TAAL

Why you may ask, did I rent this movie when I've already spent two long reviews ranting about my distaste for Subhash Ghai. It's a reasonable question. Two Words, Aishwarya Rai. (Now Rai-Bachchan), I have so much admiration for her talent that I can't skip it. Another reason, I watched it is because I like Akshaye Khanna a lot, and I had nothing better to do tonight.Mrs. Rai-Bachchan is pure grace. Oh yeah, she's gorgeous too, but what makes her presence on screen so unique is her exquisite poise and grace. Now I love watching all sorts of heroes and heroines in Hindi movies, actresses like: Kajol, Kareena Kapoor, Madhuri Dixit, and Rani Mukjeri are favorites of mine. But, Mrs. Rai-Bachchan outshines them all for me because she rarely oversells her emotions. When the typical heroine is bouncing and chirping with happiness, a luminous, smile and gentle laughter are her trademarks. When the typical screeching like a harpy when she's angry, a tight hard voice is what Mrs. Rai-Bachchan uses. When she cries, she cries like every woman I know cries. She showcases this extremely well in this movie. Either Mr. Ghai decided to forego his usual style of squeezing people into acting styles that won't suit them, or Mrs. Rai-Bachchan couldn't give him the usual so he made due with what he had. Whatever it was, her performance as Mansi is lovely and natural. I've yet to see a film of hers where I don't feel for and with her character. I love her dancing here, she floats with the air and her every movement is refinement itself.Akshaye Khanna was exceedingly sincere in his role as Manav. That's a good thing because as written Manav's idea of courtship strongly resembles stalking. If Khanna wasn't able to channel sweetness and goodness so effectively the romance would be more disturbing than anything else. As it was, I did have the willies for the first ten minutes. I blame that on the script.Once again, the favorite bhabs (fathers) of Bollywood join forces to separate and reunite the lovers. Amrish Puri, plays Manav's father, the stern, snobby industrialist based out of London, but lives in Mumbai. Alok Nath, plays Mansi's father, the traditional, and poor, but revered folk singer and school master. I'm just thrilled neither threatened to kill their respective offspring this time, and best of all, the daughter doesn't get slapped for a change. Then again, who is going to slap the first Indian Miss World?But next to Mrs. Rai-Bachchan's performance the movie belonged to Anil Kapoor. The man had attained legend status working with actresses such as Sridevi, and Madhuri Dixit. His turn as the self-centered, profit driven, showman chewed scenery. Unfortunately, he overdid it just a tad. He's much better when he can be restrained, but I think since Ghai allowed both his hero and his heroine to be more natural than appears to be his usual practice he wanted the character of, Vikrat to pick up the slack with HUGE overwrought emotion.One of the great aspects of fun of this movie is to spot the "blink-and-you'll-miss-them" appearances of a young Shiad Kapur. I adore him, so that made me smile.Okay technical stuff...I just can't get over the shock that Ghai wrote a screenplay that had an NRI as the good guy! Hooray! I wish I could say he learned his lesson from the cesspool of prejudice that is  Pardes  but unfortunately he made  Yaadein  after this so I'm thinking this one is just a fluke. I'm grateful for this though, I actually enjoyed this movie. I don't need to see it again, but I had expected to be angry and depressed. I'm not and that's awesome, but I said once I saw this movie I was through with Ghai movies and I AM! No more, this was a perfectly fine film to see once, but the only truly special thing about it is Mrs. Rai-Bachchan. The cinematography is adequate, particularly the outdoor scenes but nothing spectacular. The screenplay dragged a lot and there's that stalker-ish vibe. The worst part is that the hero straight up tells you exactly how the story will end. Okay, in fairness, anyone who has watched enough Bollywood could guess. But to tell word for word the actions and dialogue of the ending is just a total bummer. And yes, I'm showing my age there. Once again, Ghai edited his own work and once again, he shows he's not too ruthless in determining what to keep and what to trim. I genuinely believe fifteen or twenty minutes trimmed would have made a decent movie a very good one.One thing that is miles ahead of the other Ghai films I've seen is the soundtrack. The music is exquisite, and it should be with Bollywood's very best composer and lyricist in charge. A.R. Rahman and Javid Akhtar once again give the world exquisite beauty. I don't have a favorite here, they're all lovely songs to listen to. Unfortunately, I think one or two of the musical numbers contributed to the uneven pace of the movie.All in all, this is the one-and-only time I didn't waste three hours of my life watching a Ghai film. But in case you're wondering, those four stars are for Aishwarya Rai-Bachchan. She's recently said she's coming back to the movies, I for one, cannot wait!

I grew up watching this movie with English subtitles, and I thought that this version was the version I'd watched as a kid. And I still do think that (the home screen, for example, is the same). However - and I'm not sure if this is a dud copy or if a 2005 DVD is incompatible with my 2019 BluRay player - the subtitles don't work, so it is much harder for me to watch it. I have to do some finagling to get them to work during dialogue, and they don't work at all during the songs. So only 3/5 stars. It would be 5/5 if I could see the subtitles.

For Bollywood's crappy production even as recent as this movie, this is still a fantastic movie.Aishwarya was truly one of the most beautiful women in the world, and her sense of gentlenessand ability to pull these movies off the way she did was amazing. Taal is a special movie.But it and enjoy.

The movie has a nostalgic feel for me. However, I hate the fact that Aishwarya Rai has barely 5-10 dialogues in the entire movie, and does what everyone else around her tells her to do. The only thing she does on her own is cry... she is even willing to marry whoever sorts things out and approaches her... very weak depiction of the lead female character. The music is out of this world though.

