Bipasha and a lot of Nonsense ("Aa Dekhen Zara" Review)

I'm beginning to like the concept of writing a funpost and then a review and then always shifting between the two kinds - one of them takes advance of the more chaotic side of me, and afterwards I can focus on one single film, and what's most important: Write a lot about it.
I've written this review quite a long time ago, but I don't want to keep it back from you for that reason.  Most of all, many critics or review authors had a quite different opinion than mine on this film, and that's also why I'd like to share my own thoughts about it. And if there's something seeming awkward to you, let me tell you that this review was written at approximately 1AM...


AA DEKHEN ZARA (2009)

Title-Translation: "We will see" or "Come Let's See"

Director: Jehangir Surti

Autors: Sheershak Anand, Shantanu Ray Chhibber

Producer: Viki Rajani

Starring: Bipasha Basu, Neil Nitin Mukesh

Plot: Ray inherits a camera that shows the future of the thing that you take a picture of. At the beginning, Ray uses the camera to gain money and becomes a real bastard, but he's also in love with a girl, Simi, who wants him to be like he was before.

And there are, off course, other people wanting the camera for their own.

Written the 8th of August 2010
There are many things about "Aa Dekhen Zara" that really annoyed me. For example, let's take the rapid and numerous camera shifts, sometimes even shimmed by camera flashes - what's meant to be entertaining, rather alienates the audience. In addition, it's a little hard getting into the film at the beginning, because the leading man, Ray, is never really introduced. Truth be hold, we don't get to know much at all about him in the film.
I'm also not yet convinced by the actor, Neil Nitin Mukesh. He doesn't act horribly, but he truly could have done much more, and sometimes seems pretty cold and artificial. Bipasha Basu is, opposite to him, very good - I learn to appreciate this woman more and more! Also her role is sketched comparatively cursorily, but still, she manages to give it a minimum amount of deepness. By doing that, she also saves her male counterpart. There's no huge silver screen chemistry between the two of them, but they harmonize well, and some scenes are even somewhat sweet. By the way, the name of a sandwich in the film is also very sweet (don't remember it, though).

As I said: gratuitous

In other respects, I don't have much positive to say about the first half. Once more, Bipasha is forced to jump into a tiny disco outfit and sing & dance - the necessity of this is supported by her being a singer. Sounds like "Bachna Ae Haseeno" to me, no? However, the whole "scene" is gratuitous, the whole thing (Ray and Simi getting to know each other) could have been done differently. Ray's metamorphosis is also something that seemed very illogical to me - do you become an idiot just by becoming rich? This metamorphosis is also highlighted musically by a very high-class song, whose lyrics mostly consists of "Paisa" (= money), and which is indeed heard by Ray on full volume-up in his very expensive car. Yes, it is possible to exaggerate. Talking about the music: I don't like at all. Not in the film - and don't dare to think that I will listen to this in my leisure time. I do give some plus points for the background music, though. Well, not the score, but the music on the radio and in the shops - simple Hindi pop music, which adds a little authenticity to the whole scenario. Ray and Simi watching "Omkara" on DVD is also a tiny little bit amusing.
After a fair first half, the second one is actually a little exciting. We follow the leading actors on the escape through Thailand, and somehow are on the edges of our seats (well, I was, at least a little bit). We also meet a very botoxed female police officer - but I'm clueless about Indian civil servants, maybe they all look like that... And Bipasha may perform another absurd, unnecessary dance sequence. But that's half as bad as the first one, as it's much shorter. The end is also quite good (though, obviously, they were "inspired" by "Dhoom:2").

So in a nutshell, I don't seem find this movie as bad, as I ought to find it. For everyone just descrying their love for Bipasha, it is worth-a-watch. Certainly though, "Aa Dekhen Zara" doesn't reach the level of the real 2009 goodies.

Rating: 3.9

Thank you for reading,

Mette M. K.