Armaan

`Armaan', which marks Honey Irani's directorial debut, has a surfeit of high-minded sentiments, some genuinely honest and lovely moments, and unfortunately, also a number of snigger-inducing scenes. Mind you, her direction is charmingly understated, and the leads are truly likable. You have that eminence grise of the Hindi film industry, Amitabh Bachchan, playing the noble Dr. Siddharth Sinha and Anil Kapoor as his equally noble son, Dr. Akash Sinha. Gracy Singh, who was a winsome village maiden in `Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India', and selflessly stood by her man, plays Dr. Neha Mathur, a winsome anesthetist here, and again selflessly stands by her man. Preity Zinta, that cherubic-looking leading lady, is cast against type and has fun as a spoilt heiress (is there any other kind?), unhampered by scruples or too much clothing, who will do anything to get her way. At one point, she helpfully dons a pair of scarlet horns to show just how diabolical her character is. She has a hoot being devious and gleefully smiles at the camera as she mouths insincere apologies to her rival in love, the upstanding anesthetist. Her angelic face belies her spiteful machinations; she makes a persuasive bitch. Randhir Kapoor, appearing on-screen after a long absence, plays her guilt-ridden tycoon father, who gives in to her every whim to atone for his preoccupation with making money, and in so doing, creates a monster, albeit a very pretty one.

All of this is fine, except that several of Honey Irani's characters in this film (based on her story; she co-wrote the screenplay, as well) are doctors, and most movie actors, I suspect, are congenitally incapable of convincingly portraying the medical profession. Amitabh has style and panache, and in his role of CEO of this hospital, he has less medical jargon to spout, which helps his credibility enormously. He also makes an extremely dapper ghost; his demise does not prevent him from making several well-dressed and chatty appearances each time his screen son is faced with ethical or emotional dilemmas. However, Anil Kapoor playing a neurosurgeon, in an otherwise competent performance, is at his hokiest when called upon to be doctor-ly. The movie includes a couple of surgery sequences where Anil's character peers flummoxed into his patient's open skull and haplessly mumbles to his cohorts, `This is a very complicated case!'.not the most confidence-inspiring talk from a celebrated neurosurgeon. No number of defibrillators, the glittering array of scalpels and other medical paraphernalia managed to influence me otherwise! Not for a moment did I buy that Anil and Gracy Singh are overworked, put-upon members of the medical profession, especially when after the first messy surgery, they take a song-and-dance break in the bucolic vistas surrounding the hospital. There they finally get the opportunity to discard their drab hospital scrubs, wear true movie-star designer clothing, break into song and be themselves: a Hindi film hero and heroine!

The strongest points of the movie are the lovely depiction of the father-son relationship--Amitabh and Anil exhibit wonderful chemistry together, the well-etched characters of the principled Dr. Siddharth Sinha, his son, and the willful heiress. Randhir Kapoor makes a welcome return to the screen looking, more than ever, like his father Raj Kapoor during his character actor years. Honey Irani elicits sincere performances from her entire cast and deftly stages the emotional scenes with poignancy. Too bad the story is set in a hospital, and the actors make such awful neurosurgeons and anesthetists.

Dr. Siddharth Sinha (Indian mega-star Amitabh Bachchan) is the devoted head of a hospital. He constantly is trying to expand and improve the facility and the only thing he loves more is his adopted son, Akash (Anil Kapoor). It is assumed that one day Akash will take over the hospital, as he's a very accomplished surgeon. However, Dr. Sinha is a bit of a control freak. He has a heart condition that needs attention but he won't let himself take time off for himself--when he should transition control of the place to Akash.

A new doctor, Neha Mathur (Gracy Singh) arrives at the hospital and you KNOW she is going to fall in love with Akash because they have a kooky misunderstanding when they first meet. Not surprisingly, they begin dating and soon talk of marrying.

Soon, a VERY spoiled and obnoxious rich girl, Sonia (Preity Zinta) meets Dr. Akash. Although he is in love with Neha, Sonia has decided she MUST have Dr. Akash as her husband. And, since she's a spoiled brat and her father is one of the richest men in India, she knows she will get him one way or the other. So how do she and her father exert pressure on Akash? Well, they approach Dr. Sinha--offering to fully fund his hospital IF he can get Akash to marry Sonia. Sinha refuses and won't even tell his son about the offer.

