Friday the 13th strikes back. Fighting the doom shadows of the luck are two films this Friday at the box office in Bollywood. Incidentally, both the films have been shot extensively in Bangkok. And, none of them is cent percent original in its concept. If director Sanjay Gupta decides to remake a hit Korean movie in his own style to bring in some joy for his producer friend Sanjay Dutt as 'Zinda', director Raj Kumar Santoshi seems to have been carried away with his emotional attachment with producer friend Keshu (Ramsay).
After spending around more than two hours in the cinema hall watching 'Family- Ties of The Blood', a question arises as to why a talented director like Santoshi chose to make a film like this. Is it because he felt heavily indebted to make one that is more like a launch pad for Keshu's son Aryeman? Santoshi knows the answer best because there is no other reason for making a film that is average.
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Santoshi has a huge fan following and those who have grown up seeing his films right from 'Ghayal' to 'Ghatak' to 'Damini' to 'Andaz Apna Apna' to 'Pukar' and to 'Khakee' will vouch that Santoshi is not at his hundred percent best in 'Family'. Santoshi's latest offing is a good compilation of a brilliant star cast with millennium star Amitabh Bachchan as its leader, but that's all. Bachchan's stars once again seem to be turning against him after the debacle of 'Ek Ajnabee'. These two films also prove that Big B may have attained an idol status in India but not for movie fans.
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'Family' is made on the lines of Godfather, but those who have seen Ram Gopal Verma's 'Sarkar' will agree that it takes a lot to go archetype. If Verma chose to heavily rely on facial expressions rather that dialogues and songs, Santoshi should have followed the oft-repeated path. Thus, 'Family' comes out to be just another Bollywood film that travels on the path of conflict between the two families. On the one side is Viren Sahai (Amitabh Bachchan) who rules his self-created empire from the modern city of Bangkok.
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Pitched against him is Aryeman (yes Aryeman and not Akshay Kumar). Aryeman plays younger brother of Shekhar (Akshay Kumar) who runs a roadside food stall. Shekhar's father (Anjan Shrivastava) and mother (Bharti Achrekar) believe in principles. While Shekhar is happy with his wife (Bhumika) and brother (Aryeman), everything is not right in Viren Sahai's family. His wife (Shernaz Patel) does not agree with Viren. While Viren runs his business from Bangkok, his family stays back in Mumbai. The conflict between the two starts when Shekhar is killed and Aryeman vouches to make life hell for Viren Sahai. But, Aryeman locking horns with a star like Big B is not that easy to digest.
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Every one be it a Santoshi or Big B or an Akshay fan has great expectations from this film. Having been a post-operation one, it has its share of controversy attached to it. Amitabh Bachchan fell ill and after that he could not turn up to complete the dubbing. Issues were raised on his cigar smoking in the film's promos and Bachchan had to beg an apology. As 'Family' could not have been the first hit of the year, the fault lies with Santoshi.
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If he was not happy with the set up of the film, he could have walked away from it in the very beginning. 'Family' will be remembered as a film in Santoshi's profile that does not have his touch. Since the story has been written by him and his associates, he is to blame for all this. The film fails not only because of a routine story but for its depiction too.
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Barring some scenes, one misses apt handling that has been the crux of his films in the past. Santoshi has his own team of technicians and whether Santsohi worked for this film with his full devotion or not, his team of technicians has done a wonderful job, be it editing, cinematography or art and action. Only other part that does not have an impact is its music department (handled by Samir and Ram Sampat).
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Among actors, 'Family' has been publicized as battle between Akshay and Amitabh, but that's not true. Akshay is there hardly for half an hour or so. And, even in that short span he doesn't do anything outstanding. However, Amitabh is often seen in these kinds of roles these days. His mannerism looks repetitive and his style needs to be upgraded. Bhumika does a marvelous job but the rest of the cast fails to rise to the occasion; not even producer Keshu's son Aryeman. He needs to get his things right before heading for another film. On the whole, 'Family' is a let down for Santoshi fans, and people will wait for another 'Khakee' from him.
