Nakshatra (2010) - Movie Review

By K N Gupta
Eye TV India Bureau
Cast: Anupam Kher, Milind Soman, Shubh, Sabina Sheema
Director: Mohan Savalkar

This Friday, October 29, 2010, Bollywood releases three Hindi movies, and 'Nakshatra' is one of them. Usually, the producers don't release their movies a week before Diwali. In fact, they try to release on or close to Diwali. Hence, the titans clash during Diwali. However, this is a good time for small budget movies to hit theaters, when they are relatively less occupied.

The movie centers around a priceless diamond necklace which is stolen in spite of high security around it. Ajay played by Shubh Mukherjee lives with his uncle, and dreams of becoming a script writer. He falls for his uncle's daughter Jiya played by Sabeena Seema, a software officer. Since Ajay whiles away his time in video games etc, she threatens him either to get a job within two months or she would leave for Australia to join a better job. Luckily, Ajay gets a job to write a script for four friends who wish to make a movie based on the theft of diamonds. This has been an interesting subject for films during the 60s, 70s and even now.

Yash Raj Films' 'Dhoom' is one of them and has not only turned a blockbuster but also led to making of its sequels. In the movie, no sooner Ajay hands over the script to his producers than a big theft of diamonds worth several millions from a museum takes place. A police inspector Gupte played by ace model-turned-actor actor Milind Soman is deputed to find out the guilty. Ajay is suspected of breaking the secret code of the security system in his film's script! So, he is sent to jail. However, his love Jiya finds that the master mind behind the crime is someone else.

The movie isn't about theft only, but has a share of romance between Ajay and Jiya too. Besides, it also has action inasmuch as Milind Soman's sequences of chasing the guilty of the necklace theft. In fact, Milind's chase sequences are considered the only silver lining for the survival of the movie. 'Nakshtra' is a good plot but not written carefully. It has several gaps in between the story that mar the audience's interest. There is a confusion spree. To cite a few, Ajay's breaking the secret security code; Sabina's hacking of government sites and the kidnapping of the hero. These don't look real in life!

Among others, Shubh Mukherjee has indeed played better than his debut 'Aasma'. Sabeena Seema shows confidence. Sharad, a family friend, is played by Anupam Kher who promises to bail Ajay out. So, his character is insignificant, and he is a waste. Suhas Khandke and Mahru, as Sabina's parents, are just average. Gajendra Chauhan leaves an impact even in his very brief stint in the film. The director, Mohan Savalkar, should have at least tightened its editing if he was helpless in the absence of a good screenplay. Though the movie has threesome singers - Harry Anand, Shejuvad and Sameer Sen, there is no song worth mentioning. Yes, the song picturized on Shubh and Sabeena is worth humming.

On the whole, 'Nakshatra' falls far short in many ways unlike this genre of films in the distant as well as the recent past.