Lakshya: The Story of a Young Man Turning Into a Brave Soldier
Lakshya is a 2004 war drama film and is one of my favorite movies. The movie’s story is based on Kargil war. Lakshya (লক্ষ্য) means “Goal.” Hrithik Roshan and Preity Zinta play the main characters. Other major actors were- Boman Irani, Amitabh Bachchan, Om Puri, Ranvir Shorey, Sharad Kapoor, Amrish Puri.
Synopsis:
Karan Shergill (Hrithik Roshan) comes from a wealthy family. His father (Boman Irani) is a successful businessman. His elder brother lives in the USA. Karan leads a very carefree life. He goes to college, hangs out with his friends and spends time with his girl-friend Romila Dutta aka Romi. Karan’s father is worried about him. He wants him to do something in life but Karan is in no hurry. Romila, on the other hand, is very focused. She knows what she wants in life.
Image source: Santabanta.com
One day, a friend tells Karan that he is joining army. Karan also applies to the Indian Military Academy (IMA). When Karan’s father came to know about it, he became very angry. This made Karan even more determined about joining IMA.
Karan gets admission in IMA but finds it very difficult to cope with the strict army rules. He is often punished by his supervisors. Failing to cope with the pressure, he escapes from the academy. When Romi comes to know about this, she breaks up with him. Karan then decides to return to IMA. He finishes his training, and receives commission in the Indian army.
He was then stationed in Kargil, Jammu and Kashmir. The movie then shows Karan going into an operation to repel Pakistan army that covertly entered India, occupied mountain peaks and attacking Indian army.
Why I like it:
Though related with Kargil War, Lakshya is not about Kargil War. The movie actually tells Karan Shergill’s story, the fictional young Indian boy, turning into a soldier and a grown man, in the backdrop of Kargil War.
Image source: Youtube
Life is not a bed of roses. There comes a time in every person’s life when he or she has to struggle to achieve his or her goals. Sometimes he lose, sometimes he becomes upset. Despite his failures, he accepts the reality, stands up and continues to struggle to achieve his goal. This is called perseverance.
It does not matter what is your family’s condition. If you continue to work hard you will reach your goal someday. That is the main focus of the movie. An aimless young man finally finds his calling and sets his goal to throw out the occupying forces from the top of the mountain and does it.
Image source: Youtube
I can relate myself with Hrithik Roshan’s charater in the movie. I had more or less a comfortable life. My father was a government employee. I did not have to struggle for food or clothes but I did not do well in my school and college. I was one of the worst students in my class. In my first semester in North South University, I failed and got into probation. For two years, I struggled in BBA. Then I decided to study English. Initially, I did not get good grades. Still today, I am struggling. When I read about other people’s success, I feel a pinch of sadness in my heart thinking that I had the potential to do better but I could not achieve anything for my laziness and negligence but then I calm myself saying that thinking about my failures would not do me any good. I must continue to work. I must continue my struggle. I made many bad decisions in my life, still I continue. After all my failures, I am going on. This is my life.
Acting:
More or less, all the actors played their parts well. I liked Hrithik Roshan’s portrayal of an army officer very much. He has good physique and looked great in the uniform. Initially after release, the movie did not do well but I liked the movie only for Hrithik Roshan’s performance. Hrithik Roshan, from day one, established himself as a highly disciplined and intense actor. He works very hard to portray his characters in all his movies. In this movie too, I could see his efforts to make his character believable to the audience.
Preity Zinta’s character, Romila Dutta, was based on famous Indian reporter Barkha Dutt, who, in real life, went to Kargil to cover news of the war in 1999 (You can see her Kargil news coverage clip on Youtube). Romila is an activist and a serious reporter. She is not afraid of hardship and loves challenges. Her work matters more to her than her looks.
For this character in Lakshya, Preity Zinta had a non-glamorous look. She donned short hair and wore ordinary dress. She effortlessly played the character which shows how talented she is as an actress.
I also like Boman Irani playing Karan Shergill’s father. He is self-made man and a caring father. In the end of the movie, there is a scene where Karan talks with his father over the phone and tells him that how much he loves him. Karan’s father also tells him that he is proud of him and tells his friends about him. This scene makes me very emotional (SILLY!!! RIGHT!!!). Here is a video of a song from the movie. I hope you would like it and thanks for reading the post!!!
Watch the title track of Lakshya
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8DMF0U6xV78[/embed]
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