Customer Reviews

Main Hoon Na [VHS]

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

What fun this movie is! Three hours of counter-terrorist intrigue, crazy action sequences, and goofy campus hijinks breezed on by for me. Shahrukh Khan, whom I've only seen in full in DON (although I've seen him in a few cameo roles), is just about perfect as he walks that tightrope between intense and dedicated military man and silly, lovestruck undercover college boy. I think he pulls it off, and nicely.

Major Ram Prasad Sharma (Shahrukh Khan) loves his nation of India and dreams of when Project Milaap ("Unity") will come to full fruition. However, Project Milaap, which is basically a prisoner exchange program intended to end Indian/Pakistani hostilities, is something which embittered Indian terrorist Raghavan (Sunil Shetty) hates with all his fiber and is something which he's vowed to sabotage at all costs. Indian Army General Bakshi, who heads the Milaap project, fears that his daughter Sanjana (Amrita Rao) might become a pawn between him and Raghavan and assigns Ram to protect her. Accordingly, Ram goes undercover as a student in Sanjana's college at St. Paul University. Oh, and, by the way, Ram is 31 years old and very much looks it. Thus, it's really no surprise that he soon becomes the brunt of many age jokes administered by his "peers" as he's mockingly called "Uncle," "Senior Citizen," and - my personal favorite - "Mr. Geriatric." Shortly enough, though, he wins the friendships of Sanjana and her brash and popular friend Lucky (Zayed Khan, of DUS (2 DVD'S)).

But Ram has a second important task. Further complicating the tale is Ram's father's deathbed revelation that Ram has a step-mother and -brother, with whom Ram's dad had been estranged for 20 years. His dying wish is that Ram seek them out so that familial fences can be mended. As luck would have it, and because this is Bollywood (home of serendipity and coincidences), Ram learns that his step-brother, Lakshman, also attends Sanjana's college.

Now, with Ram having been accepted by his college mates, another dilemma threatens to get in the way of his mission. He meets and is instantly smitten with and distracted by the sexy, new chemistry teacher Chandni Chopra (Sushmita Sen), who, to go by her constantly windblown tresses, seems to have her own personal wind machine. Can Ram keep his focus on point, defeat the bad guys, reconcile his long lost family, win the girl, and do his Physics homework? Well, yes, he can. The fun is in watching him do it.

So, MAIN HOON NA ("I'm Here Now") starts out seriously enough as background is layed out concerning the all-important Project Milaap summit, the ensuing terrorist attack, and the resulting death of Ram's father. Also, the film has to initially set up Shahrukh's action hero creds so as to better provide a contrast with his later quasi-nerdy college persona. However, as soon as Ram shows up at the St. Paul campus, the film switches up and becomes a madcap comedy, replete with broad humor and over the top slapstick. I enjoyed it, and got a kick out of the violinists who kept popping up every time anything remotely romantic was going on. The spit spraying professor was also a gas. However, the badly caricatured characters of the forgetful principal and the much avoided, English-mangling school spinster had me yawning.

Unlike films such as ASAMBHAV, GADAR, and ZAMEEN, MAIN HOON NA doesn't wallow in much Pakistan-bashing. Too, the nationalistic rah-rahs are kept to a minimum. Film choreographer and first time director Farah Khan, along with producer Shahrukh Khan, maintains an even keeled movie, which is always an accomplishment in Bollywood pictures when one factors in all the different genres normally thrown in the stewpot. But, no scene is too jarring here, despite the mishmash of wirework action, Indian-Pakistani intrigue, family melodrama, and college goofiness. Oh, and musical interludes. Speaking of which, these songs are infectiously fun, from the title tune to the energetic "Chale Jaise Hawayein" to the Latin-flavored "Tumhe Jo Maine Dekha" to "Tumse Mil Ke Dil Ka Jo Haal" (Qawali), with its awesome beats, to the retro-cool "Gori Gori," which is reminiscent of GREASE in its exuberance. I don't do this much, but I'm probably gonna buy the movie soundtrack. By the way, since we're talking music here, I could've sworn I heard the warped strains of the Austin Powers and Mission: Impossible theme songs in certain scenes.