Soon after this, Dr. Sinha witnesses a traffic accident and overexerts himself--and dies trying to save a young boy's life. Then, Akash learns about the deal Sonia and her father proposed to Dr. Sinha--and Akash agrees to marry Sonia. He doesn't love her but feels he owes his father so much that he MUST marry the spoiled brat in order to keep the hospital operating. This is because just how much Dr. Sinha gave up in his life for Akash has been revealed to him.

When they marry, Akash tries to be a good husband but it's really impossible for the marriage to work. Sonia is too demanding, too manipulative and too jealous--and she has the bizarre notion that her new husband and Neha are carrying on behind her back. So, she sets out to destroy Dr. Mathur--mostly because she can. What's next? Well, the more the film progresses, the more nuts Sonia appears to be! She's a great example of a so-called 'Borderline Personality'. See the film and you'll see what I mean.

It's odd thing about the film is that even after Dr. Sinha dies, that's NOT the last you see of him. Several times, just like Mufasa in "The Lion King", he appears to his son to give him sage advice! Additionally, Sonia and her father reminded me of the character Princess and her daddy from "The Powerpuff Girls". Now I know few folks who watch "Armaan" would also watch "The Powerpuff Girls" (or vice-versa), but it is a very apt description.

One thing I liked about the film was that Neha and Akash were very ordinary looking actors--not the super-glamorous actors you might expect in such roles.

As for the plot, it's a combination of good and bad. I liked the character Sonia and appreciate showing what marriage to someone like this would be like--it's an over the top performance, but actually realistic for someone like this--and there ARE folks like Sonia. I used to work as a psychotherapist and, unfortunately, worked with several like her. What I didn't love was all the soapy bit in the plot--such as when the Mufasa-like doctor kept appearing, the complicated plot involving the hospital and the silly ending involving surgery on Sonia and a change of heart that is just impossible to believe. Thiese tended to distract from Sonia and Akash's screwy marriage and Sonia's craziness. In fact, the first portion of the film and second are really like two separate films and EITHER on their own could have worked well--together it just seemed like too much. Overall, it's a mixed bag where the good does outweigh the negative--plus it's one of the best portraits of a Borderline I have ever seen.

Honey Irani made a fantastic directorial debut. Armaan is brilliant in every aspect, despite being fairly outdated. Everything, from the dialogue to the proceedings to the characters seems to be taken straight from the 1960s (I mean it as a compliment). I seriously think Irani should have officially set the period of time as such, because it would have made much more sense. I genuinely liked the film. I thought it was special, realistic and artistic in its subtlety and restraint. The concept of life in a hospital is quite interesting though it certainly might not work for the wide audience and some might find it slow. In my view, it doesn't take anything from Honey Irani's honest attempt which is never less than worthy; it's just a film that does not appeal to everyone, but aren't all films anyway.

The film, however, has a pleasant surprise which comes as a saviour after an hour or so in the form of Preity Zinta, whose bubbly, spoilt, wicked, narcissistic and altogether mentally unstable Sonia Kapoor is both interesting, hateful, funny and memorable. Kudos to Zinta for such a spectacularly played negative role. She is natural and convincing, and she manages to make her evil character unique and almost, if not completely, likable. This is thanks to her animated line delivery and her lively, partly vicious and partly vivacious attitude. I can understand why Irani wrote the character with Preity Zinta in mind. She does not really act in accordance with the film's mood, yet she seems tailor-made for her role, and her commanding screen presence more than carries the film.

I think the rest of the cast are very good, especially Anil Kapoor, who is restrained and greatly impressive as the level-headed, intelligent and well-mannered Dr. Akash. This highly sincere performance is in my view amongst his most accomplished works. Gracy Singh is graceful and compelling as the reserved Neha. Bachchan is good as always, but he appears only in flashbacks in the second half, so there isn't enough of his role. Aamir Bashir is absolutely outstanding as Dr. Sanjay, despite a small role. This truly is an underrated actor. Randhir Kapoor plays Sonia's father and for some reason he made me laugh every time he appeared on-screen. He is unintentionally funny (I was particularly floored in that scene in which he said he was gonna sue Akash for insulting his daughter).

Armaan is almost a classic. There is something in its subtle narrative style that makes it very engaging. It has a much stronger second half though. With the entrance of the character of Sonia Kapoor, the story takes shape and the film flows more effectively. The film becomes much more interesting, entertaining and enjoyable, although it generally still remains loyal to its realism and keeps following a rather slow pace. One must also note the background score, which is simply exceptional. Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy's soundtrack is quiet and pleasant. My favourite song is Zinta's seductive number "Mera Dil Ka Tumse", which is extremely energetic and fun. To all those who appreciate quality films, Armaan is a must-watch.

