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Major Ram Prasad Sharma (Shah Rukh Khan) is a straight-laced military man walking in the footsteps of his father, General Shekar Sharma (Naseerudin Shah). When the General is killed by terrorists, he reveals on his deathbed that Major Ram has a half-brother, and gives him a dual mission: to protect a fragile peace initiative with Pakistan, called Project Milap, and to find his estranged brother and heal his fractured family.

Major Ram is assigned to protect the daughter of General Bakshi, the commander in charge of Project Milap, which takes him undercover to St. Paul's College in Darjeeling. By an amazing coincidence that only a true Bollywood fan could swallow, the Major's younger brother Lakshman Prasad (Lucky) Sharma studies at the same college.

After having his career emasculated by Karan Johar, I am happy to see that first time director Farah Khan has made a man of SRK again. How ironic that it took a woman director to give Khan a role he could finally get down and dirty with, after playing the teary-eyed lover-boy for so long.

Main Hoon Naa is a great summer time masala entertainer. It has dollops of action, romance, family angst, and a little medicinal dose of patriotic preaching about peace (estranged brothers Ram and Lakshman neatly symbolize India and Pakistan, separated by the folly of their leaders and elders).

But its greatest strength is that it doesn't take itself too seriously. The action could best be described as The Matrix meets Jackie Chan, with special effects that are one minute thrilling and the next minute laughable. But it's such fun to see SRK back in action, after his much publicized neck troubles, and encouraging to see Hindi filmmakers experimenting with cutting edge special effects technology.

The comedy revolves around the obviously over-aged Major Ram as a returning college student. Shah Rukh plays it just right, and not only neatly parodies his college role in Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, but also does a fantastic job of remaining in character and keeping his ram-rod straight military bearing whether he's doing comedy, drama or action.

Newcomer Zayed Khan (Lucky) has a way to go with his acting craft, but I found that he grew on me as the movie progressed, and he just sort of meshed with the elder Khan. They have a nice chemistry together. Amrita Rao (the general's daughter) is talented and gorgeous, and a great dancer. See her in Masti, where she also sparkles. Suniel Shetty does an excellent job underplaying the villain, and resists the urge to go overboard in his scenes. I loved the way Farah emphasizes his sexy badness by blaring heavy metal music whenever he makes an entrance. It made me chuckle every time.

Unfortunately the classy and sexy Sushmita Sen has little to do, but she and Shah Rukh fairly set the screen on fire in their few scenes together. Her seductive chemistry teacher is the perfect foil for his shy, sexually naive character. I'd love to see them in another film together, where she gets full screen time. She has a strength and maturity about her that plays very well off of his vulnerability and boyishness.

First time director Farah Khan takes the skills and creative genius she has displayed in her choreography (the Chaiyya Chaiyya dance atop a moving train in Dil Se alone has earned her a place in Bollywood legend) and demonstrates an exuberant love for the films of her youth. Main Hoon Naa either parodies or pays tribute to dozens of other Bollywood films, from Sholay to Kuch Kuch Hota Hai. The running gag where Major Ram bursts into uncontrollable singing whenever he sees Ms. Chandni, the chemistry teacher, is hilarious and endearing. And the outrageous chase scene with Ram on a rickshaw in hot pursuit of a jeep is just great. As a relative new-comer to Bollywood myself, I know that a lot of the references were lost on me, but I got a lot of them, too.

If you prefer Karan Johar three hanky tear-jerkers, this isn't for you. But if you want some thrills and comedy and family drama with your romance, then see Main Hoon Naa! Even the closing credits are fun. And Farah's director's commentary in the DVD special features is one of the best I've ever heard.

Chalte Chalte (`Walk Along') is a mainstream Bollywood romance that goes one better. Instead of leaving you at the altar to assume that `they lived happily ever after', Chalte Chalte takes you inside the marriage after Boy meets Girl, Boy wins Girl, to experience Man faces the realities of life with Woman.

Start with Raj (Shah Rukh Khan), a middle class guy who owns a small transport company. Raj is messy, impulsive, quick tempered: a guy who acts in haste and repents at leisure. One day he bumps into Priya (Rani Mukerjee), a beautiful, sophisticated upper-class fashion designer born in Greece and raised in luxury. Priya is organized and efficient; passionate, but always proper. Also a bit of a snob, she assumes Raj is merely a truck driver and snubs him accordingly.

Love blossoms, but the road to happiness is never smooth in Bollywood: Priya becomes engaged to her childhood friend, Sameer, a wealthy businessman from Priya's world of money and privilege. Raj, not wanting to spend the rest of his life regretting `if only' follows Priya to Greece to convince her that he, not Sameer, is the man of her dreams. Not so amazingly, he manages to succeed.

