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Filmi chakkar

Suparn Verma

Sar Aankhon Par is supposed to be 'a tribute to 50 years of Indian cinema.' It takes a look at Hindi film industry, along the lines of Anand, Guddi and Rangeela.

The story revolves around Sunday (Dilip Joshi), a small-time actor in Bollywood. He lives for films, which is the very reason for his son Jai (Anuj) hating films. Jai's mother (Nivedita Joshi), a stuntwoman, died while performing a stunt for Rameshwari.

Sunday comes across a struggling actress Bubbly (Anoushka) and introduces her to director N Chandra who is making a film with Mukul Dev. Bubbly bowls him over with her performance at the screentest, and all that she needs is a nod from the producer.

Bubbly now wants to do a good turn for Sunday since he was instrumental in giving her a break. He tells her about his son who almost never smiles. Bubbly goes after him in a big way -- with some help from Mukul -- and the two fall in love. But of course, Jai doesn't know she is an actress.

Meanwhile, on his 50th birthday, Sunday discovers he has cancer. As a symbol of unity, the film industry -- represented by Shammi Kapoor, Asha Parekh, Farida Jalal, Navin Nischol, Paintal, Mukri, Shammi, Rameshwari, Sharad Dev, Shahrukh Khan, N Chandra, among others -- comes together to cheer the dying man who was often used as a 'space-filler' in films. He is also someone who had supported several artistes.

The film has an interesting story and some very funny lines (dialogues by Viveck Vaswani and Sanjay Chhel). But it fails because director Gyan Sahay lacks the vision and sensitivity to handle this subject. His camera work is also shoddy.

Dilip Joshi as Sunday proves he has the talent, but unfortunately he doesn't look the part of a wise 50-year-old sick man. This kind of role would have suited someone like Johnny Lever, who besides being the reigning king of comedy, also knows a thing or two about tears.

Anuj, as the sour-faced son, needs to polish up his act fast. Anoushka, on the other hand, performs with elan, and is definitely a find. Mukul Dev plays himself, but his character doesn't make sense since he is not exactly a superstar in real life. Jatin-Lalit's music, save the title track, isn't much to speak of.

Incidentally, the film has been in the making for over four years.

The two scenes in the film that stand out are the mock rape sequence, staged by Mukul Dev to make Jai rescue Bubbly, and the scene where actors from the golden era dance with Sunday.

Sar Aankhon Par has its heart in the right place, but not its head.