They'll tell you its a story of sacrifice, with some stupendous performances. But really its just dreary and dull trash, this guy Amitabh turns in a 'restrained' performance that borders on the contrived - a problem with most actors from Bollywood; their acting is plain contrived. Lifted across-the-border music [Yeh larka from the original 'Falak pay kaisa', the hit from the mid 80s] does not add much zing to the proceedings. And who was this actress with this Cleopatra like 60s hairdo?? Gawd, guys, get a better person to do that next time!!

Only watch if you relish boredom. Really, its just another one in the long list of cinematic trash churned out by the Indie movie industry.

Armaan is a story woven around a hospital in a town called 'Chandipur' which I suspect has been the land of many other films. But what makes Armaan's 'Chandipur' special is that it stretches from Mussoorie and Mauritius to South Africa, so naturally it encompasses all the landscapes: hills, plains, waterfalls, lakes, farms et-cetera et-cetera. The main protagonists of the movie are all doctors whereas the antagonist(s) are not, which makes one think whether the 'hidden' message of the movie is that you have to be a doctor to be nice and rational and if you aren't, there is something terribly wrong with you.

Anyway, Amitabh Bachchan plays Dr. Siddharth Sinha who runs the Hospital. What??? A Hospital in 'Chandipur'!!! and that too complete with neurosurgeons 'n all, As far as my memory serves me 'Chandipur' only had Dacoits and evil landlords but now it has a hospital. Imagine how many lifes could have been saved if there had been a hospital in 'Chandipur' ever since we started making films but.... alas the patients of 'Chandipur' always had to be taken to the hospital of the nearest 'shehar' and that too by a bullock-cart and that too at night... Oh God! what a revolutionary idea to have a hospital in 'Chandipur' of all places, God bless Honey Irani!!!

Dr. Akash Sinha played by Anil Kapoor is the adopted son of the Big B. Dr. Akash Sinha is a hugely gifted and an equally busy neurosurgeon. I say gifted because in all the operations he does, the patient has a very remote chance of survival (upto a maximum of 5%) but he always comes out with flying colors. And I say 'busy' because it looks like the people of 'Chandipur' are extremely prone to brain tumors(endemic???), so Dr. Akash Sinha is perenially busy, infact when his wife Soniya Kapoor (Preity Zinta) presents him with two tickets to Switzerland, he refuses to accompany her. Why??? because he has to perform 9 operations in the next 15 days and cant spare time for Switzerland(and importantly Preity Zinta), what dedication!!!

Here, It is important to mention the role of Dr. Neha Mathur (played by Gracy Singh of lagaan fame(???)) who is a part of Dr. Akash Sinha's Surgical Team and is a anaesthesist par excellence herself. Dr. Akash Sinha and Dr. Neha Mathur are romantically involved with each other before the script demands that Dr. Akash marry Soniya Kapoor who incidentally is the daughter of one Gulshan Kapoor(Randhir Kapoor), and Gulshan Kapoor is one of the ten richest Indians in the world but as the script would have it, he also looks like one of the ten most stupid Indians in the world and the most idle tycoon in the world.

It would be unfair to reveal the story(or the lack of it) of the film but generally speaking Preity Zinta looks like an ideal candidate for Vandana Luthra's weight reduction programmes and Anil Kapoor a candidate for her age reduction programme. Coming to Gracy Singh, she never looks good but this time the problem is compounded by her lack of acting abilities. Otherwise, she needs a shave badly. The songs featuring Gracy Singh and Anil Kapoor look like an attempt by middle aged people to re-live their youth.

Performance-wise, Preity Zinta in this hyperactive 'made for Urmila' role is irritating at times, As for Gracy Singh, the lesser said the better, Anil Kapoor is adequate and infact does justice to his character. And there is a certain Dr. Sanjay who lends a freshness to the film, his is a likeable cameo in the film. And now coming to the man himself, The Big B has got three and a half scenes in the film and little room to perform as he is dead even before the intermission (you know the director is apologetic about this as Big B's ghost keeps making a presence post-interval). But in these three and a half scenes, He delivers your moneys value and especially in the 'waterfall' sequence which is a must-see for all Bachchan fans as you get the glimpses of the genius that makes Amitabh Bachchan what he is... Amazing....

All in all you won't return disappointed if your expectations are reasonable. Passable stuff