Your typical Bolly romance would be running the end credits about now, but we're just at the interval. The rest of the film switches from sun and sea drenched beauty of Greece to the mundane colors of Mumbai, and Raj's messy apartment. Now daily life intrudes, and Raj is left trying to keep the grand promises he so easily made when Priya was a prize to be obtained.

Chalte Chalte provides a mature look into a marriage, not of two movie stars, but of Mr. and Mrs. Anybody. The charm, or the drawback, depending on how you view it, is that the film has no real plot, no villains, no heros. Just real people doing the best they can with what they have, and with whom they've chosen. The problems Raj and Priya face are problems that all married people the world over face every day: disapproving in-laws, money problems, personality clashes, and on and on. The film works best for me on its most mundane level: arguments over wet towels on the bed, shoes on the floor, appointments missed, arguments about anything and everything, and then the making up, the kissing and cooing and apologies before starting another round.

Most of the performances in Chalte are solid. The supporting players, including Satish Shah and Lilette Dubay are wonderful, and though a handful of new-comers intrude on the flow of the film from time to time, their presence helps develop the story and provide narration and a bit of comic relief. The usually shrill and obnoxious Johnny Lever shows some welcome restraint this time, and creates an endearingly poignant character who helps tell the story in yet another way.

Rani Mukerjee, in my opinion one of India's best actresses, is stunning, both in appearance and in her acting. She exudes a warmth, a naturalness and a realness that makes you want to be her best friend, or her lover. With her exotic amber eyes and husky voice she is spellbinding in all her scenes, an intriguing mixture of sexy sophistication and little girl charm rolled into one.

But this movie belongs to Shah Rukh Khan, and no mistake. Coming after the opulent success of Devdas, and the larger than life Asoka, Raj is Everyman, a regular guy with money problems, wife problems, ego problems, problems, problems, problems. Khan is brilliant, and totally believable as a middle class business owner, struggling to keep up with everyday life. Usually prone to bursts of hammy over-acting, in Chalte Chalte he is restrained and controlled in every scene. Even in those moments when Raj is rampaging over his wife's well-intentioned betrayal, or on his knees humiliating himself in a crowded airport in front of Priya's snooty relatives, begging her not to leave him, Khan never goes over the top in his acting. Gone is the bratty charmer of Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge: this Raj is a mature, sensitive lover, and a bumbling husband, willing in the end to sacrifice even his male Indian pride for his love. Shah Rukh Khan has a definite gift for creating complex characters who don't fall easily into good-guy, bad-guy categories, and Chalte Chalte's Raj is one of those characters. The story has a definite (and intentional) been-there-done-that feel, but Khan is the reason to watch it all one more time.

There are those who say the movie has no ending, no resolution, and at first viewing I was one of them. But on second viewing I came away feeling that both Raj and Priya had in fact learned important lessons about each other and themselves. Priya, coming from the upper classes does not at first understand the inner demons Raj has to grapple with, knowing he is from a lower class, and that however successful he might become, to Priya's snobbish Anna Aunty he will never be more than a truck driver. Raj has to learn to put aside his ego if he wishes to remain with Priya, and respect her feelings and attachments, even though they are uncomfortable for him. In the end they both realize that life goes on, you do your best and forgive each other's flaws and mistakes, and love will get you through. Chalte Chalte.

The music of Chalte Chalte is a good mix. There are a couple of catchy tunes that will grab you immediately, a couple of ballads that might have to grow on you, and a couple of poignant numbers that I found to be hauntingly evocative during the sadder moments of the film. At times the background score does become a bit loud and intrusive, but on the whole I found it to be quite beautiful. The choreography was nice, if not overly exuberant (perhaps due to Khan's highly publicized back problems), the cinematography is gorgeous, and there are some dialogues and scenes that will stay with you long after the film has ended.

There are a couple of scenes that I would have trimmed, most notably the climax which starts out very movingly, but then lags a bit because of length, and the fact that the entire cast are in danger of drowning in glycerine. But Chalte Chalte is a thoughtful offering that will leave you pondering after the closing credits.

One Two Ka Four starts out as a rather unoriginal, Hollywood inspired buddy-cop picture, but is saved from being totally mundane by the performances of its stars, and a couple of nice story twists. Just don't think too hard about the plot, or you might fall through some of the gigantic holes. Shah Rukh Khan is perfect as a kid-hating, shoot-first-ask-questions-later cop, and Jackie Shroff is excellent (as always) as his older partner. Juhi Chawla provides most of the comedy with her character.

Just when I started getting bored with the cliche'd Hollywood-style action, the story turned into a neat little family drama, with Shah Rukh and Juhi playing nursemaid to a bunch of bratty kids. I thought it was entertaining and charming.

The A.R. Rahman music is trite in places, but features some really outstanding numbers, too, especially the comic "I'm Sorry" number with SRK and Juhi and the kids, and the lovely and romantic "Sona Nahi Nah Sahi."

This isn't a great film, it's true, but it entertained me for two and a half hours. I can't ask for more than that!