Tere Naam

Tere Naam -- In Your Name

MAIN CAST:
Salman Khan -- Radhe
Bhumika Chawla -- Nirjara

BASIC PLOT OVERVIEW:
Irreverant rabble-rouser and thug-with-a-heart-of-gold Radhe meets his match when he falls in love with Nirjara, the innocent daughter of a priest. Unfortunately, this is not a sweet love story, and the tale takes a turn for the worst when Radhe suffers brain damage after a gang attack. He is eventually sent to an asylum for religion-based therapy.

FILM -- 4/5
There is so much hate for this movie at the BollyWHAT forum, I was sure it was going to suck...but it was actually a pretty good movie. The script is really good, with 3-dimensional characters and an outwardly simple--but emotionally complex--plot. Even the minor characters are given palpable personalities via well-written dialogue and great performances by the cast. The choreography is pretty cheesey, but the actors put their hearts and souls in to it, so it's still fun. One of the biggest highlights of this film is the camera work and lighting, especially in the second half of the film. It reminds me of surrealist art, with its intense color contrasts and dark, twisted imagery. (Please note that I am rather eccentric and enjoy dark, morbid things. If that's not your style, you'll probably be freaked out by it.) I have a major complaint, too: the sound effects are obnoxious to the nth degree. Somebody gets so much as a shove, and there's a huge slapping sound layered over it. It made me cringe every time I heard it. Also, there's a bit of slack in the pacing here and there, but I never stopped enjoying the film. Even if you don't like this movie, you have to admit that the posters and promotional images are eye-catching and disturbingly beautiful.

CHARACTERS -- 5/5
Even if you hate violence and morbid, twisted tales, Tere Naam is worth it for the great characters and equally incredible acting. This is probably my favorite Salman Khan performance, and he adds a lot of layers to Radhe, some that are inexplicably charming, others that are utterly repulsive. Bhumika Chawla is beautiful, and even though Nirjara is a quiet and unassuming character, Bhumika brings a lot of life to her. Bhumika and Salman have incredible chemistry; it's like they are constantly communicating with each other with only their eyes. None of their interactions feel fake to me. I love this jodi and I want to see it again! Sachin Khadekar and Savita Prabhune, who play Radhe's brother and sister-in-law, have unique and realistic relationships with Radhe. I really loved their performances! The supporting cast is also good. Sarfaraz Khan, who plays Radhe's best friend Aslam, is easily one of the best parts of the movie, and the beautiful Mahima Chaudhary makes a special appearance.

SOUNDTRACK -- 3/5
I was pleasantly surprised by Tere Naam's soundtrack, thanks again to my low expectations. Nirjara sings a lot of really beautiful religious hymns and chants. "O Jaana" opens the film and is simple and sweet; it has no purpose, but I like it regardless. There are a couple of very modern love songs that are good enough, such as "Lagan Lagi" and "Tumse Milna." I don't quite like how computer-processed "Lagan Lagi" is, though; it really ruins Sukhwinder Singh's amazing vocals. "Oodhni" is wonderful on and off screen. However, with the exception of the title song ("Without you, this ocean has no shore"), the lyrics are very standard and bland, which loses Tere Naam some major soundtrack points.

OVERALL -- 3.5/5
Tere Naam is not the happiest, sweetest movie, and it certainly is violent and morbid and twisted. But movies do not have to be sunshine and butterflies to be good. Tere Naam boasts a relatively unique plot line with great characters, and if you enjoy it the first time, you're bound to watch it again and again. Still, I wouldn't recommend blindly buying Tere Naam, because it's a film people have very strong reactions to, and your reaction may not be favorable. Put it in your Netflix queue and watch it on a rainy Friday for the full effect. At the very least, you're bound to enjoy the performances. Just make sure you have a feel-good film on hand to clear up the sadness that lingers after Tere Naam.

TOTAL SCORE -- 15.5/20 (great)

A COUPLE OF SIDENOTES:

A lot of people hate this movie because it's violent or because Salman Khan's character is more than a little crazy. I understand that; that's fine. But what I disagree with is people who say, "Well, if you like Tere Naam, you must approve of that sort of behavior!"

Here's what that reminds me of: Victorian poet Robert Browning wrote a poem called "My Last Duchess," which depicts a self-absorbed Duke talking about how he killed his previous wife because she wasn't good enough for him. A certain Dr. Langbaum wrote that we automatically sympathize with the Duke because he is the main character of the poem, and because he's an interesting character.

You know what I say to that? Bullshit. You can think a character is interesting and well-written without actually liking them. I love the character Bellatrix Lestrange in Harry Potter, but I'll be damned if I sympathize with the crazy bitch. The same goes for Tere Naam: thinking Radhe is an interesting character and that Salman Khan did a good job portraying him does not mean I think kidnapping people is a good idea.

Also, I hear a lot of complaints about the way asylums are portrayed in this movie. Yes, not all mental wards are that awful, especially if you're in a western country. But what people are forgetting is that not every hospital or office or town is like the place you work or live in, and this is especially true in developing nations like India. Many of these hospitals are under-funded, so the staff is rarely qualified and barely educated, leading to the use of outdated medicinal practices, and the facilities are rarely up to par and are often dirty and dilapidated. It's also noteworthy that they do not send him to a medical asylum; it's an asylum with "religious therapy," and at the risk of sounding like I'm bashing religion (because I am actually devoutly religious), faith-based therapy is often a load of crap.

Again, I get where a lot of people are coming from, but try to understand that places like Tere Naam's mental ward DO exist in this world, and the asylum depicted in this film is not meant to represent asylums as a whole. What goes on in capitalist first-world nations like America does not represent what goes on in the rest of the world, either. It's unfortunate that such horrible things happen, but they do.