Fanaa

May 30, 2006 – Bollywood is alive and kicking, finally, at U.S. theaters. After reading the final weekend box office report, we were somewhat shocked to find “Fanaa” as the weekend’s #11 movie. The Hindi film, which comes in at over two-and-a-half hours, was released in only 72 independently owned theaters, without a proper poster – but everywhere from the Dedham Community Cinema in Dedham, Massachusetts, (ten miles from Boston, and the closest theater to Boston showing the film), to the Broadway Mall Theater in Long Island to the Galaxy Cinemas in Cary, N. Carolina. For the three-day-weekend, “Fanaa” took in over a quarter of a million dollars – raking in more per screen than “The Da Vinci Code.” Synopsis: Choices… to choose between right or wrong is simple, but what defines one’s life is the decision between the greater of two goods or the lesser of two evils. This is the advice that Zooni Ali Beg (Kajol) receives from her father just as she is about to venture out into the world on her own for the very first time. Little does she know that these very words will shape her life. Zooni, a blind Kashmiri girl, meets Rehan Qadri (Aamir Khan), a local tour guide and an incorrigible flirt, who goes from city to city exploring their architecture as also the women. Her friends warn her against this good-for-nothing roadside Romeo, but she chooses to ignore them. She is not one to be protected. It is now her time to discover life, and love. Is this really the right choice? Rehan is fascinated by Zooni. He truly wants her to see life as it should be seen, in its many colours – and as he promises her, the time spent with him will be the most precious in all her life. Zooni sees Delhi, life and love like she never has before, because of Rehan. What Zooni doesn’t know is that Rehan has another side of his life that he has kept from her – something that can not only change her life, but can also destroy it.