Perhaps the only reason I picked up the DVD from the shelf is because it flaunted a very glitzy photograph of Shah Rukh Khan, along with a bunch of other actors. Therefore, my prime reason for wanting to watch Dulha Mil Gaya was to be dazzled by King Khan's charm. However, the pain I had to endure for those two and a half hours annulled any positive feeling that I might have had for him.
 The movie revolves around the lives of these rich and famous celebrities, who live the high-life, and have everything anybody could ever dream of, right at their feet. The two main characters are Shimmer (played by Sushmita Sen) a highly successful supermodel, and Tej Dhanraj, AKA Donsai (played by Fardeen Khan) the son of a very wealthy businessman, and heir to all his fortune. The story is about all the measures Donsai takes, to make sure he inherits his father's property and estate, in accordance to the will his father had drafted right before his death. The story is slightly similar in nature to the Hollywood film The Bachelor (1999), but has all the Indian touches, such as a melodramatic ending, a sprinkle of unnecessary songs and the over-embellished lifestyles of each character.
What irritated me the most was the fact that Shah Rukh khan only appeared in the second half of the movie, appearing for a 60 minute guest appearance, playing Sushmita's love interest. Another thing I wasn't able to digest, was how everybody was acting half their age and not doing a good job of it. For instance, when Aamir Khan plays the role of a college student, he manages to pull it off effectively, and we don't get outraged when we see him jumping around and dancing. But when Fardeen Khan is acting like a 25 year old and romancing girls who look too young for him, then it just looks wrong. Also, some really crude dialogues have been thrown in here and there that make your jaw drop, while you stare at the screen wondering what happened to good old Indian cinema, where families could sit and watch movies together.
Also, the plot was unoriginal, and did not create any interest or curiosity for one to be able to watch the movie just for the sake of knowing what happens in the end. Basically, the movie hadn't been made to discuss a topic, or some kind of a story. It seemed like someone - who was obviously a really good friend of Fardeen Khan and Sushmita Sen's - had made a movie just to make the cast look young and glamorous, and to have a good time shooting in a beautiful location: Trinidad and Tobago.
 However, there were some funny moments. Shimmer's manager and butler, who were both named after flowers, Lotus and Jasmine, were always fighting, with Lotus, the butler, being somewhat of a 'dumb blonde'. Sushmita Sen looked gorgeous as she has lost weight and come back into shape, and also acted well according to her character: her sarcasm and snobby attitude were almost comical. Shahrukh Khan is also just naturally very witty and charming.
In conclusion, this was one experience one would not want to go through again, or let anybody else go through for that matter. Avoid at all costs. Enjoy a good book or a home-cooked meal instead if there is nothing else to do to kill time.
-- Manal Faheem Khan
*YUCK
**WHATEVER
***GOOD
****SUPER
*****AWESOME |