Shahrukh Khan is excellent and has me finally, finally convinced of his star quality. And he's working with a good bunch of actors here. The sensuous Sushmita Sen (whose movies I really need to start checking out) embodies that hot teacher every male youngster must've lusted after in school, at one point or another. Amrita Rao is the tomboyish Sanjana, who wears her heart on her sleeve, and she makes me wish she were my friend. She's a promising young actress. Zayed Khan also punches in to work and is pretty good, although I could've done with much less of the lame Karate Kid moves. Sunil Shetty surprises me the most as he actually demonstrates depth and complexity in his terrorist role. After seeing him in crap performances, who knew he had it in him to be good? As an added bonus, Naseeruddin Shah has a brief but key supporting part as Ram's military father.

This paragraph is as good as any to mention the dvd itself. The dvd version I have is the 2-disc set, with disc one containing the feature film and the 2nd disc having these following special features: a trivia game (I missed 3 questions the first time, darn it); Farah Khan & Shahrukh Khan's filmography; a story board to scene comparison; "The Making Of" featurette (around 28 minutes long, but worth watching); 6 minutes of deleted scenes; outtakes & bloopers (worth it for the hilarious spit scenes); a visual effects segment; and TV spots, song trailers, & theatrical trailer. Not bad.

MAIN HOON NA started out boringly, with the ponderous Mission Milaap meeting. But, stick with it, it gets better as we're soon treated to some interesting action sequences. And, then, with Ram showing up in campus half an hour into it, the movie really takes off and quickly ingratiates itself with the viewer. Honestly, from then on, there's a sense of joy in this film which made me feel good all the way to the end with its high spirited closing credits. The main actors have great chemistry together and seem to be having a blast, and, if you go by the "Making Of" featurette, this sense of camaraderie was conveyed off the screen as well. The fight scenes are nicely choreographed, even if the film aims too much for MATRIX-like special effects, a goal of which it falls short. Some of the wirework really, really look unconvincing; they even used wire for the cycle rickshaw stunt. However, there's one scene between one professor and Ram in the teacher's lounge which makes hilarious use of the MATRIX effect. But, for me, the enjoyment in the film doesn't really lie in the action bits.

Even with the sometimes shabby dvd quality (the screen got extremely "pixelized" in several scenes), this is still a movie well worth having. I've seen it twice in the last three days, and, truth be told, the action sequences may have gotten old, the f/x become cheesier, but the college moments retain their freshness and sense of playfulness and Ram's interactions with Lucky and his mom remain touching (and, yes, hokey). Four and a half stars for MAIN HOON NA. Would that all Bollywood films be this effervescent.

A very funny and enjoyable movie but didn't see much of the dancing or action as the copy is so pixelated (and runs at only 15 frames a second). It's all just a pixelated, jerky mess.

After sitting through two minutes of the film distibuter's (Eros) promotional material about how successful and great they are you'll find the actual quality of the copy is terrible - and obviously downloaded from the internet in 15-20 minute prices joined with a black space between each part. I'm seriously surprised I received something this bad from Amazon. In fact, I'd be disapointed if I picked up a pirate copy in a market this bad! The copy seems to be a VCD rather than a DVD because the counter stops working and just says 'play' rather than counting elasped time and chapters like DVDs do.

If you can find a better copy of the film I'd highly recommend it though. I'm a Shahrukh Khan fan and in this he is great. The Matrix influence is hillarious and the supporting characters wonderful.

This movie is great. Great characters. Great music. Great dancing. It's very entertaining and funny.

BEWARE!! The dvd quality is absolutely horrific. This dvd is a copy. DO NOT BUY THIS MOVIE FROM AMAZON! Please find a better quality dvd elsewhere! The picture was pixelized for most of the movie and the sound cut out during parts in the beginning. It is recorded off the TV from Eros International so there are commercial breaks and advertisements on the screen during the movie. It was very annoying.

Hindi High School Musical with terrorists -- in fact terrifically charming, though many will want to fast-forward through the gratuitous, sometimes cartoonish, belabored violence towards the end. This film belongs in every bollywood home library -- it includes director/choreographer Farah Khan's characteristic wit throughout (and that's especially clever during dance sequences), some fun and memorable songs, a very strong cast, and what is admittedly a rather silly, strained meta-plot that still manages to generate a sweet and sometimes even moving film.

What I wish I had known before purchasing? that the Amazon copy sold to me was a pirated dvd with painfully obvious bootleg qualities -- occasional bad pixilation, etc. Buyer beware...

