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ITo his credit, the director chooses a lesser-known chapter of Indian Independence history and this works in drawing you in to some extent. His characters lack depth, however, and the acting, especially by the younger cast and the English officers is stiff. While Deepika Padukone pours sincerity into her character of Kalpana, Abhishek Bachchan is miscast as the heroic Surjya Sen. He narrates his lines indifferently and makes it difficult for you to empathize with him. Sikander Kher, as Nirmal, stands out in comparison, offering his best despite limitations.
I'm going with two out of five for Ashutosh Gowariker's 'Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey'. It's a noble effort that gives you a glimpse of forgotten history. But this hero has feet of clay.
Rating: 2 / 5
The film has an interesting ensemble cast of young boys who enlist in their local school teacher's (Abhishek Bachchan) desi army. Abishek's Bachchan's Surjya Sen is simple, uncluttered and played straight from the heart as are Deepika Padukone's Kalpana Dutta, Vishakha Singh's Pritilata Waddedar and Sikandar Kher's Nirmal Sen. Like the revolution, the romance too is underplayed and both Deepika and Vishakha create a smouldering, yet silent ardour on screen for their respective heroes. For there isn't much time -- and opportunity -- for love under the shadow of the bullet and the bomb, is there? The film maker has tried to recreate the 1930s Chittagong in Goa, but the authenticity of the period piece doesn't suffer. Both the styling and the cinematography of the film exhibit an eye for detail. But it is the director's narrative style and his attempt to re-tell history through a racy-pacy tenor that gives the film its movement and manages to drive the message home.
[i] Deepika, who plays the feisty Kalpana Datta and Sikander Kher who plays Nirmal, do much better. [/b]
Deepika sheds her glam look and looks every bit the character she illustrates. Kudos to her first of all for accepting a challenging role [of a woman revolutionary of the 1930s] so early in her career and then almost living that character in the film, continuing to prove her mettle far ahead of her poise and exquisiteness.
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