Nothing magical about this lamp.

Grade: C

Aladin

Indian Release Date: 30/10/09
CBFC Classification:  U
Running Length: 2 Hours 7 Minutes

Cast: Amitabh Bachchan, Ritesh Deshmukh, Sanjay Dutt, Jacqueline Fernandez, Saahil Khan, Ratna Pathak Shah, Victor Banerjee, Arif Zakaria
Director: Sujoy Ghosh
Screenplay: Sujoy Ghosh
Cinematography: Sirsha Ray
Music: Vishal Dadlani & Shekar Ravjiani

The tale of Aladdin (renamed Aladin here) has been adapted quite a few times for the big screen, the most memorable being the 1992 animated feature by Disney which featured the vocal talents of Robin Williams as the genie. Sujoy Ghosh tries to place some of the basic concepts of the tale within a contemporary setting & while the movie is full of technical wizardry it fails to create a “magical” cinematic experience.

The tale is set in the fictional town of Khwaish somewhere in northern India. Aladin (Ritesh Deshmukh) is an orphan whose name has proven to be a bane in his life. His parents who believed the tale of the magical lamp to be true named him after the hero in the tale thinking he was destined for great adventure. Little did they know that poor Aladin would spend most of his academic life being bullied into rubbing lamps by the town bully Kasim (Saahil Khan) & his cohorts (I can understand childhood games but why does the habit continue till they are in college doesn’t make sense). On his birthday Aladin is gifted a lamp from the ‘Ancients Things Shop’ (it’s the actual name of the shop in the movie!!! but could have been an inside-joke too) & when he rubs it an actual genie who goes by the moniker of Genius (Amitabh Bachchan) pops out. Aladin is granted three wishes & he utilizes them for wooing the object of his affection, Jasmine (Jacqueline Fernandez). While Genius is trying to get Aladin to finish his three wishes so he can be free of his contract, trouble arrives in the form of a renegade genie called the Ring Master (Sanjay Dutt) & his troupe of not-so-merry men & women. The Ring Master has an old score to settle with Genius & Aladin, plus he has some dark magic mumbo-jumbo to take care of in connection with a passing comet which will be seen clearly from the town of Khwaish.

The Bachchan family seems to have taken quite a liking to the fantasy genre lately, Abhishek in Drona last year & father Amitabh in Aladin now. While I can’t call either effort successful, both have their small share of positives but the biggest handicap in both has been the inefficient writing. Aladin starts off well & an early scene of the Ring Master & his goons is well done but once the story shifts to Aladin & his three wishes it’s an exercise in testing your patience & ability to stay awake. A lot of unnecessary time is spent behind Aladin deciding how best to spend his three wishes, which doesn’t really matter in the end either since he spends them foolishly anyways & the process adds nothing to the overall story.

The three wishes & the power they give the person who commands the genie could have made for a compelling retelling of the fairy-tale with themes of greed, power & sacrifice, all which was part of the original tale. In hands of less intelligent writers it is merely used as a gimmick to stretch the running length to cram more lame songs, juvenile humor & sub-par effects.  The tale of enmity between the two genies & the Ring-Master’s devious plan hold promise in the setup, but sorely lacks a back-story & a conclusion which holds an iota of logic.    

The movie sets up scenes whose emotional façade would have worked if the characters had been better developed. For example the part in which we learn the truth behind the death of Aladin’s parents is handled so amateurishly that not only don’t you feel sad but you’ll most likely be left scratching your head from all the confusion. Other scenes like the ones which show Genius’s genesis into a normal human when he refuses to carry out the Ring Master’s wish lack any sort of coherence.

The special effects are remarkable in most parts for a Hindi movie while they do look tacky in a few others, more so in the sequences when Genius is trying to show off his powers & when he saves Aladin from the Ring Master’s goons before losing his powers. It is this part in which the use of visual effects feel gimmicky simply because it looks like scenes were written around what effects could be incorporated into the film rather than the other way around.

The art direction & set design is effective in a manner that it gives the film an old world charm without looking fake. Even though the city of Khwaish looks much inspired from the city of Minas Tirith in The Lord of the Rings series, it has been created effectively & the cinematography captures the scale convincingly. The cinematography is another asset to the film in the outdoor shots since the movie consists of a large number of composite shots which thankfully gel well with the real stuff. However the interiors are shot with the same staple blandness seen in most Hindi films.

Too many songs ruin the pacing of the film & aren’t catchy either other than the ‘You May Be’ number, which is easy on the ears. The background score of the film however complements the proceedings on screen nicely. The humor throughout is of the pre-pubescent kind & I doubt would be appreciated well by anyone other than kids.

Ritesh Deshmukh moulds his adequate portrayal of the titular character something along the lines of Peter Parker from the Spider-Man movies, though his habitual mannerisms of contorted sad faces arise from time to time. Amitabh Bachchan’s performance lacks conviction & his outfits & wig make him look like a haggard old hyena, though he isn’t bad, he more or less sleepwalks through the role. Sanjay Dutt does the same “mamu” routine he’s been doing for years together & if he wanted to ham it up gloriously he should have taken inspiration from Kay Kay Menon’s similar over-the-top but enjoyable turn in Drona. Jacqueline Fernandez has an alluring smile & acquits herself well in the cute girl role plus she also gets to kick some ass in the inane climax. Saahil Khan is around only to flex his arms & Ratna Pathak Shah is wasted in an inconsequential role.  

As fantasy movies go, Aladin is a weak entry into the genre & there are almost no good Hindi fantasy movies to speak of. Its main undoing is the poor quality of writing & the haphazard narrative. However it does have a few technical positives by Hindi movie standards, namely the art direction, the overall even special effects & some effective camera work. It’s not something I’d recommend watching on the big screen (though special effects would look better) but maybe a watch at home might not hurt……too much.

Final Verdict: No magic here, it’s just a pretty looking lamp without a genie inside.

Grade: C           

 

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