MOVIE REVIEW January 2003
Rishtey
Starring: Anil Kapoor, Karisma Kapoor, Shilpa Shetty
Director: Indra Kumar
Music Directors: Sanjeev-Darshan
After Dil and Beta, Indra Kumar?s creative energies have sunk to abysmal levels, especially with films like Mann and Aashiq. This time he borrows heavily from tearjerkers like The Champ and Kramer Vs Kramer only to come up with boring, clich�d fare.
Suraj (Anil Kapoor) makes a living by fighting bouts on the streets. Heiress Komal (Karisma Kapoor) is his love interest ? naturally daddy dear is dead against the match, but the two marry nevertheless. Suraj is forced to give up his boxing bouts as per his doctor?s advice. Anyway, the couple split after their son Karan is born. Enter Vyjanthi (Shilpa Shetty) who loves Suraj, who of course still holds a torch for his estranged wife, who on her part misses her son. The court orders Suraj to cough up a surety or else the child will go to his mother. Suraj has to resort to a bout in the ring one last time.
As for the performances, Amrish Puri as the daddy screams his way through the movie. Jibraan Khan as the moppet Karan is thoroughly endearing. Karisma in a poorly conceived role has a dazed look throughout and shrieks too much while Anil Kapoor is as sincere as ever, effortlessly bringing tears to many an eye in the audience with his touching histrionics. But believe it or not, it is Shilpa Shetty as the fisherwoman who proves to be the scene-stealer. Endowed with the best curves and the best lines to mouth, the actress comes up with her career?s most sprightly performance. It is obvious that Shilpa is heavily inspired by Sridevi in some sequences but she does a commendable job nonetheless.
The filmmaker shows no interest in finding a realistic solution to the problem, only in making the audience sob in their hankies. The sometimes banal and sometimes vulgar dialogue by Tanveer Khan leave a bad taste in the mouth. The music is nothing to hum about except one or two numbers. On the plus side, some sequences have been executed well especially the race scene and some scenes between father and son. Baba Azmi?s cinematography is good and adds zip to the frames.
A totally avoidable, though much hyped, film.
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