Review of Fanaa (2006) by Steven V — 25 Jan 2009

"May my breath find shelter in your heart... / may me life be destroyed in your love." - Zooni Z. Baig.

Fanaa is a complex movie. Aamir Khan has continued his trend of working on unusual plots and delivering extraordinary performances and Kajol has outshone Aamir Khan on many occasions in the movie. The emotional intensity of the movie gets to the core of the viewer's heart. It may help people to look at the Kashmir issue from a different angle but it does certainly portray one fact, and that is a seemingly ruthless terrorist can actually be a simple and kind man fighting for his land's freedom. For him, making judgement on greater good or lesser evil is a constant struggle. Even though Rehan Qadri (Aamir Khan) did not derail from his cause (terorrism apparently) till the last breath in his body, he will draw sympathy from the viewers. The splendor of light, sound and colors in big budget Hindi movies is achieving new heights every day. Viewers will be simply spellbound to the screen during most of the song sequences. The music of the movie was like a breath of fresh air. The viewers will also enjoy a ride of convincing and innovative action sequences. The first half of the movie could have been made better though. Sometimes the pace felt a little off. The constant exchange of poetry did feel irritating at times. Overall the movie is certainly worth watching and, compared to most of the Hindi movies, quite a unique one.