KHUSHI: Looks Real!

           Kareena and Fardeen Khan come together to give themselves and others Khushi. Based on a south Indian hit, the film contains all the masala for entertainment and a strong, sentimental love story. Two little children - a boy and a girl - are separated babes-in-arms, but when they meet as grown up young people, in a college, they are unable to re-discover their past. But they feel some mysterious vibration between themselves.

           Kareena plays an egotistic, obstinate girl, talkative and short-tempered. Fardeen's fascination for her reached a breaking point due to her temperament. The story has several twists and turns before the relationship between them is untangled.

           Both Fardeen and Kareena have done their job according to the roles assigned to them. Emotional outbursts and constant bickerings create a series of tense but interesting scenes. They are quite enjoyable. There is a natural flow of events which are very convincing most of the times.

           Amrish Puri plays the semi-rural character of Kareena's father deriving rustic kind of humour. Good dialogue, great visuals, some good music from Anu Malik, but too many songs. There is some freshness in the treatment of the scenes, although there is nothing new in the theme or the story as such.

-by Our Film Critic
February 7,  2003