17 Years of Lakshya: The most captivating things about Farhan Akhtar’s directorial

Hrithik Roshan and Preity Zinta Picture Courtesy: AFP

Three years after the game-changing ‘Dil Chahta Hai', Farhan Akhtar made a film about discovery in the form of ‘Lakshya'. The promos suggested it's a film that chronicles the life of a slacker who transforms into a fearless army officer but nobody knew the depth with which Akhtar would make this drama. It had Preity Zinta, teaming up with the director for the second time.

What also happened for the second time was that the lady was more evolved and mature than the man. In their earlier film, Aakash was a flamboyant flirt who never believed in the notion of love before Shalini (Zinta) sermoned him about its essence. It got deeper when they both visited a theatre to watch a tragic play. Here, Romila (Zinta again), explains Karan Shergill (the character Roshan plays) about discovering a Lakshya in his otherwise aimless life.

‘Lakshya' is much more than just a film about self-discovery. It's about failure, frustrations, and fury. It has both mirthful and moving moments that linger even after it's over. As the film completes 17 years today, here are some of those things that stay on:

The Introduction

Roshan gets a routine introduction as Lt. Karan Shergill. He barely speaks around his seniors and flashes a smile when they joke about the most basic things. When an officer asks him if he likes mangoes, he smiles again and says yes. The camera immediately pans to the television set that's playing a news channel. The reporter is Romila Dutta, and his smile disappears. One can sense a conflict and when he moves out of the room, you know a flashback would follow. This has got to be one of the most unhurried, unheroic (in all the good ways) introductions of the lead pair in a Bollywood film.

The Music

Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy is a masterful trio whose soundtrack always blends with the story. Here, they explode with their versatility and travel through the journey of the protagonist. When Karan's a lost, lousy guy, they give us the ingenious, incredible ‘Main Aisa Kyun Hoon' track that imaginatively essays his confusion and exasperation. When he falls in love, they compose the charmingly filmed ‘Agar Main Kahoon,' and when his soul awakens, we get the thunderous, pulsating title song that fuels the narrative further. The music of this film shows how music composers can be just as versatile as the actors.

The Lakshya

Karan Shergill has finally found what justifies the title of the film. Point 5179 it is. Intruders from the neighbourhood have captured the area and the Indian Army is assigned the task to reclaim what belongs to them. Amitabh Bachchan (in a restrained, dignified performance) played Col. Sunil Damle, who steered clear from jingoism and inconsequential chants. His low yet gripping baritone was enough to make the impact.

The Reunion

When Karan and Romi meet again, the hostility is visible, from his side at least. When she sees him after what feels like ages, she's shocked, he barely reacts. When they meet again, she tells Karan he's changed. Pat comes the quip, "Haven't you too?" One wonders what makes Karan talk to her the way he does. Is it because he's still upset she walked out of his life, or she got engaged to someone else, or was it a soldier and not a lover-boy speaking?

The End

War films lead to a lot of painful moments. An officer who has just lost a friend lambasts Romi when she asks why do wars happen. Karan and his army battle all odds and hardships to hoist the Indian flag at the peak again. Karan does it all by himself since he has lost everyone from his team. When he does, Bachchan celebrates with a hurrah and tears. And so do we. Farhan Akhtar swelled our chests without asking his actors to break into a war cry. And that's exactly what his ‘Lakshya' was.

Also Read: Preity Zinta: Good days give you happiness, bad days give experience