Okay, the first 20 minutes is a bit slow and corny. The plot and the characters are a bit simple - sometimes reminiscent of a good old 1950s film; but the characters are endearing, and just like those old films, this one can make you anxious one minute and bring tears to your eyes the next. I love that. But the five-star features of this film for me as a Bollywood fan were the rich soundtrack by A.R. Rahman and the remarkable amount of really fantastic Indian choreography. I certainly felt that I got my money's worth!

I finally found the best copy with English subtitles, and it also has a menu with music tracks sectioned, and behind the scenes interviews! I think the recording of the dvd version of video could have better quality, but other than that it is great.

A unique musical tale of the perilous path to fame and fortune and the choices made on the journey. The tangled web of a love triangle and class differences punctuated by songs and dances.

I enjoyed this movie, give it a look and see. It just goes to show/prove-to me, That the heart -is blind to money -and the Mind needs to follow the heart in order to be truly happy.

As a foreigner, I depend on English subtitle.Till 66 minutes, it was fine.From there, English subtitle is incomplete.I cannot follow the story for about 10 minutes.Then, it has become fine later on.I don't like the story.It's too childish.Premature youngsters believe in the first love only.Sorry, I don't think it's romantic.Still I cried at the end, as I think I may be wrong.They can be purest beyond my understanding of the world.Terrible experience.

Taal ist sicher zu recht als Gesamtkunstwerk zu bezeichnen. Der Film ist perfekt inszeniert, mit einer Schauspielerbesetzung, wie sie stimmiger und schlüssiger nicht hätte sein können.Sogar die Locations könnten nicht besser gewählt sein. Wunderschöne Anwesen auf dem Land, sowie in diesem Moloch von Stadt, Mumbai, werden als Schauplatz der Handlung eingesetzt.Die Musik und Tanzstücke, finde ich, sind vom Allerfeinsten. A.R. Rahman, die Choreografie vom innovativsten, was ich bisher in Bollywoodfilmen gesehen haben. Allein der Beginn des Filmes, ein Tanz mit Aish, wirkt bereits wie eine Fragment aus einem Tanztheaterstück von Moses Pendleton inspiriert.Der Film bleibt trotzdem steht's mit der indischen musikalischen und tänzerischen Kultur in Verbindung. Man hat sogar den Eindruck sie wurde lediglich in die Bilder -und Musiksprache des 21. Jahrhunderts übersetzt. Zum Beispiel ist eines meiner Lieblingsstücke, als Manav, Mansi auf das Verlobungsfest nachfolgt, wo natürlich gesungen und getanzt wird und er einen Flirt mit ihr beginnt.Die Liebesgeschichte von Manav und Mansi ist sehr schlicht aber sehr ergreifend erzählte. Ich war für diesen eher aufwendig gezeichneten Film sehr froh, daß auf das klassischste aller Bollywood Liebes- Sujet zurückgegriffen wurde. Nämlich darauf: reicher Sohn verliebt sich in armes Mädchen. Sie kommen wie soll es auch anders sein, zunächst nicht zusammen, da natürlich die Ressentiments der Manav Familie total dagegen arbeiten. Auch wurde auf unnötig umwegige, weitere Verstrickungen beim Erzählen des Filmes verzichtet. Manche Bollywoodfilmen werden manchmal dadurch etwas zäh und langatmig.Ich will hier nicht weiter auf die Geschichte eingehen, da sie schon hinreichend besprochen wurde.Ich finde Aishwarya Rai ist hier in einer ihrer bestmöglichen schauspielerischen Leistung die ich bisher von ihr sah, aufgenommen worden. Die Geschichte- sie wird zum gefeierten Bühnenstar - passte natürlich wunderbar mit ihrer äußeren Schönheit und ihrer wirklich großen Anmut im Tanz zusammen. Das sich der Musikproduzent Vikrant Kapur sich in sie verliebt, ist nur zu verständlich. Mit dieser Rolle ist Anil Kapur eine heimliche Liebe" für mich geworden. Ich mag solche Typen von Männern wie er hier spielt: espritvoll, witzig mit großer Phantasie ausgestattet, intelligent und gerissen, mit einer entspannten Haltung zu den Härten des Lebens, aber sehr groß im Herzen und mit einem tiefen Sinn für Wahrhaftigkeit.Ein absolut empfehlenswerter Film, auch für Bollywoodeinsteiger.

L'histoire contemporaine met en balance deux visions du monde qui animent l'inde d'aujourd'hui : les valeurs de la tradition et de l'honnêteté contre celles de l'apparence tapageuse et du profit immédiat. Le scénario, bien que très classique à nos yeux d'occidentaux, est bien mené et les personnages sont tous interessants, voire franchement attachants. Mention spéciale à l'actrice principale qui est merveilleusement belle et joue et danse bien de surcroit. La musique et les chorégraphies sont de grande envolée. C'est donc un film de qualité, loin de l'image mièvre ou kitch qu'on peut se faire des films de Bollywood.

Ich habe sehr viel vom Film erwartet und wurde auch in der ersten Hälfte des Filmes nicht enttäuscht. Die erste Hälfte war wirklich romantisch und interessant. Irgendetwas ging schief nach der zweiten Hälfte, denn vieles war so unnötig und in die Länge gezogen, nur damit der Film anscheinend länger dauert. Ich finde es einfach schade, dass diese Romantik ab der zweiten Hälfte nicht mehr da war. Der Film hatte wirklich Potenzial ein toller Film zu werden, so wie er aber schlussendlich ist, finde ich ihn: Okay

Nicht übersetzt