Main Hoon Na is an action filled Bollywood film that incorporates warfare and familial troubles for an interesting story line. At a young age, Ram Prasad Sharma (Shahrukh Khan) is left on his biological father's doorstep. Upon his arrival, Ram's father's wife learns of her husband's unfaithfulness and leaves the home, taking with her their only son, Laxman "Lucky" Prasad Sharma (Zayed Khan). Years later, on assignment for the military, Major Ram Prasad Sharma poses as a student at his half-brother's school. It is here, while on assignment to protect General Bakshi's daughter Sanjana (Amrita Rao), that Ram is able to build a relationship with his half-brother.

During one action scene early in the movie, Lucky is chasing a schoolmate on the roof of the school building. After losing his footing, Lucky slides down the roof and is only hanging on by his fingertips. Long-angle shots show the height from which Lucky is dangling compared to the people on the ground. The distance Lucky would drop if his fingers were to let go is intensified because of this style of shooting. Later in the movie, another scene on a rooftop is filmed with long-angle shots. In this scene, however, Ram's life is in danger, as he is confronted by Raghav, the enemy terrorist. Ram must leave the roof immediately and long-angle shots capture the determination on his face as he sprints to save his life. The suspense that builds up in these scenes is vital to action movies such as Main Hoon Na.

Director Farah Khan did a great job when he cast the roles in the film; the chemistry between Ram, Lucky, and Lucky's mother is real. Unfortunately for them, the relationship between the three is based on lies. When Ram is ready to reveal that he is Lucky's father's illegitimate son, he is too late; Raghav exposed Ram's true identity to Lucky and his mother before Ram could do it himself. Upset that they have been lied to, Ram is told to leave their home. Later, however, when given the opportunity to help save Ram, Lucky puts his anger behind him and rescues his half-brother.

Main Hoon Na is an intense, action-filled story that I would recommend to anyone looking for a thrilling film-watching experience. Compelling action shots throughout the film keep the audience on their toes and entertained. In addition, the film incorporates a touching story of the reconciliation of a family torn by one man. By incorporating these story lines, the film is sure to have something that would appeal to everyone.

For the first time, Bollywood has made a movie making fun of itself. The unrealistic, super-dramatic action, the crazy dance sequences, the random bursting into song, the mistaken identity, and of course Shahrukh. Farah Khan has completely outdone herself here. The music is phenomenal and so is the dancing. This is a great movie to engage friends who tend to not enjoy watching a movie for four hours because the plot is good and the characters extremely likable. I hope you enjoy this movie as much as I have.

I love this movie, but the quality was awful!!!! Honestly, it's more efficient to watch the movie online...the quality might even be better. The images get really distorted and I sent it back immediately. Don't get discourage though, there are definitely better versions out there; I just don't know where. I recommend the movie, but do not buy it from amazon!

It's so sad that this movie received so many bad reviews JUST BECAUSE people received a bad copy of the it. It's called "take it up with the seller who sold it to you!" or "right a bad review about the seller" don't take it out on the movie itself. I too have come across a very similar problem when I ordered the movie "Duplicate" but instead of writing a bad review about the movie I contacted the seller and they sent me a new copy free of charge that worked perfectly.

So about the movie... "Main Hoon Na" was a load of laughs for me. The action scenes were extremely cheesy and a little too overdone but other than that the movie was very entertaining. In the beginning Shahrukh Khan is portrayed as a very good soldier (or as I like to say a bad @SS) but when he meets a certain lady in the movie he totally turns into a love struck little boy and it's so adorable and funny. So please ignore the bad reviews and give this movie a chance. Because I enjoy it more and more every time I watch it. And if by chance you receive a bad copy just contact the seller about it, a good seller is usually quick to fix the problem. To avoid this you might try ordering the 2disc copy.

