Direction: Mansoor Khan
Music: Anu Malik
Lyrics: Samir & Nitin Raikwar
Cast: Shah Rukh Khan, Aishwarya Rai, Chandrachur Singh, Sharad
Kapoor
Josh, directed by Mansoor Khan of
Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak fame, is full of pep and very volatile. The film, shot in picturesque Goa, is, like most other Hindi films, a cocktail of blood, gore, violence, murder, mayhem, court scenes etc. But it is on the whole a relishable cocktail. Nothing happens in the first half of the movie except violence and counter violence by the two warring gangs led by Shah Rukh Khan and Sarad Kapoor. The film gathers tempo after the interval.
Max (Shah Rukh Khan) and Prakash (Sarad Kapoor), dadas of the town Vasco, are leaders of rival gangs always at loggerheads. They however pretend to be pals whenever there is a confrontation with the police. Max and Shirley (Aishwarya Rai) are twins and Max, who has a selfish and sadistic streak in him, adores his sister with a fierce possessiveness. The warring gangs create one situation after the other to torment each other, inevitably ending in violence and bloodshed. Shirley, who is proud of her brother's muscle power, is a party to all his pranks.
It is at this juncture Prakash's brother Rahul (Chandrachur Singh) returns from Bombay after graduating in
Catering Technology. He finds Prakash's way of life as a mercenary in the payroll of the local builders repulsive. Rahul wants the family to migrate
en masse to Bombay where he is all set to open a grand restaurant. But he falls in love with the beautiful Shirley, changes his mind and opens a bakery in Vasco instead. The rivalry between Prakash and Max has its spillover in Rahul's life. But being a peace loving person who shuns violence, and Max being the brother of the girl he loves, Rahul resists all provocations. .
In the process of checking on the ownership of the vacant land owned by the late Alberto Vasco it is Rahul who stumbles on the secret of the birth of Max and Shirley. In a fit of anger he almost blurts it out to Max. Max on knowing the truth is devastated and almost throttles Rahul who falls unconscious. Prakash too becomes privy to the secret. Prakash and his gang member Kotiya hatch a plot to kill Max and get Rahul and Shirley married. The land will then come into their possession apart from a large sum of money.
But their well-laid plans boomerang. It is Prakash who gets killed for which Max ends up in the dock. The film has a feel-good ending. The film has witty dialogue and pleasing music and is gripping in the second half. There are some hilarious scenes like when Shirley smuggles in a basketful of rats into Rahul's bakery causing total devastation.
The cast has nothing much to do in the first half except get at each other's throat and shed a lot of ketchup. But everyone gets a chance to show their mettle in the second half. Josh may very well bring the much-needed hit for Shah Rukh Khan who has been going through a career winter for quite some time now. He pulls at our heartstrings in scenes like in the jail cell where he proclaims his innocence and pleads with the same officer he used to taunt, for mercy. And the star can sing too. Aishwarya Rai is sprightly and looks ravishing. And is quite expressive when she tries to hide her heart's secret from her brother. If anybody has had any reservations about Shah Rukh and Aishwarya acting as siblings they have dispelled it with their controlled and sensitive acting. Chandrachur Singh who underplays as the sober and peace-loving Rahul is a perfect foil to Sarad Kapoor's volatile Prakash. He impresses but one still misses the intensity we
saw in him in 'Maachis'. Sarad Kapoor has improved and come a long way from 'Dasthak'. Priya Gill as Rose Ann, the girl who loves Max is totally wasted in this film.
The songs already on top of the hit chart are another plus point of Josh. Anu Malik's tunes especially,
Kitna pyara hai yeh pyar.... and Mere khayalon ki malka...are
catchy. Sensitive directorial touches are evident in many places. The sensuous beauty of the sea is captured very well by the camera when Rahul and Shirley go on a joyride on a catamaran. Jerks in editing are visible occasionally. The sudden cut to a dance scene while a miserable Rahul has to sit and learn about his and Shirley's illegitimacy is a case in point.
S. Swetha
