Woh Lamhe (2006)

Waste of time

The movie is wonderful and true, an act of love in all its contradictions and complexity

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

Mahesh Bhatt made 3 films on Parveen Babi,first being ARTH(1982) which was a great film,then PHIR TERI KAHAANI YAAD AAYI(1993) and finally WOH LAMHE. The film brought back Shiny Ahuja and Kangana after GANGSTER the same year. The film is a fictitious take on the love story of Bhatt and Babi directed by Mohit Suri. It starts off superbly though the panty scene could be avoided, yet otherwise the love story is smoothly narrated, the breakdown scenes are awesome, the second half does drag a bit but yet the scene when Kangana finds a bug in their room is awesome, The climax too is awesome but there are flaws like it's not explained what happened to Sana after running away? Also the end is different from real life but afterall we should watch it as a fiction.Direction by Mohit Suri is awesome Music is superb,Chal Chale is the best song,Kya Mujhe Pyaar Hai is awesome too, Tu jo Nahin is an underrated song and is superbShiny Ahuja was an upcoming talent those days and he does a great job in his role, Kangana Ranaut is superb, few actresses can play such a complex character so well, except her diction she is superb Shaad Randhawa made an effective debut, Purab Kohli is superb as Shiny's friend,Masumeh is terrific too in her small role,rest are okay

The film is said to be based on Parveen Babi's life but I don't believe it does full justice to the late actress. I would prefer to look at this as a work of fiction, which I think it majorly is. The screenplay is pretty fast-paced but the story feels contrived. The music integrates well with the plot. The songs echo nostalgic melodies of the 90s and I particularly liked 'Sau Jawoon Mein'. Some scenes were a overdone and extremely manipulative. One such scene is where at a film ceremony, Kangana throws her undy at Shiny or the rape scene (which looked quite fake and forced). Performances are quite efficient. Kangana Ranaut does alright in acting but she's miscast. A more mature actress would have been better suited. Shiny Ahuja too is okay overall but his performance is inconsistent. In some scenes he's excellent but in others he does go overboard. Purab Kohli has screen presence and Masumeh Makhija is excellent. She owns all her scenes and is very effective. To sum it up, Woh Lamhe is a good enough one-time watch. But I would have liked to see a movie about the real Parveen Babi, her life, her career, her struggle and her survival.

Music is fantastic and very pleasant to hear with expressive lyrics.Watch "A Beautiful Mind" for understanding what REAL "paranoid schizophrenia" means.Commodification of the woman's body is not just one of the themes in the movie but also is very real / factual when u look at as an outsider.Kangana's acting is good but need not follow mallika or bipasha.......Shiny needs more expressions shining on his face apart from dialogs delivery.Ending is horrible, abrupt end like the time out in football ?????? Flashback does not come to real time at all. There is a complete disconnect, was it intentional or editing / directing error.Not necessarily to watch the movie but still don't forget to listen to the songs as all are truly melodious.

It would be nice to see once a Hindi movie that is not taken off from American Movies. I found Kangana's character very similar to Gia. In Gia, Gia is an international famous model whose life spirals downwards due to heroine addiction and dies due to AIDS. With Kangana her character Sana has a mental problem that it costs her her life and her boyfriend played by Shiny to take care of (Gia had her mother for those who don't know). Throw in a twist of the imaginary person and her perception that the world is trying to get her and you add in Gia with Beautiful Mind. If you tried to fool us thinking this was an original idea....you didn't. Comeon, come up with a movie that is original....can Bollywood do that on a consistent basis..?? So far, I think not! I give it 3/10 for lack of creativity.