Deewangee

Cast: Ajay Devgan, Akshay Khanna, Urmila Mantondkar, Seema Biswas, Vijayendra Ghatge and others.

Director: Anees Bazmee

Producer: Nitin Manmohan

Music: Ismail Darbar

Neha Arts production Deewangee is a rehash of Hollywood hit Primal Fear (starring Richard Gere and Edward Norton). Deewangee is written and directed by Anees Bazmee. It has a novel story with a few loose ends. Ajay Devgan plays Tarang Bhardwaj who is a struggling music director. He is arrested for killing music baron Ashwin Mehta (Vijayendra Ghatge). Akshay Khanna plays Raj Goel, a criminal lawyer by profession who is famous for never having lost a case and also publicly vocal about his belief in truth and justice. Tarangs music student, popstar Sargam (Urmila Mantondkar) who is the hottest chart-topping singer. She pleads with Raj to defend Tarang. As the case progresses, Sargam and Raj fall in love.

The first half of Deewangee is full of surprises. The courtroom scenes and the sequences between Ajay and Akshay are particularly impressive. The scenes featuring Seema Biswas and Ajay Devgan are marvelous and catch the audience attention. Especially the one when Ajays split personality comes to the fore, further elevates the audience interest. The interval point is the highlight of the film that makes the viewer sit for the second half.

After a brilliant first half, the second half of Deewangee starts with Tarang, landing up at the show as a co-dancer of Sargam and soon thereafter, kidnaps her. The second half is too short that appears as a big weak point of the film. The big suspense of the film is obviously a murder mystery. Why was Ashwin Mehta murdered? Is Tarang guilty? If one has seen Primal Fear, he will have a fair idea of where this story is heading.

As a director, Bazmee seems to be in great form. The cinematography of Pushan Kripalani is good. The background music is average. Ismail Darbars music is a good piece to listen to! The songs prove to be a treat for the viewers. The lyrics penned by Nusrat Badr and Salim Bijnori are appropriate whereas the choreography of Vaibhavi Merchant is normal. Ajay Devgan essays a complex role with utmost ease. Akshay Khanna is on his way to become better with every film. Urmila Mantondkars hot dance performances attract the audience as usual even she does well in a role where she does not have much scope to perform. Seema Biswas, Suresh Oberoi, Nirmal Panday and Tanaz Currim do well with their characters. The other cast of this enterprise does justice with their parts too. At the box office, Deewangee with its impressive cast might make good business. But it does not seem to be winning any awards. On the whole, Deewangee provides some good entertainment for its viewers.