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3.0 out of 5 stars
Not as good as THE TRUTH ABOUT CHARLIE (and THE TRUTH ABOUT CHARLIE isn't even that good), October 5, 2008
This review is from: Captured by You (DVD)
Two and a half stars, if you've seen
Charade - Anamorphic Widescreen Edition (Criterion Collection Spine #57). But maybe three stars, if you haven't.
This one's a romantic thriller, and because it's a Bollywood flick, it's also a musical. The twisty plot centers on a sweet young woman, Tina, learning of her uncle's death and then being pursued by despicable villains who believe she knows the whereabouts of her uncle's ill-gotten loot. Tina does receive help from two disparate sources, an earnest Indian embassy official and a playful, cocky young man who fancies the girl. But, with duplicity and danger rounding every corner, can Tina trust even these two?
If you haven't yet seen the classic CHARADE (with Cary Grant & Audrey Hepburn) or even its 2002 remake
The Truth About Charlie (including with original movie 'Charade') (with Mark Wahlberg & Thandie Newton), then you might relish the plot shifts and surprises in CAPTURED BY YOU (Hindi title: CHURA LIYAA HAI TUMNE, which translates to "You Have Stolen My Heart"). Also a positive is that the film is shot in sun-drenched Goa and exotic Bangkok. Otherwise, it's a strictly tepid, been there, done that Bollywood picture. Given, this adaptation injects perhaps more kinetic action scenes. The climactic scene, in particular, makes use of MATRIX-like special effects. That may be the only element in CAPTURED BY YOU which is superior to its two cinematic predecessors. At around 2 hours and 15 minutes long, it's padded with an unnecessary subplot involving Tina's friend and her friend's young son. The first half hour alone is spent on corny boy-meets-girl antics, which aren't nearly as cute and endearing as the film would have you believe. Then, of course, there are the musical numbers, which also eat up chunks of screen time.
Zayed Khan, projected to be the newest young Bollywood heartthrob, made his debut with this film, back in 2003. I am kind of half and half on the guy. I've liked him in other films (
Main Hoon Na and
DUS (2 DVD'S)), but there are times when I do get exasperated with his trademark swagger and smirk. Here, as Zayed takes on a role previously played by a pound-for-pound all-time great like Cary Grant, I wasn't willing to settle for his "I'm so cool and hip" brand of acting.
It also doesn't help that the female lead is played by Esha Deol. Esha is lovely, with beautiful, limpid, wide eyes. But, lord, she's bland! She doesn't come with the charisma and acting weight needed to pull off this key role. For one thing, I thought that her character was too trusting - the same of which could be said for Audrey Hepburn and Thandie Newton's characters, but at least they had the screen presence and acting ability to make the viewer forgive their gullibility. In this movie, I actually became more intrigued with Rakhi Sawant, the actress who played the sultry, uninhibited femme fatale. Now, Rakhi, she oozed *ahem* personality.
Whenever compared to CHARADE, CAPTURED BY YOU will always fail to hold up. When judged on its own merits, it comes off a bit better, but its shortcomings still cannot be overlooked. The film aims for humor but frequently misses. One of the characters is named Deepak Chopra, and I'm guessing this was some kind of a wink of the eye. To me, though, it's automatic grounds for taking points away from the film. Another no-no is that the bad guys come off as caricatures, so there's no real sense of jeopardy. As a thriller, the movie doesn't thrill. As a romance, it's pretty lukewarm; Zayed and Esha fail to generate sparks. And, speaking of Zayed and Esha, when two of the film's biggest flaws happen to be the lead actors themselves, well, that's a near insurmountable thing.
Mark Wahlberg is certainly no Cary Grant. And Zayed Khan is no Mark Wahlberg. With Esha Deol, apply a similar equation.
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