The movie Main Hoon Na, directed by Farah Khan, is an action packed, thriller that keeps the audience intrigued with its fight sequences and dramatizations. This modern day action film's main characters include Ram Prasad Sharma (Shahrukh Khan) and Chandni (Sushmita Sen).
This film tells the story of the ambitious project Mission Milap to someday become a reality, bringing together two countries. General Amerjet Bakshi is in charge of this mission and has enemies who would do anything to see Mission Milap fail putting his daughter, Sanjana, in danger. Ram is also attending the same school as his half brother Lucky who he was separated from at a very young age.
Main Hoon Na is very different from the other Bollywood films that I have seen because it is an action film. Other Bollywood films that I have watched have little to no action in them and are centered on the theme of romance. There are stunts that Ram and Lucky perform that are very dangerous. For example, in one scene when Lucky is falling off of the school's roof and Ram saves him. This scene shows a great downward angle shot of Lucky looking at Ram and an upward angle shot of Ram looking at Lucky.The look in Lucky's eyes helps the viewer feel the fear Lucky had of falling to his death. One can also feel the hidden trust he had in Ram and the security he felt with his life being in Ram's hands.
While at the school, Ram serenades the chemistry teacher, Chandni, in the school yard on a dare. During this scene, an over the shoulder shot is used to focus on Ram while he is singing and Chandni is listening with her back toward him. Later, Ram goes to apologize to Chandni for serenading her and is faced with the physics teacher who has a spitting problem. To avoid the spit, Ram has to do this action, matrix like move which is slowed down and dramatized to show a better effect. A similar move is also done in the courtyard of the school when Ram sees the people who are after Sanjana. Ram is soaring through the air trying to avoid the bullet and the cinematography used for the scene is a track shot as he flies and is slowed down. Later when Ram is falling in love with Chandni, they are shown singing a song by the water. An above shot is shown while Chandni lies on the log and Ram is singing to her. This shot helps to show them both together and makes the chemistry that is beginning to blossom clearer.
Towards the end of the film, one of the men who are after Sanjana comes to the school and pretends to be the new physics teacher. Sanjana is brought to her father's safety by Ram, where she is told that her father sent Ram to protect her. The film also goes on to show the love that has grown between Ram and Chandni, especially now that Chandni knows he isn't a real student. As a gut wrenching twist, Ram goes home to find the new "physics teacher" telling Lucky and his mom who Ram really is and how Lucky and Ram are half brothers. Ram then goes on to tell them that their father died and he came to tell them he loved them and to try to be accepted into their family. An above shot is shown here to show the whole room, so that the viewer can see Lucky and his mom reacting to the news as Ram leaves to go back to the Army. Before he returns to the Army, Ram must help his classmates and teachers who have been captured by the people who were after Sanjana.
Main Hoon Na is a compelling, action packed film that leaves the viewer on the edge of their seat. The cinematography and action stunts help to capture the audiences and to keep them involved throughout the entire film. The film also incorporates the romantic theme, as well, which helps the film come alive and seem more realistic.

Main Hoon Na, directed by Farah Khan, is a spectacular film with a little bit of everything in it. Ranging from action to romance with a slight twist of comedy, it will suit anyone looking to see a good film no matter what genre you prefer. The film begins as General Amarjeet Bakshi's (Kabir Bedi) of India is speaking about Project Milaap, an attempt to end the war between India and Pakistan. The problem is that not everyone wants the war to end such as the terrorist Raghavan (Sunil Shetty), former Indian army officer. Suddenly, as the general is speaking, a shooting erupts from terrorists including Raghavan. In attempt to kill the general, Brigadier Shekhar Sharma (Naseeruddin Shah) sacrifices himself and takes the bullet. While on his deathbed he confesses to his son Major Ram Sharma (Shah Rukh Khan) that his wife left him with his other son because of his past mistakes and reveals his last wish- to have both of his sons throw his ashes into the river. The attacks from Raghavan continue as he is threatening to kill General Bakshi's daughter Sanjana (Amrita Rao). The general sends his best, Major Ram, to protect his daughter. Major Ram thinks that this is going to delay his journey to find his long lost brother until he learns that Sanjana and his brother Laxman Prasad Sharma (Zayed Khan), aka Lucky, attend the same college. So Major Ram poses as a student in Sanjana's class and the journey to save his country as well as find his brother begins.

Farah Khan did a great job at directing this film. The movie begins with an action scene, where the matrix-style stunts are shown in slow-motion and the background music is a popular tune from mission impossible; repetitive in every action scene throughout the film. The full length and long shots emphasized the action scenes as well. The use of song in Main Hoon Na is essential because it often introduced main characters such as Sanjana and Lucky. Also, when Lucky finally realizes his love for Sanjana, song is used to express it. In the end of the film, Major Ram brought his family together, saved 100 students held hostage by Raghavan, fell in love, and formed incredible friendships with Lucky and Sanjana along with other students. It is obvious that Major Ram is the hero and the low-angle shots reflect he was doing something heroic.

Although there were a lot of things to follow throughout the film, I never lost interest. Love, comedy, and action are my favorite genres and I was excited to see the strong sense of each throughout the film. Farah Khan is an impressive director and I would recommend others to see Main Hoon Na.