Producer : Subhash Ghai.
Director : Subhash Ghai.
Music : Nadeem - Shravan.
*ing : Shah Rukh Khan, Mahima Choudhary, Apoorva Agnihotri, Amrish Puri, Himani Shivpuri & Alok Nath .
'Pardes' is a film that concentrates on the the conflicts between Western and Indian values.
An NRI Kishori Lal (Amrish Puri) comes to a small town to visit an old friend (Alok Nath). Here he meets his friends extremely well mannered and 'Indian' daughter Ganga (Mahima Choudhary) and insists that she marry his otherwise westernised son Rajiv (Apoorva Agnihotri). Kishori Lal initially sends his adopted son Arjun (Shah Rukh Khan) to persuade Ganga and make the necessary arrangements for Rajiv's arrival. Rajiv arrives and almost instantly falls for Ganga. Ganga agrees to go to the U.S of A so that she can get used to the foreign atmosphere.
Upon getting there however, Ganga finds that it is difficult to adjust to foreign surroundings and to settle in with her otherwise stubborn in - laws. She is apalled by Rajiv's carefree and unacceptable behaviour and soon finds that her only true friend is Arjun, who stands by her in whatever she does. She also realises that she is slowly falling in love with Arjun.
How Kishori Lal reacts to the situation and how Ganga finds true love form the climax of the story.
'Pardes' successfully shows how Western influence can affect the Indian youth of today.
Performance wise the movie is a winner. Shah Rukh Khan is
subtle yet effective - a pleasant change to all that excessive
hamming we're all so used to. Initially Madhuri was supposed to
play Ganga's role (which is obvious 'cos the role seems to be
tailor made with Madhuri in mind). But Mahima does as much, if not
more justice to the role as Madhuri would have. Her fresh faced
charm and innocence are one of the highlights of the movie - a
truly stunning debut for any newcomer. Apoorva is impressive as
well, but why he suddenly becomes the villian remains a mystery.
Amrish Puri has played his role to perfection - a role he can
probably sleep walk through.
Technically, the film is superb with the foreign locations
like Vegas & San Fransisco captured beautifully. Mathura,
Delhi, Jaipur - yup it's all there in 'Pardes'.
The only flaw in the film comes in the form of the otherwise irrelevant 'kabadi swayamvar' and the fact that it kind of drags towards the ending. Otherwise it's great.
Rating :
