Lamhaa Hindi movie review: Rahul Dholakia failed to deliver what he promised

After so much hype and hoopla Rahul Dholakia’s political thriller, Lamhaa, has finally released in theatres and the verdict is it is totally a wasted movie. Why? First of all, the movie does not stay true to its tagline “The Untold story of Kashmir.”

What it shows turns out to be very typical such as children being trained as terroists, guys blasting themselves are nothing uncommon to people. The movie does not show the real feelings of the people of Kashmir. What really do they want? What is their cause of fighting?

Rahul Dholakia did intensive research on the subject but he messed up trying to balance between the reality and make believe. In the end, Lamhaa turns out to be one of those disappointing Indian patriotic movies where Indian soldiers rises up to the occasion and becomes the real hero. What should have Dholakia done is to make it a serious movie just like A Wednesday with no nonsense approach.

Another big disappointment is that from the beginning, the viewers are told that something serious is going to happen in Kashmir that would paralyze the country. So, the viewer will be expecting something serious but it turns out to be a very simple matter. The screen play fails to keep the viewers hooked till the end and the poor climax just adds up to viewers’ disappointment.

In terms of acting, Sanjay Dutt looks rugged but not convincing. He fails to successfully portray his role of an undercover MI officer. Bipasha Basu though worked very hard, she also suffers from the same problem. Kunal Kapoor’s acting talent had not been fully exploited in the movie. Only Anupam Kher played his part convincingly.

However, there are good things about the movie, the camera works of James Fowlds is very good. You will see some great visuals of Kashmir. The shaking of camera would give the viewer a real feel. There are some great scenes like Aziza being attacked by the female party workers of Anupam Kher. Overall, Lamhaa fails to deliver what it promises.

Will Bipasha Basu’s deglam avatar in Lamhaa win the hearts of Bollywood fans?

Bipasha Basu is known for doing glamorous roles. Movies like Jism, Race, Dhoom 2, All The Best, No Entry, Omkara established her as Bollywood’s sex symbol. She did take up some non-glamorous roles but they were not well accepted by the audience.

In her upcoming movie, Lamhaa, Bipasha Basu did a non-glamorous role. Lamhaa is a political thriller that deals with the problems of Kashmir. Bipasha Basu’s character, Aziza, is a revolutionary. A strong minded, aggressive woman, Aziza has been involved in Azad Kashmir movement since she was six years old.

Lamhaa is going to be release in theatres on July 16, 2010. When the makers of Lamhaa, approached her for the role she was not sure whether they would want to play her the role of a Kashmiri girl because she has a Bengali face. After speaking to Rahul Dholakia, she became convinced that she could play the role.

Bipasha is all praise about Lamhaa. She said that the movie has a strong story and it focuses on the sentiments of the Kashmiri people. It is a film that would meet the standards of an International movie like Bourne Ultimatum. It is made like an International movie and the songs are pretty good to listen to.

However, the shooting of Lamhaa did not go so smoothly. After Bipasha Basu went to shoot in Kashmir, people threw stones at her. Initially, she became very afraid. She said,

“I had thought that I could not get out of Kashmir that day and that we all would get killed. The mob was angry but I think things have settled down now. I do not fear for my life because we have made an honest film and as soon as people see the film, people will understand the intention. It’s sad that we did have to cancel the Kashmir premiere due to the curfew and the tension in the valley.”

It was Sanjay Dutt who convinced Bipasha Basu to come back and work for the movie. Sanjay Dutt previously worked in Kashmir and he knows the local officials very well. Hence, Bipasha Basu agreed to work in the project.