Fanaa

Saw Fanaa, a Hindi movie with Kajol and Aamir Khan, and I thought it rocked!
The dialogue was all Shahiri, in the first half, with Aamir charming Kajol and Kiran Kher and her husband Rishi Kapoor romancing each other delightfully with words. Kajol looks radiant and gorgeous with the camera staying focused on her vivaciousness through most of the movie. It was mostly shot in Delhi, Lodhi Gardens, Red Fort, Purana Kila, Juma Masjid. And the Kashmir portion was shot in Poland. I guess it was considered too dangerous to shoot a movie while the army and the militants fight it out in real time, in Jehan (paradise). Shahjahan’s words were quoted “agar duniya me jehan hai, yehi hai, yehi hai, yehi hi jehan hai”(if there is a paradise on this earth it is here, it is here)

The second half was serious, dealing with issues of nationalism, terrorism, nuclear triggers, Kashmir, the Army and the militants. Fanaa which means annihilation dealt with militancy in Kashmir. And how the terrorists wanted the nuclear trigger to be able to bring India and Pakistan to the bargaining table. The movie did not have bad or good guys, but it dealt with whole people with all their complexities. Tabu was sophisticated and strong as the RAW agent Ms. Tyagi. I loved the last scene where the two women were holding guns, and both shot and killed, one from atop a helicopter and the other her true love.

A review by Outlook's Namrata Joshi here