Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi

Top-notch performances, touching back-ground score and its intense script take 'Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi' to never-before-scaled heights of cinema.Its a movie about believing in something so unconditionally, that you give whatever it takes to stand up for it..even if it is your life.

The film showcases the three selfless lives of free India's first generation in their youth set in the back-drop of Naxalite moment and Emergency.

Shiny Ahuja is dynamic as Vikram.Kay Kay Menon(Siddrath) conveys more through his expressions and tone than this dialogs, once again proving his excellence as an actor.Chitrangada Singh(Geeta) ligths up every frame not only with her flawless beauty but, equally with her deep performance as well.she is simply brilliant. This movie sets the standard for excellence in cinema.A true masterpiece.

I had no clue what the movie was about when I rented it, and I absolutely loved it. Though I felt there were a few oddities when I saw it for the first time, when I watched it for the second and third time, I was able to appreciate the excellent performances by the entire cast, and the awesome script. Especially Shiny Ahuja, who plays Vikram Malhotra to perfection - every single expression on his face throughout the movie was a 100% apt. I also loved the Indian-ness imbued in the settings - the houses, roads, cars, government buildings, sound of birds, Geeta's sarees etc. Made me feel deeply nostalgic. The music adds to the poignancy of the movie, and is used very fittingly, to create a dramatic effect in certain scenes. I highly recommend this movie to all movie buffs, because I think of it as a unique work of art from the Hindi film industry. It's entertaining to those who want light entertainment, provides food for thought to those who are keen on watching films with ideological themes, and is an absolute must-see for die-hard romantics.

In India there are only two periods which drove the youth into ideological confrontation , first during the freedom struggle and the second during 70s when the youth could not bear to see the fruits of freedom struggle being frittered away. Now this is where this movie treads.While there has been many movies on the 70s but not many has dealt with the subject as political as this.

To come to the story,this movie deals with 3 characters coming from 3 different backgrounds.Sidharth(K K Menon) coming from an influential and affluent family has seen it all .Fed up of the hypocrisy of elite he desperately wants out. Vikram(Shiny Ahuja) coming from a middle class family is uncomfortable at the elite circle but still wants a way into the circle. The third and central character is British educated south-Indian girl Geeta(Chitrangada singh) who is in the middle in love with Sidhharth but not quite comfortable with his ideology.

The story goes forward with movement of each character in its own line of ideal.The characterizations are superb .The mysterious Vikram always in love with Geeta , Sidhharth the ideologue ,and Geeta a woman torn between love,ideology,the bureaucrat husband are superbly etched. The turmoil of the 70s are almost authentic.

A must watch

A real breath of fresh air in Indian cinema, Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi is a very real, earnest, crackling-with-life portrayal of what it (apparently) was like to be a college student in Delhi in the late 60s and 70s with the opposing currents of Marxism and (indira) Gandhian totalitarianism. Intertwined with the ideology and the politics is a love story of three people, who start off with different ideas and whose ideas criss-cross in the course of the film. Superb direction, vibrant cinematography, slick editing, lovely music and superlative performances from all three protagonists make for a thoroughly satisfying cinematic experience. The surprise package is Shiny Ahuja, whose model-boy looks belie a prodigious acting talent. Both Kay Kay Menon and Chitrangda Singh deliver superb performances with Chitrangda looking stunning throughout. People say she looks like Smita Patil, I wouldn't know. While the film is not without its faults, including the occasional stilted dialogues and imprecision in the narrative, the overall effect is good enough to make you forget these. Watch this and get high!!

PS. I also have a quibble with the way 5.1 sound was used quite ineffectively when it could have been much better employed in many scenes. But it's churlish to complain about such things in a treat of a movie!!

A few days ago, I watched Sudhir Mishra's Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi with some friends. I am still thinking of it after more than a week has passed. Rare does it happen that an Indian movie leaves such a lasting impression. It is refreshingly bold in its portrayal of its central characters and the story of their personal journeys in search for their identities.

The story is set in the early 70's when emergency and pro-poor (naxalite) movement shaped the thoughts and actions of millions of idealistic youth in India. The story deals with three characters- two males and a female, each from a different stratum of Indian society- each with different passions, goals and idealism. It is their story of love, hope and final attainment of their goals.

The central and most important character is without doubt Chitrangada Singh's Geeta. Her idealism draws her to revolutionary ideas, but she is torn by her need for the softer, more materialistic things of life, for love and a family. This constant pull shapes her life, her choices, and her final destination, depicted touchingly in the end of the movie. She is shown as the most human of all the characters, making her the most believable and most admirable. On one hand, I am in awe of her strength and inner resolve; on the other hand, I feel her suffering and emotional trauma.

KayKay Menon's character Siddharth starts out as a youth of privilege who takes a bold step of fighting for the cause he believes in, leaving behind his only true love. He struggles with the repressive authorities and the demons with in him- his sudden realization that he is after all human in the chase scene, had a dramatic effect on me, suddenly bringing other side of his nature into sharp perspective. His desire to fight out the authorities is derived from his own insecurities about himself. He finds his closure when he accepts his failures.

The most complex of all these characters is Shiny Ahuja's Vikram. His desire to climb the social ladder is surpassed only by his fiery passion for Geeta. She is the only centrality to his other wise meaningless, high powered, and politically connected life. She makes him yearn for making himself successful, and that is what drives her away from him. His choices can be understood only in the context of the complex and unfulfilled relationship he shares with Geeta. His love is never requited in the true sense of the word. Nevertheless, he is the one who finally brings meaning back into Geeta's life.

Technically, the movie is very good, with nice camera work and precise scissors of the editor. Some scenes are breathtaking in their beauty. Dialogues are sometimes difficult to understand, but that ends up adding to the over all tension of the movie. A must watch for any lover of good cinema!