Once upon a time, such films would be made that would leave such an impact on the viewer that, upon watching the film, he/she would spend the rest of the day contemplating on the message the film was trying to portray. And here I am. After having just finished Kucch To Hai (someone ought to tell Tusshar that adding a double 'c' to the title of the film will not guarantee it the same success as Mujhe Kucch Kehna Hai). And what do I find myself contemplating on? Certainly no message or moral. But the meaning of the word 'originality'.

A shoddy concoction of Hollywood blockbusters I Know What You Did Last Summer and its sequel, I Still Know What You Did Last Summer, Kucch To Hai tells the tale of seven college-going friends and a mistake that would change their lives forever. Karan (Tusshar), Tanya (Esha), Natasha (Natasha), Yash (Yash Tonk), Kush (Ashay Chitre), Pat (Vrajesh Hirjee), and Dolly live in what seems to be an ideal, 90210-esque-college world. It isn't until they mistakenly kill ruthless Professor Bakshi (Rishi Kapoor) that their lives take a dramatic turn and they find themselves in a whirlwind of fear, regret, horror, and pain. Because even three years after the death of Bakshi, someone is still inflicting havoc on their lives. One murder after the other, and only one possible suspect - Bakshi. But how could Bakshi possibly be alive? Or is there someone else who knows their secret? But what could the motive of that 'someone' be? The answers lie in Kucch To Hai. Supposedly.

The most scope to perform has been divided among the three main leads, Tusshar, Esha, and Natasha. Though no one really 'steals the show', Natasha seems a notch above the rest. She has been given an interesting role to make her debut in and, though she could have done so much more with it - particularly in the second half - she passes off as decent. She is certainly a looker and her Ding Dong has already left the male audiences asking for more. As far as acting is concerned, however, though Natasha has charm and is better than many of the other ladies who have recently made their debuts; she could, however, tone down a bit in her emotional scenes. Esha Deol has improved in both the looks and acting departments. She hands in a rather mature performance, but gets somewhat lost as the film progresses. Tusshar lacks any real screen presence and leaves a lot to be desired. His emotional sequences are almost laughable and an immature performance such as this is certainly not what he needs at this stage of his career. He also lacks any real chemistry with both the leading ladies, which is quite surprising seeing as that Esha is his real-life girlfriend and Kucch To Hai is one of the two films he has done with Natasha, Yeh Dil being the other one. The only person he seems to share any chemistry with is father Jeetendra and though it is nice to see that the father and son share a close relationship, it is not as though their chemistry will salvage the film from the mess it becomes. Rishi Kapoor is wasted in an overall nonsensical role, while the supporting cast grates on the nerves. Johnny Lever could definitely have been left out this time around.

The music is decent. Despite its insipid lyrics, Ding Dong Ding does have rhythm. The pick of the lot, however, would have to be the catchy Itni Pyaari and the romantic Kya Pyaar Karoge Mujhse. Yeh Mera Dil has been choreographed particularly well - the 70s takeoff does arouse quite a few laughs and mercifully if there is one thing Esha and Tusshar can do, it is dance. Hone Laga is foot tapping but seems to pop up out of nowhere. In fact, the main problem with the songs is that they slow down the narrative and appear too often between scenes. Seeing as that there are only some seven songs in the entire film, they could have been spaced out more evenly.

The main flaw, however, lies in the direction and pace. Too much time has been spent on the silly college antics, taking the suspense angle what seems like ages to develop. The directors (interestingly there are two - and yet the direction is still so poor) seem to forget that their film is a suspense-thriller and not a teenybopper romantic-comedy. The climax is also one of the most ridiculous climaxes in recent times. Everything happens so abruptly and there is almost no explanation for half of the events that take place. What's sad is that the film could have been so much more, as it does hold the viewer's interest every now and then. With a better treatment of the subject, it could have joined Humraaz, Deewangee, and Jism in the category of the inspired, yet captivating thrillers of recent times. But alas.no such case here, as I continue to ponder on the meaning of originality. As I refer to the dictionary for help, I find the definition to be "the quality of being new and original (not derived from something else)". Seeing as that Kucch To Hai certainly has nothing new to offer, I guess we'll just have to keep on waiting for that truly 'original' film.

Do you have any thoughts on this? Feel free to send Sabrina an e-mail @ Sabrina Siddiqui.