Alag Review

Producer Subi Samuel should re-think about his plans of making a sequel to `Alag'. For the basic concept of this superhuman tryst-with-destiny is not going to have a smooth ride at the Box Office. In spite of genuinely honest intentions, this tale of a `gifted' young man isolated from the rest of the world for eighteen years and his craving for acceptance failed to grip me as an audience. I did shed a tear or two at the pathos ignited by the protagonist's dilemma but I guess it was more because of fantastic acting by newcomer Akshay Kapoor than the implausible storyline.

I've never heard so many people die of lightening in Mahabaleshwar, but then `Alag' is different. Hemant Rastogi (Yateen Karmakar) dies of heart attack as he is hurriedly taking off clothes before the nature's fury strikes with full force. Inspector Uncle (Sharath Saxena) discovers a bald young man Tejas Rastogi (Akshay Kapoor) in the basement of the house who has not seen the sunlight of the world for the last eighteen years. Inspector ji deputes psychologist Poorva Raana (Dia Mirza) for `taking care of him' as he hasn't interacted with anyone other than his father and the million books that he had read.

Tejas was born special. His mother died due to lightening but he survived in spite of being with her. Hemant Rastogi gradually finds out that his son's eyes can't stand the blistering sunlight. Moreover, due to some strange reason (Medically improbable) he has this `unique' gift of being electrically charged. When he is angry, current flows from his body that can kill a person. It was because of this reason that the father shielded his son from the rest of the world for his own and other's safety.

Poorva, for some weird reason takes Tejas to an institution meant for delinquent students. The goggle on his eyes is followed by lenses, but still his quest for acceptance goes awry as the `tapori' mates never lose an opportunity to make fun of him. They are awestruck by his spoon-magnet tricks while he imagines himself in song-n-dance situations with Poorva, the woman whom he had come to love silently. The story moves forward by trial and tribulation, electrocution, culmination of infatuation in mutual love and admiration. Since there had to be suspense then there's a Dr Richard Dyer (Tom Alter), a California-born-scientist-settled-in-Virar who wants to unmask the capacity of human mind. Tejas is the right man for he can cure people by just putting his hand on their head.

I desperately searched for some logical reasoning in the situations afflicting Tejas, but director Ashu Trikha was too obsessed with concentrating on superlative special effects rather than working on a believable storyline. I agree the special effects team at Visual EFX have done a terrific job. But writer Tagore Almeida shouldn't have taken the term `cinematic-license' for granted. The climax is amateurishly put together and one never feels a sense of satiation.

The best part about `Alag' is Akshay Kapoor. This dude is Hot Money. His controlled body language, charismatic dance steps, deft handling of the emotional scenes and well executed action sequences makes him a complete package. It is his internalized honesty and dedication that makes you Move with a sigh. Once he gets better roles in the commercial bracket, he is surely gonna go places. Dia Mirza returns in the `main lead' segment after doing bit roles in `Parineeta', `Dus' and even gyrating to an item song in `Phir Hera Pheri'. To be fair to her she has looked good and has done a decent job, though she doesn't have much to do anyway.

Jayant Kriplani as her father impresses with his skillful performance while Tom Alter returns to the Angrez-who-speaks-chaste-Hindi mould again. Cinematography by Fuwad Khan is exceptional as he has sculpted each frame with brilliance. Music by Aadesh Shr