Rishtey - 2002

Story

It opens with Anil Kapoor (Suraj), a father who runs off with his new born child after a misunderstanding with wife Komal (Karisma Kapoor), setting his fiendish father-in-law (Amrish Puri) and his goons on him.

Riding a truck on a foggy morning Suraj lands in a nameless town where he struggles to bring up his child alone for seven years till his wife and evil father-in-law spot him. From there on, it is high theatrics and violence punctuated with some hip-swinging by Vyjayanti (Shilpa Shetty), a shapely fisherwoman in love with Suraj.

Rishtey is a melodrama from Indra Kumar, a director whose previous films include Dil, Beta, Raja and Mann. Dil, Beta and Raja had well-etched characterisations and some foot tapping music that glued the film together.

Kumar has slipped badly in his latest film. There are hardly any nuances to the relationships he portrays on screen -- no tender moments or hard hitting scenes either.

In Dil Kumar had Aamir Khan and Madhuri Dixit play lovers who rebel against the world and then are torn apart because of circumstances. With a tight script and powerful performances from his lead actors, Dil, despite its conventional story line, became a delight to watch.

With Beta, Kumar explored the relationship between an exploitative stepmother (Aruna Irani) and her son (Anil Kapoor). Again with a powerful cast, he played on the relationships between his characters to give the film its punch.