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By Taran Adarsh, October 6, 2006 - 14:25 IST
 Noble
intentions don't necessarily translate into engrossing
entertainers. Sometimes, a thought-provoking idea
doesn't reach the winning post due to the writer's
inefficiency to narrate a poignant tale. That's the
problem with ZINDAGGI ROCKS.
The concept of a mother sacrificing her life for her
child can be identified by every parent across the
globe. It's a universal theme. But Tanuja Chandra, the
director, gets minimal support from Tanuja Chandra,
the writer, in narrating a moving story.
Yes, the penultimate reels of ZINDAGGI ROCKS do try to
salvage the show, but the journey from start to end is
not captivating enough. The cons outweigh and
outnumber the pros in this case!
ZINDAGGI ROCKS revolves around Dr. Suraj [Shiney Ahuja],
the shy, cynical workaholic doctor and Kria [Sushmita
Sen], a pop singer.
Suraj meets Kria in the hospital. She's got a gash on
her arm, which needs to be looked into immediately.
Kria senses that something is amiss in Suraj's life
and decides to take him on a date. Suraj agrees
reluctantly!
Suraj is introduced to Kria's mad family: A stern
mother and a fun-loving aunt [Moushumi Chatterjee in a
dual role], cousin Joy [Kim Sharma] and Kria's adopted
son Dhruv [Julian]. Kria and Suraj are drawn to each
other. But there's a twist in the tale: Dhruv has a
hole in his heart and needs a heart transplant.
The problem with ZINDAGGI ROCKS clearly lies in its
screenplay. Although the film starts off well -- the
two extremes [Sush, Shiney] getting attracted to each
other -- the sequence of events thereafter don't have
the power to sustain interest. Basic things like names
of the characters confuse the viewer no end. Shiney is
sometimes referred to as Suraj and at times, Rihan.
Even the child is at places called Dhruv and in some
scenes, Romi.
 Okay,
it's a trivial issue. But the moment the child faints
during the intermission point, the viewer is told that
he is a blue baby [with a hole in the heart]. The next
few sequences clearly give an impression of what's
cooking in Sush's mind. It doesn't take time to guess
that the mother [Sush] is going to sacrifice her life
to save her adopted son. But while the viewer can
fathom what's happening, Shiney doesn't. Either he
can't read her mind or he doesn't want to!
Also, the entire track of Shiney approaching a senior
citizen [one Firoz Panthaki] for a heart transplant,
who in turns informs the cops of Shiney's constant
phone calls, looks slipshod. This unwanted track only
adds to the length of the film. Even the track
involving Kim Sharma and her boyfriend appears
half-baked. The last few minutes are the best part of
the enterprise, but it's too late to salvage the
enterprise by then.
Emotions play a strong role in a film that talks of
the mother-son bonding, but the emotions in ZINDAGGI
ROCKS are superficial and at times, fake. Especially
the bonding between the child and Sushmita's family.
You don't feel the pain primarily because the writing
lacks moments that would make you moist-eyed.
 Tanuja
Chandra's execution isn't faulty, but her screenplay
is. Anu Malik's music is passable, with a couple of
lilting tracks ['Meri Dhoop Hai Tu' and 'Humko Chhoone
Paas Aayiye']. Amirr Sayed's cinematography is
first-rate. Also, the film bears an upmarket look all
through.
Sush tries hard to infuse life in her character. She
is effective at places, but tends to get theatrical at
times. Shiney does a decent job, although the
screenplay gives him little scope to go beyond a set
of expressions. Moushumi Chatterjee is okay as the
mother, but hams as the twin-sister. The get-up also
doesn't suit her age. Kim Sharma is wasted. The child
artist, Julian, is wonderful. Seema Biswas, as the
cop, is alright. Ravi Gosain gets no scope.
On the whole, ZINDAGGI ROCKS just doesn't rock. At the
box-office, it's bound to go unnoticed.
Rating:- * 1/2
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