Straight From The Heart (India/1999)

 

Picture: C+     Sound: B-     Extras: D     Film: C+

 

 

So India makes more films than any other country in the world.  The problem is that they are usually gaudy spectacles that do not say much and think they are entertaining.  Bollywood is like crossing Hollywood’s flashy side with Las Vegas, but retaining as much of India’s prettied side as possible.  Straight From The Heart (1999) is a fantasy musical that gets on one’s nerves quickly.  If you thought Can’t Stop The Music (1980) had problems, which is a masterwork as compared to these egotistical, formulaic, bright, dumb films.

 

This one involves a love triangle that has hardly any credibility.  One guy even sings to Brahma in one of many goofy moments.  Aishwarya Rai is a known star over there, but you can see why she is unknown elsewhere Salman Khan offers little better.  Pathfinder decided to issue this to see if there is a market beyond curiosity interest.  I would have rather rewatched Fire and Earth, two films (reviewed elsewhere on this site) from India that are about something.  Too bad this film did not have more heart.

 

The anamorphically enhanced 1.78 X 1 image is somewhat colorful, but lacks detail and depth throughout.  The Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo has Pro Logic surrounds and is the highlight of the DVD by default, though the recording can be too bright at times.  There are no extras.

 

 

-   Nicholas Sheffo