Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam

Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam -- I Have Given My Heart Away

MAIN CAST
Aishwarya Rai -- Nandini
Salman Khan -- Sameer
Ajay Devgan -- Vanraj

BRIEF PLOT OVERVIEW:
Nandini's father is receiving a guest--a half-Italian, half-Indian musician--as a student, but Nandini refuses to give up her bedroom. When she meets the handsome Sameer, however, the two fall madly in love with each other! Everything is going swimmingly until Sameer and Nandini have a fight, and Nandini spitefully tells Sameer that she will catch the eye of another man. And she does: the gentle Vanraj falls in love with her at first sight and decides to ask for her hand in marriage.

FILM -- 3.5/5
Salman Khan doesn't always do the best job of lip syncing, so some of his scenes look too fake for my tastes. The choreography for "Nimbooda" is great, although the choreography lacks luster in other parts of the film. The script is a little off, even for a masala film, but it's pleasing as a whole and doesn't sound ridiculous unless it's meant to. I wish it was all a little more...polished, I guess. The costumes are absolutely gorgeous, and they really add to the characters; Aishwarya Rai looks especially incredible with her long braid and bindi. On the whole, the film is decently shot and put together, and nothing about the production makes me want to stab my eyes.

CHARACTERS -- 3.5/5
Salman Khan is warm and loveable, and the viewer connects with him as soon as he appears. (It doesn't hurt that Khan has a penchant for taking his shirt off.) Aishwarya Rai's performance is strong, showing improvement over some of her earlier films, and she looks luminous. Khan and Rai have incredibly chemistry, but her on-screen romance with Vanraj feels more rehearsed and fake. I understand that she was dating Salman Khan for a while, but if Shahrukh Khan and Kajol--who were NEVER a couple--can pull of awesome on-screen chemistry, Aishwarya and Ajay should, too. Part of the problem may be that Ajay just doesn't seem like he would fit with Aishwarya in any way. Nevertheless, his portrayal of the smitten Vanraj is the best part of the entire film, and like Sameer, he is instantly likeable. Everyone blends well with the extended family, which is full of fun characters played by a well-balanced supporting cast.

MUSIC -- 2.5/5
The music leaves something to be desired. Some of the songs are cute, others are bouncy, but none of them really struck me as being incredible, and certain segments actually annoyed me a bit with the kitschy, tacky arrangements. The biggest problem is track blending, which is when damn near every song sounds the same and you have a hard time telling which part of the movie a certain song came from. I didn't bother getting a copy of this one: the only song I enjoyed outside of the film was "Nimbooda." Overall, a solid soundtrack, but definitely not the best I've ever heard, and it isn't anywhere near as intoxicating as some Bolly soundtracks are.

OVERALL -- 3/5
Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam won't win any awards, since it isn't amazing on any front, but it's not horrible, either. It's a great movie when you're bored on a rainy day, and it'll certainly please fans of Aishwarya Rai and Salman Khan. If you're not in to either of those, just watch a clip of "Nimbooda" and ignore the rest of the flick. I should also note that this movie is almost univerally loved by Bollywood fans, and I am one of the few people who won't sing its praises from the mountaintops.

TOTAL SCORE -- 12.5/20 (okay)