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By Taran Adarsh, August 13, 2004 - 11:54 IST
Watching KAUN HAI JO SAPNO MEIN AAYA is akin to watching a film of the 1970s. Films like BAWARCHI, ANKHIYON KE JHAROKHON SE, DULHAN WOHI JO PIYA MAN BHAYE and the not-too-recent MAINE PYAR KIYA flash across one's mind as the reels unfold.
KAUN HAI JO SAPNO MEIN AAYA looks completely out of place not because we've witnessed all this and more before, but because of its lackluster and uninspiring presentation. The amateurish handling of the subject and a humdrum screenplay are its biggest culprits!
The film revolves around a Punjabi family settled in United Kingdom.
Kuldeep Khanna [Kader Khan] shares his sprawling mansion with Dadi Maa [Vinita Malik], wife [Navneet Nishan], sons Harry [Surjit Singh Pandher] and Sunny [Rakesh Bapat], daughter Dolly, daughter-in-law Pramila [Usha Bachani] and grand-daughter Sweety.
Even though they live under one roof, most of them have adapted themselves to the western lifestyle.
Mahek [Richa Pallod] comes to live with the Khanna family for a month since her uncle, Dr. Verma [Anupam Kher], a good friend of Kuldeep, has to visit U.S. for an important conference. Mahek is disturbed by the dysfunctional attributes and tries to bring the family together.
The story takes a turn when Mahek is accused of Dadi Maa's death. After Mahek's departure, the Khannas discovers the painful secret of her life. The orphaned Indian girl has a serious heart ailment and had actually come to U.K. for a final attempt at treatment.
When the family gets to know the reality, they want her back. But she refuses to return. Knowing that her life could be cut short any time, Mahek tries desperately not to fall in love with Sunny and keeps him at an arm's length. But Sunny is in love with Mahek…
Director Rajesh Bhatt and writer Mehmood Ali seem inspired by Rajshri's evergreen hits. Nothing wrong with being inspired by something that has been tried [and succeeded] earlier, but KAUN HAI JO SAPNO MEIN AAYA has nothing new to offer in terms of presentation as well. In fact, the film comes across as a very poor cousin of those evergreen yesteryear hits.
The film falters primarily because a predictable story has been stretched for two-and-a-half hours. The twists and turns in the film are anything but exciting [they seem ridiculous at times!], while the emotions fall flat completely. You just don't feel or empathize with any of the characters.
The film also fails to grip the viewer because too many songs have been crammed in the proceedings. In fact, the story stagnates in the post-interval portions and what one gets to see are songs and more songs. And by the time the film reaches its climax, you've actually guessed what the finale would be like.
The turning point in the story -- when Richa discloses all about her heart ailment -- does infuse life in the plot, but the sequences thereafter [the sudden change of heart of the family members] looks plain artificial. Besides, the comedy track [Rana Jung Bahadur, Sheela Sharma, Suraj Thapar] is amongst the most irritating portions of the film. It just fails to evoke mirth.
Rajesh Bhatt's direction is old-fashioned. Nikhil-Vinay's music sounds good; the title track is the pick of the lot. Uday Tiwari's cinematography is first-rate and the locales of U.K. only add to the visual appeal.
Rakesh Bapat plays the lover-boy part with ease. He seems to be improving with every film. Richa Pallod is a revelation and carries the film on her shoulders. Even she seems to have improved considerably vis-?is her previous works. Amongst character actors, Kader Khan is alright. Anupam Kher is wasted. Usha Bachani gets no scope. Ditto for Navneet Nishan. Vinita Malik hams throughout. The remaining cast [family members] is a bunch of non-actors.
On the whole, KAUN HAI JO SAPNO MEIN AAYA is a dull fare. At the box-office, its fall is inevitable.
 
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