By Taran Adarsh, September 30, 2005 - 15:39 IST

Bollywood continues to be enamored by Hollywood and its fascination for INDECENT PROPOSAL [1993] seems never ending. It's not sacrilege to revisit an interesting film, since every director has his style of interpreting a story. The only problem is that the moviegoers have seen it all, with not much remaining to be seen anymore.

From KAROBAAR [Rishi Kapoor, Anil Kapoor, Juhi Chawla] to SAUDA [Vikas Bhalla, Neelam, Sumeet Saigal], the moviegoer has witnessed a number of clones of the Robert Redford-Demi Moore classic. So, as the reels of SAUDA - THE DEAL unfold, you know exactly how the story will move.

The saving grace, to an extent, is Jaiprakash's direction, which makes the goings-on slightly interesting. But he is handicapped by a lopsided screenplay, especially in the second hour.

Devika [Preeti Jhangiani] and Sameer [Aryan Vaid] is a married couple. They dream of making it big, but do not have the monetary strength to realize their dreams.

Devika is a painter by profession and during one of her exhibitions, meets Vijay Oberoi [Sanjay Kapoor], a tycoon. Vijay is instantly attracted to Devika, but is unable to express his feelings since she is already married.

In the meanwhile, Sameer decides to take a loan from a gangster, Dayabhai [Makrand Deshpande], to start a business: A showroom of cars. Sameer has to mortgage his bungalow to avail of the loan, which his father [Srivallabh Vyas] agrees to half-heartedly.

The third angle comes in the form of Monica [Suman Ranganathan], who loves Sameer since their college days. Monica strongly feels that Devika has snatched Sameer from her and hates the fact that she is a loser.

In a sudden twist, Sameer fails to arrange the balance money to start his business. Seeing Sameer in trouble, Monica talks to Vijay about it. It is at this point that Vijay suggests that he'd help Sameer, provided Sameer lets his wife spend a night with him.

That's when the trouble begins…

SAUDA - THE DEAL keeps you engrossed in parts. But the concept of a husband using his wife to raise money won't register well in an orthodox society. Why, the husband is ready to even divorce his wife for it, which sounds so bizarre. True, the Indian audiences are in a mood for a change when it comes to stories, but certain topics are best untouched.

While director Jaiprakash opens all cards in the first hour itself, the second hour is devoted to Aryan hating Preeti for not spending the night with Sanjay, and Suman poisoning his mind further. Further, the husband even calls his wife a prostitute in a packed courtroom. Of course, the writer [Meeraq Mirza] gives enough reasons for the husband to think that way, but the Indian audiences think differently.

Director Jaiprakash has handled some parts of the film well. But given the script, he has his limitations. Also, the screenplay goes haywire in the second half, with two women fighting over one man. The climax fight between Preeti and Suman also seems unwanted.

Music [Anand-Milind] is quite okay and at least two tracks come at the right places -- 'Yeh Kaun Aaya Mere Dil Mein' and 'Dhuan Uth Raha Hain... Yeh Zindagi Ik Sauda Hain'. The dance in the bar, 'Kya Main Jawani Ka Achaar Dalungi', should be deleted because it looks like a forced ingredient. Cinematography is of standard, especially the locales of Dubai that add to the visual appeal.

The story focuses more on Aryan, Preeti and Suman. All performances are mediocre, with Aryan and Preeti managing their parts with some feeling. Suman goes over the top completely. Sanjay Kapoor makes a sincere effort and the sequence in the courtroom is well enacted.

Makrand Deshpande is effective. The Sayaji Shinde-Snehal Dabhi-Mushtaq Khan sub-plot tries hard to make you laugh. Ravi Kissen has a brief role. Ditto for Shakti Kapoor.

On the whole, SAUDA - THE DEAL is a routine fare. At the box-office, the clutter of releases in the same week will make a dent in its business, besides its difficult-to-digest theme.