Bobby(2002)

One-armed Prakash Raj is love. I like to rag on him for being in every third movie I own or have watched, but seeing him in Bobby, with only one arm, I felt for him. Rationally, I know that his other arm was strapped behind his back and not really missing, but still, it was touching, and kind of funny as it reminded me of the "one-armed solider" dance this kid in my high school German class did. Anyway...

Mahesh Babu and Aarti Agarwal are Romeo and Juliet-type lovers whose fathers(played by Raghuvaran and Prakash Raj, respectively) are bitter enemies. Unfortunately, they don't remain enemies. And just as unfortunate, not everyone dies in the end. I hate seemingly tragic love stories that end on a happy note(not unless I'm misunderstanding and Mahesh and Aarti's marriage just before the closing credits was really a "dream-before-dying" scenario, but I don't think so). I firmly believe that star-crossed lovers should not survive, simply because I'm fatalistic like that. (Or would "morbid" would be a better word?)

Mahesh did a good job in the acting department, although I wish his character would've gotten laid already so that he would shut up about "committing the sin". Aarti looked lovely and appeared to have good chemistry with Mahesh. One of my favorite scenes is the one where she tips him 100 rupees for (accidentally) rolling out a red carpet for her, and the back and forth banter between them that follows. I also liked the scene where she and Mahesh are sitting on top of a bus, in the rain, smoking, and she suddenly puts out her cigarette, saying that she no longer feels the urge to smoke out of boredom now that she has him, and they lean in for a kiss that leads to the "Vaa Vaa" song.

This movie appeals to the fifteen year-old in me who believes in the made-for-TV version of love and romance. It has a little Baz Luhrmann's Romeo + Juliet(the fish tank scene), a little Showgirls(the french fry scene), a little Spice Girls' "Wannabe" video(during the "Pullani Pullattu" song when Aarti Agarwal is dancing on the stairs with four other girls), and a song("Lokam") whose beat is ripped off from Jennifer Lopez's "Love Don't Cost A Thing". The picturisation of said song makes me feel as if I'm on drugs, which isn't a bad thing. It was certainly different, kinda cool, and kinda "Where have I seen this before?" I'm sure it was "inspired by" another artist's music video, but I can't think of who. Moving along...

My only quibbles are that the movie tends to drag in places, and the comedy bits with Brahmanandam and Sunil, while brief compared to the amount of screen time they normally get, could've, should've been left out. But otherwise, the $5.99 I paid for this DVD was well spent. I had zero expectations and wound up pleasantly suprised, which is always a good thing.