Apne
Movie Report
The director of the Historic Gadar, Anil Sharma is back with 'Apne'. Apne, his new endeavor, is all about familial bonding. In a way, the storyteller goes back to his roots in his new outing -- emotions. It is about a family, their bonding, dreams and desires.
Apne casts a father [Dharmendra] and his two real-life sons [Sunny, Bobby] in roles that suit their personalities. Besides, the backdrop of boxing makes the conflict in the story look convincing. Baldev Singh Choudhary (Dharmendra) won the silver medal in Olympics for boxing and his only dream was to become the world heavyweight champion. But unfortunately he has leveled charges of doping because of which he got banned from boxing for 15 years. Baldev wants to get rid of this stigma and pain and wants to fulfill his dreams so that he trains his older son Angad[Sunny Deol] and make him the boxing champion. After giving boxing a try, Angad realizes the scope for Boxing in India is very limited. So he aspires to do something else and fails to fulfill his father's dreams. Baldev's younger son Karan[Bobby Deol] a musician, in spite of wanting to fulfill his father's dreams, is helpless but he comes forward to fulfill his father's dream.
Director Anil Sharma handles the emotional sequences brilliantly. The emotional scenes between Sunny and Dharmendra are brilliant. But the second half drags endlessly, especially the climax. The music by Himesh Reshammiya is a disappointment, though the title track is good. Cinematography is simply mesmerizing. The screenplay, although tight at most times, succumbs to mediocrity at places.
Dharmendra is simply outstanding in his performance. He delivers a heart warming performance. His expressions in the emotional scenes are priceless. Sunny Deol is good. He has performed very well in the emotional scenes while sharing screen space with his dad. Bobby Deol, makes sure no miracles happen when it comes to his performance. Kiron Kher and Shilpa Shetty make their presence felt. Katrina Kaif is wasted. Divya Dutta is wasted. Victor Banerjee is natural. Jawed Sheikh gets minimal scope. Aryan Vaid is alright. Luca is excellent.
Apne is rich in emotions and has the potential to strike a chord with families. Overall its Dharmendra's show all the way. At the box-office, the movie will take a huge opening in the north, were the Deols command a great fan following.
