Pretty Good

It was OK. I don't see why everyone loves it so much. It wasn't very smart or deep or well-directed.

It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

This film is the epitome of LOVE, DEATH and PASSION. It successfully captures themes of each aspect, into a breathtaking acting peformnce from the main protagonist Ram Jaane (Shah Rukh Khan), alongside other actors/actresses. The acting reflected the situations in every scene. Lastly, and how can i forget, the songs, catchy and powerful.

It wasn't until the very end of Ram-Janne that I realized I was watching an homage to the 1938 "Angels With Dirty Faces" with James Cagney. If you can hold out that long, the final 15-20 minutes of the film is worth the wait. Until then, this is pretty typical masala fare with Shah Rukh Khan and Juhi Chawla dancing their way off to exotic locales not remotely related to the movie. It's those musical interludes -- and a few comical moments during "Ramjanne's" childhood -- that make the majority of the first half of the movie bearable. As much as I love Juhi, her character was a cardboard cutout in most scenes, Vivek Mushran's "Murli" (the alter ego of Pat O'Brien's "Father Jerry Connely" in "Angels") was less saintly than saccharine, and Pankaj Kapur as "Pannu Technicolor" was just plain annoying. Even Shah Rukh's version of Cagney's "Rocky Sullivan" (the title character, "Ram-Janne") couldn't prop this film up most of the way through.But the film's final scenes vindicate the patient viewer. Yes, it's still Bollywood at its melodramatic best. But the same elements that made "Angels" the classic it is are all in place for the big finish. And perhaps Ram-Janne -- being a masala film -- lends itself even better to this denouement than did its predecessor.Because it's this kind of scene that Bollywood does better than anyone else. Seeing SRK begging for his life on the way to the gallows is somehow more believable than watching Cagney blubbering in fear on his way to the electric chair. And give credit to F.C. Mehra for at least choosing to remake a film that's not been (re)done to death.A remake -- by definition -- will never change the course of cinematic history. But if you have an evening to spare, there are far worse choices you could make.

This movie has an intriguing story. Two foundling orphans are childhood friends: one turns his misfortune into an opportunity to help others, while the other is unable to rise above his sad beginning and turns to crime. Murli, the good orphan (Vivek Mushran) now runs an orphanage himself, while Ram Jaane (played by Shahrukh Khan, and so named because when he asks a priest what his name is, the priest replies "God knows!" "Ram Jaane!") works for an evil crime lord. Juhi Chawla is Bela, the sweet girl who is loved by both men, but who only has eyes for Murli.Shahrukh Khan, the undisputed King of Bollywood, is an engaging, riveting, charismatic actor who is unfortunately prone to unprovoked fits of atrocious overracting. Ram Jaane is a case in point. Although he has moments of sheer brilliance in this film (his reading of his goodbye letter to Bella had me in tears) his consistent scenery chewing becomes a distraction in many scenes. Khan is entirely capable of delivering subtle, thoughtful performances, and it's hard to see why the director didn't reign him in a bit here. The character of Ram Jaane has so much potential; he is a tortured soul who longs for love and tries in his own twisted way to be loyal and virtuous, but simply lacks the moral equipment to make the right choices...if played with a bit less hamming this could have been a great film.Vivek Mushran and Juhi Chawla handle their characters admirably, however, and there are a trio of nice songs: the title song Ram Jaane, another little ditty called Chori Chori that has Juhi and Shahrukh dancing in the fields of Ram Jaane's imagination, and a manic dance number called Pump up the Banghra that's loads of fun. This movie has its moments, but overall fails to live up to its potential.

I missed this film when it first came out and just saw it on DVD. The story line is very depressing though not really removed from reality.There is a great deal of violence and the usual overblown underworld but all that fades with the presence of Shahrukh Khan. In fact the great strength of the movie is the remarkable performance of Shahrukh Khan as the main protagonist. He is believable as a victim of circumstances who retains great moral strength and ability to fight back but also has pathos. He retains audience sympathy throughout. The heroine Juhi Chawla is rather weak. We can understand the obsession and love of the 'hero' for her but cannot make her out at all. We have to take her at her word that she loves Murli the good character and is just pretending love or affection for the hero. But there is no conflict in her emotions or evidence of what she really feels for the Shahrukh character. Is he able to get through to her at all? The ending is unsatisfactory in this regard. A film well worth seeing for the performance of Shahrukh Khan.