This
is the story of Neel Thakur (Devgan), a man with learning disabilities.
He comes across Maya Trivedi (Esha Deol) and a friendship strikes
between the two.
Maya,
who comes from a rich family background has run away from her father because he
does not pay attention to her.
Her
friendship with Neel gradually turns to love, but when she becomes
pregnant she leaves him holding the baby.
Neel
raises his daughter Gungun but when she turns 7 years old, she refuses to go to
school. Why? Because she thinks that she will become more intelligent than her
dad - Neel has the brain of a 7 year old. But
the twist in this melodrama comes when Dayanath Trivedi (Anupam Kher), the father
of Maya, decides to take custody of her granddaughter. So
Neel seeks the help of Neeti Khanna (Sushmita Sen), the best lawyer in town. Neeti
is too involved with her work to spend time with her son. Initially she refuses
to take on Neel's case but later she goes back on her decision.
So
what follows next is a Kramer versus Kramer style court room battle.
Will Neel be able to convince the jury that a man with learning
disabilities can take care of his daughter?
Without
giving too much away I suggest you watch the film to find out. Director
Bewaja has put a lot of effort into the making of this film but little thought
on the screenplay. With
a subject matter like this, one would expect few songs to enhance the proceedings.
But on the contrary we are subjected to many song sequences and flashbacks which
dampen the impact of the story.
Ajay
Devgan is an actor of high calibre. So it is up to the director
to extract the best out of him. Unfortunately Harry Bewaja fails
to do so. In some of the scenes, Ajay tries hard to act like a man
with learning disabilities, but he ends up looking comical.
Esha
Deol 's performance seems to improve with every film. She is becoming more at
ease in front of the camera. But it is Susmita Sen who steals the show with a
superb performance. This actress will go places after Main Aisa Hi Hoon.
Also
it is worth mentioning the young lass who plays the character of Gungun. She impresses
with her acting to a point where you really feel for this child.
Overall
Main Aisa Hi Hoon could have been a great film due to its
unique subject, but with a weak screenplay and too many loose
ends which are unexplained will hinder its performance at the
UK box office.
Reviewed
by Manish Gajjar 大象传媒 Shropshire Bollywood |