I was a little skeptical about a Bollywood musical taking on the examination of something as politically charged as Hindu-Muslim relations in India, and to a certain extent my skepticism proved to be well-founded. I must say, however, that I probably have never seen a musical which is more bloody or graphically violent. I still do believe that if some of the early courtship had been cut, and if there were no interspersed musical numbers, this would have been a more powerful film.

This is neither West Side Story nor is it Romeo and Juliet. This is much heavier fare, and, in the end, worth a viewing.