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I will start by saying that I am a huge fan of SRKajol, not so much a fan of Sallu, but was eager to see what all the fuss was over this historic-now-history bromance. With faith and reincarnation being the central themes I thought, okay, let's check it out, and like most other films out there it had it's moments that made me cry out in both delight and despair.

The plot is a garish comic book, of course, in which the bad guys strut, bluster, and can't shoot straight even with the latest smuggled machine guns, and don't even get me started on the goddess Kali's statue! Yikes - that's enough to give me nightmares for weeks. You've got to know anytime you pray to something as scary as Maa Kali, as depicted in this movie, the results aren't going to be sunshine and roses.


Though the acting department is filled with average performances, Shah Rukh and Salman share a great deal of chemistry as a male duo. Their characters are clearly individuals shaped by their environment. Shah Rukh (Arjun Singh/Vijay) who is brought up in a happy, simple, loving environment is a lot more extroverted and willing to trust the reincarnation story. A brooding Salman (Karan Singh/Ajay)is brought up on the streets by an alcoholic and is reluctant to except the concept. Kajol (Sonia Saxena) and Mamta Kulkarni(Bindiya) are included almost simply to fill the female quota as neither of them distinguish their acts - their roles will probably be appreciated most by their hardcore fans.


That being said, one of the things I liked best in the movie was how liberated the women actually were. Raakhee, as Durga Singh, consistently maintains her Independence and fearlessly stands up to Thakur Durjan Singh on every occasion. Sonia frolics in the hay with Vijay, picks him for her husband and never gives in to her father. Even Bindiya gets in on the "you go girl" bandwagon by openly chasing Ajay (though this one's a stretch as any girl power nearly evaporates when she quickly switches from tomboy to miss femina in the blink of an eye).


Then we have the classic bad guy, Amrish Puri, bullet headed and fierce, a villain epic enough to make you believe that he would assassinate his associates in a heartbeat, but then howl like an animal in the dust when vengeance touches his own family. Though at one point I honestly thought his eyes would pop right out of his head - classic Amrish Puri. Maybe that's his secret weapon: "Don't piss me off or I will shoot my eyeballs at you."

Though the film is not a spectacular piece of art (could we get worse special effects?), Roshan’s direction is well done for its genre. The mindless revenge sequences and action portions are well worked out and placed. The songs are melodic mostly add to the flow of the film. One has to take the reincarnation plot with a grain of salt though. If we are brought back as exact duplicates of the people we used to be, then my personal theory of once being Indian is seriously askew.