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LAILA (1984)
Produced and Directed by: Sawan Kumar Music: Usha Khanna Starring: Sunil Dutt, Poonam Dhillon, Anil Kapoor, Pran, Anita Raj, Pradeep Kumar, Satyen Kapoo, Yunus Parvez, Yogita Bali
Running Time: 131 Minutes
CineRating: 6 out of 10
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Remembered primarily for being one of Anil Kapoor's earliest (and failed) attempts at garnering leading man status (he had already achieved acclaim as a supporting player in films like Woh Saat Din [1983] and Mashaal [1984]), the densely plotted Laila begins as a standard Bollywood tale of feuding families and starcrossed lovers before distinguishing itself with a twisty storyline that recalls Mughal-E-Azam [1969] with its surprisingly harsh portrayal of the conflict engendered by a rebellious son and his tradition-bound father.
In this case, the son is Desh (Anil Kapoor), whose father, Thakur Dharamraj (Sunil Dutt), is involved in a deadly feud with the merciless Bharat Singh (Pran). Still vengeful over the shooting death of his drunken, belligerent nephew at Dharamraj's wedding years earlier, Bharat Singh has already overseen the murder of Dharamaj's father and vows to rid the world of his son Desh too. When Dharamraj has a chance to terminate Bharat Singh once and for all, he is stopped cold by the passionate pleas from Singh's beautiful daughter, Padmini, who seeks an end to all the violence. In an attempt to finally make peace between the two clans, Dharamraj proposes that his son be wed to Padmini -- a proposal that the suspicious Singh eventually agrees to.
However, unbeknownst to his father, Desh is already in love with Leela (Poonam Dhillon), the daughter of the chauffeur who was executed by Dharamraj after he found out that the driver had sold out Dharamraj's father to his assassins. Desh has even rechristened Leela as "Laila," the legendary lover. When Dharamraj discovers his son's infatuation with Leela, he proceeds to take the whole concept of "father knows best" to morbid extremes by having Leela chained up and imprisoned. Not surprisingly, Desh does not take kindly to his dad's ruthless interference, and before long father and son are pointing more than just fingers in each other's faces.
Anil Kapoor would become a huge star playing a variety of roles, many as an appealing, down-to-earth young man who could suddenly erupt in a volcanic fit of moral indignation at the injustices surrounding him. His signature style is securely in place in Laila, where his carefree, romantic lead suddenly veers toward patricide as he clashes with a father who would rather honor his word to an enemy than yield to the conflicting desires of his son. While Kapoor makes for a likable hero, he's overshadowed by the veteran presence of steely-eyed Sunil Dutt -- who captures the father's manaical sense of duty without turning him into an overblown caricature -- and the prolific character actor Pran, whose Bharat Singh is another robust addition to his memorable gallery of obnoxiously evil villains.
Adding to the film's luster is Poonam Dhillon -- a former teenage Miss India (1977) who made her film debut at age sixteen in Trishul [1978] before attaining stardom and a career in movies that would span almost twenty years. One of Bollywood's legendary beauties (think Kareena Kapoor but with a softer, less angular face), Dhillon is a more than acceptable object of lust here, and even gets to perform one solo song ("Aaj Sare Menfil") in a simulated state of drunkeness. The rest of the song-and-dance numbers are nothing if not fun, although the trippy "Ho Gaye Deewane" remains the most memorable for its mildly surrealistic settings.
As expected for an older film release, Eros' DVD looks to be culled from a worn print with faded colors. Despite these flaws, the picture (presented in a 1.85:1 aspect ratio) is otherwise quite watchable, with no glaringly distracting defects or skipped frames.
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DVD Specs:
Eros DVD
All Regions
Removable English Subs (None for the songs)
Trailer for Aks
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