Khoya Khoya Chaand --- Movie Review

Movies with the central character as a female lead are seldom made in our Film Industry . Sudhir Mishra is one such director who does it very efficiently . His past two films Chameli (*ing Kareena) and Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi (*ing Chitrangada Singh) were also based female characters in lead . This one is also the same and the entire movie revolves around Soha who plays Nikhat in the movie .

Before reviewing I'll say that this movie is not for everybody and will be liked by only a selected group of people . The movie starts off with the main lead of the movie Nikhat whose mother is running around different directors and producers to get a role for her daughter . Nikhat plays small roles in different movies until she is spotted by Prem Kumar , the superstar . Prem is a complex and manipulated character which is played by Rajat Kapoor . Prem is more flamboyant in nature and has had physical relations with many co-stars . He works with a co-star Ratanbala who is also a superstar . Prem spots nikhat and makes her a star and Nikhat does everything that Prem says and even gets physical with him . Then comes Zafar (played by Shiney) who is son of a very characterless man with four wives . Zafar is introduced to Prem Kumar by Shaymol (played by Vinay Pathak) who is a good friend of Zafar . Zafar is a Writer and he impresses Prem Kumar by his writing and then Prem gets him on his film . Zafar meets Nikhat through Prem Kumar and he becomes a good friend of Nikhat . She slowly becomes a superstar and Prem goes on to marry an another girl who is selected by his parents . Due to this Nikhat gets sad and she slowly slowly gets attracted towards Zafar . When Prem comes to know about Zafar & Nikhat's affair , he tries to remove both Zafar and Nikhat from his next film but instead of them the Director removes Prem Kumar and signs a new actor . Then Nikhat becomes the biggest superstar and Zafar decides to Direct a film which revolves around his relationship with his father . He writes this story for Nikhat but she refuses to act in his film because she already gives a commitment to other films . Then , due to this differences start to creep in their relationship .

Zafar completes the film with Ratanbala and it bombs and he gets destroyed . He leaves the industry & Nikhat and goes to London . Nikhat being alone developes a drinking habit and also starts to fall from her star status . She lives with Shaymol and slowly becomes quite ill . Then after many years Zafar comes back from London and when he sees Nikhat he realizes his mistake . He writes another script which is based on their own lives and goes on to make it . Nikhat in spite of being ill works hard in his film and later the film goes on to be a success . Both Nikhat and Zafar marry each other but she dies soon and their movie " Khoya Khoya Chaand " becomes a classic film of all time.

Now talking about the acting , Soha Ali Khan is brilliant in her role as Nikhat . She perfectly portrays the Innocence perfectly in the starting of her career as an actress and later gets mature . She really fits in perfectly for Nikhat's role and performs her best . Her character is inspired by Meena Kumari and she matches the elegance of the great actress . Shiney is an amazing actor . He also plays Zafar really well and delivers his goods very well . Zafar is also inspired by Guru Dutt to some extent and he also plays it relly well . The other actors including Rajat Kapoor also act brilliantly and fit their roles.

The cinematography by Sachin Kumar Krishnan is also top notch . It does moves you into the 50's era and gives you a detailed look of the industry at that time .The story is slow in its pace but movies like this are always a bit slow . Sudhir knows his job very well and he delivers his best . He really shows the complexity of relationships very well .
The music is also according to the movie and really keeps the film going .

Overall the movie is about the complex nature of relationships that exist between different people working in same industry . The movie revolves around Passionate and Ambitious characters who live simultaneous lives at a time to get successful . The movie won't be able to attract good Box Office numbers because of its selected audience and it is not for people who expect entertainment and happiness from each film that is made . This movie has its moments and will stand high on critics list .

Movie Rating : The movie gets Three out of Five for fantastic acting and Direction .

Khoya Khoya Chand -- Music Review

" Melody meets poetry " is the best line that can describe this album in one line . The magic of Swanand Kirkire and Shantanu Moitra works again after "Parineeta" . The feel of this one is similar to that of Parineeta . The duo got instant fame with Parineeta and now they are back with another similar album after long time .

The album starts with the Title Track "Khoya Khoya Chand " which is an excellent qawwali with voices from Swanand Kirkire and Ajay Jhingran . This one is the best track on album no doubt and after Himesh's "Aawan Ankhiyan -- Aahista Aahista " is the best qawwali I've heard in long time . The vocals in between the qawalli are just perfect and are recited by Lyricist himself so are done with best tone . This track will remind you of the qawwals who performed on stages with full on "Josh" . The track starts off a little slow but later gets into the qawwali mood soon . Both the singers have sung it beautifully and this one is bound to get popular .

The second track is "Yeh Nigahein " by Sonu Nigam and Antara Choudhury which reminds you of the Black and White era of Indian Cinema of Kishore and Geeta Dutt . Both Sonu and Antara have sung this one in typical 50's style . The music on this one is also very melodius and also has a club feeling to it with a little bit of Jazz feeling . This song would sound good even on an Old Radio with no Bass effect and Stereo sound .

The third song " Chale Aon Saiyaan "is by Shreya Ghoshal and is a typical Classical "Mujra" style song with lyrics also having the same feeling . Shreya being a hardcore classical singer pulls it of effortlessly . The music is also very classical with appropriate use of Tabla beats .

Then comes "Khushbu Sa " which is sung by Hamsika Iyer which is a very sensual and romantic in its feel . The music is also very club style and reminds one , of the Rekha's Item number in Parineeta sung by Alisha Chinoy . This one is also sung quite well by Hamsika and she sounds really good . She can sing songs like these in future also .

After this track is "O Re Paakhi " which is a soft romantic sad song which is sung brilliantly by Sonu alone . Sonu is the best and he proves this again and again . He has a great understanding of melody and he sings according to it . A good Sad song after a long time . This one would surely go down as one of the best tracks of this album . With minimal music in this one Shantanu has also given his best music sense into this one .

" Sakhi Piya " by Pranav Biswas and Shreya Ghoshal is also a good slow romantic song with good classical renditions by Pranav . This one is also very Melodious and Classical and it has probably the maximum classical input in the entire album . The song would sound very beautiful if used in Background in the Film . It is a treat for Classical Lovers and is must listen for them .

Then at last is " Thirak Thirak " which is a duet by Sonu and Shreya . This one is a little fast then others and its starting reminds one of the starting of " Honthon Mein Aisi Baat 's " starting . After one and half minutes of musical start the song starts off in a very different tone . The constant sound of Ghungru in the entire song sounds really good . In the entire song one can easily listen to the excellent chemistry between Sonu and Shreya's Singing . At the end of the song there is a line from the title track khoya-khoya which is sung very beautifully by both of them . This one is also one of the best out of this entire album.

The entire album is very Melodious and Lyrically Poetic and is a food for your soul and is a good change from usual Disco Beats of today's music . The album is one of the Best albums of year and is also very Nostalgic . This one for sure will leave you nostalgic and is strictly recommended for all music lovers .

Album Rating : This one gets " three and half stars " and is a must buy for everyone. Melodious and Magical .