Malang (2020)

[** stars / *****] 

Director Mohit "Aashiqui 2" Suri's Malang (Vagrant) could also be titled Drugs, Love, Crime & Revenge in Goa (Filmy Style). 

Two "free" wanderers, Advait (Aditya Roy Kapur) and Sara (Disha Patani) fall for each other with zero chemistry and non-existent, woefully absent acting skills in Goa over drugs, parties, more drugs, breaking into abandoned homes (nobody notices the house breaking, Goa is that tourist friendly?!), bikinis and water sports. 

Then a tragedy involving volatile cop Michael Rodriguez (Kunal Khemu) puts an end to the vacation. Meanwhile, Anjaney Agashe (Anil Kapoor), another cop, loses it to drugs and encounter killings over his killed-in-crossfire daughter. 

When your friend has one too many tequila shots in Goa...

Lover ka badla (revenge)!
A more convincing Roy Kapur gets into revenge-crazy, six-pack, back-from-prison killing machine mode and keeps killing off cops left and right, even as Michael and Anjaney close in on him. Malang is a snore until the final ten minutes, some plot elements are justified, by then its too little, too late. 

Quick! Call the Rapid Action Deodorant Squad!

Why Malang sucks? 
Advait and Sara never seem real, neither as wanderers or later. Their scenes are a headache inducing drag. The first half suffers from the non-existent vibe and poor dialogues. Where is the money coming for the extended Goa vacation is a genetic Hindi film jannjat (irritation). 

Goa as a forbidding, dark, drug-infused could have worked, but the proceedings are too dull and unbelievable for any conviction to set in. 

Malang review 
Kunal Khemu as Michael Rodriguez needed more layers in what could have been a fascinating study of masculine pride, but the makers don't get there. Khemu's undeniably superb talent is wasted here. There are bright ideas, like the climax, the devastated cop subplot, but nothing sticks. 

Only the amazing Anil Kapoor and the beautiful songs, without any lame remixes, believe it or not, (applause for composers - Mithoon, Ankit Tiwari, Ved Sharma, Azim Azhar and The Fusion Project) make Malang, the rest is like a wave of average writing, acting and directing crashing into a million pieces against the rocks of a Goa beach.  

Lamhe (1991)

[***1/2 stars / *****] 

Viren (Anil Kapoor), a young man visiting his ancestral home in Rajasthan, India falls for Pallavi (Sridevi), a gorgeous neighbor next door. Alas, the woman is in love with another man. Heartbroken, Viren organizes the couple's marriage and abruptly leaves for London. 

A few months later, the married couple dies in an accident leaving behind an infant daughter, Pooja. The daughter is raised by Viren's nanny in India. Years pass and Pooja grows up to be a cheerful, lively teenager (Sridevi again), a startling physical replica of her mother. Over the years, Pooja develops a fiery, undying love for the now middle-aged, elusive Viren. 

Lamhe is quite simply Yash Chopra's best romantic drama. It sensitively portrays the dynamics and layered complexities of love like few Hindi films do. 

Unconventional, timeless, against the norm, rebellious, deeply engaging and compelling, Lamhe is a remarkable work of cinema and justifies Yash Chopra's reputation as a fine, nuanced director. 

Sridevi towers and sparkles in her mother-daughter double turn. Lamhe is among the few great films that matches up to Sridevi's incredible talent. 

Anil Kapoor is at his best, chirpy and lovelorn as the young man, effectively toned down as an older businessman, Anupam Kher is a genius mad streak as Viren's friend Prem, while Waheeda Rehman adds dignity and poise as the ever-caring dai-ma. 

For those who love Hindi romantic dramas, skillful direction, great locales, with a dose of gorgeous film song picturizations and an incredible timeless story, Lamhe, but for some minor flaws, is fabulous viewing.