead, it's a film with strong feminist vibes...showing how godawful not only Vijay can be but the rest of the men in the story as well.
By the way, there are at least two other Indian films called "Anjaam" which came out before this one. It turns out neither have anything to do with this film other than the titles.
Also by the way, can a judge in India really sentence a person to prison without hearing all the evidence or allowing a jury to decide the case? This part of the film really confused me.
