The Indian movie `Hazaron Khwaishein Aisi` reflects the intensity and fate of three young characters. The film is set at the backdrop of the late 1960s and early 1970s that were turbulent times i.e. anxiety filled and strife scarred. It was the time of Vietnam, of flower power, of the Emergency and the rise of the Naxal movement in India. A booming population of restless youth was eager to wage war against anything that curbed idealism. Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi digs into a section of this crazy chapter of history through its three protagonists namely Siddharth played by Kaykay Menon, Geeta played by Chitrangada Singh and Vikram played by Shiny Ahuja. `Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi` is an unconventional triangle with no single hero dominating the narrative. It is an open-ended graph of shifting relationships between three friends, two men and a woman, and not a rigidly enclosed triangle of formulaic romance. Two abiding themes also, the play with time and the changing psychology of people over a given time - surface in practically every film Mishra has made and they come together with near perfection in `Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi`. He uses his Masters in Psychology to flesh out characters conceived in the round, a novelistic trait that filmmakers so often overlook in the pursuit of the perfect image for its own sake. This is a masterpiece in true sense and can be a part of anyone`s library. It went to 12 film festivals in 6 months including Turkey, Estonia, River to River (Florence), Berlin, Edinburgh, Washington, India (Goa), Bite The Mango (Bradford), Commonwealth (Manchester), India (Los Angeles), Dallas, and Pacific Rim (California).

Synopsis of Hazaron Khwaishein Aisi
The Bollywood film `Hazaron Khwaishein Aisi` starts in Delhi University with the story of three students, Siddhartha Tyabji played by Kay Kay Menon, Geeta Rao played by Chitrangada Singh and Vikram played by Shiney Ahuja . The film`s socio-political statement retains the intellectual power and depth and is not at all overshadowed by the strongly emotional love story, its woven with. The three friends come from different stratas of society. In the beginning, the three friends are carefree and desultory. But as they get out in the real world, they learn the ropes of survival.

This is time to meet the three protagonists as they graduate from a prestigious Delhi college and get inextricably drawn into their closely observed lives. Siddharth is the emblematic representative of secular elitism. He is the son of liberal Leftists who married across the communal divide. His dilemma is typical of his class, afflicted by the peculiar predicament of bearing a Muslim surname but unable to speak good Urdu. No one is more aware of this experiential irony than Siddharth himself. He is the idealist looking for a cause in the ideological vacuum of a Delhi polluted by politicking. This is a Delhi society where class and education count more than ethnicity and language. Siddharth is the son of a retired judge, born and raised in luxury and privilege. But he is attracted by the communist movement, especially the naxalite movement of West Bengal. He sees the social inequalities around him, and is convinced that a communist reveloution is the answer to all the problems. That he lives in wealth, smokes pot and listens to western rock while adopting Lenin and Mao does not affect this decision.

Geeta Rao is the brilliant daughter of an eminent scientist. He is very inclined to South Indian traditional ways. Geeta has this natural ability to live easily in many worlds, a seeming prototype of the high-achieving modern woman. From the Telugu-speaking orthodox home complete with an extended family to the trendy set she hangs out with, and then on to Oxford for higher studies and finally to a strife-worn Bihar village. She crosses them all in the course of an eventful life, driven by her singular passion and he is Siddharth. Another important character is Vikram Malhotra. If his friends inhabit a rarefied land of passionate idealism, Vikram is the point of identification. He is himself and yet, everyman. He is the typical small-town boy; desperate to acquire the cosmopolitan life that comes so naturally to the elegant Geeta and sophisticated Siddharth. Vikram is in a hurry to distance himself from his father`s legacy i.e. a small-time, small-town politician who retains his idealism for which the son has nothing but contempt. He has a Gandhian father who is an idealist. Vikram is very ambitious, and wants to be successful, by hook or by crook. He is also in love with Geeta, but his love is not reciprocated.

The movie deals with the aspirations of these three protagonists. Siddharth is a driven revolutionary who dreams of bringing a revolution in the state of Bihar that will end the caste-based discrimination at that place. He wants to bring social justice, and, change the society for the better. Vikram wants to climb the social ladder no matter what the cost. Geeta is portrayed as a London returned, South Indian girl in love with the firebrand Siddharth. She has passed a very sheltered life so far, and is yet to explore the terrain of the Indian socio-political landscape. While she finds Siddharth`s Naxalite rhethoric attractive, she is not sure if she can whole-heartedly subscribe to it. And every time they come to point of choice, Siddharth chooses his ideology over his love for her thus breaking her heart time and again. Vikram is particularly afflicted by his father`s Gandhian ideas, irratated and frustrated at the same time, and sees no greatness in his father`s way of life and ideology. Eventually after some years situation is like that Vikram is a fixer in the power corridors of government, Geeta is married to a promising government servant who has it all, and Siddharth is still trying to agitate a revolution. But all is not as it seems. Below the mask of happiness, each is quite unhappy. Vikram has made it and also set up a office in Delhi, but he still cannot get Geeta, the love of his life. Geeta is married, but she still meets Siddharth furtively, cheating on her husband. Siddharth has moved beyond simply trying to foment a revolution, and has started caring for the downtrodden so much so that he is prepared to delay a revolution because he feels that the people are not ready in spite of their saying otherwise.

The turning point of the film comes when Siddharth comes to know that police is planning to kill him in a `fake encounter`. With death staring him in the face, Siddharth cracks up, he pleads to the doctor to inform his father about his whereabouts. His fellow comrades finally rescue him. The strong spirit of middle-class self-preservation gets the better of him making him end up defeated and demoralized. He finally abandons the revolutionary path. Thus the prodigal son returns to the paternal embrace of class society. But with a wise decision to save Siddharth, Vikram gets affected and after a huge attack on him he got paralyzed. The film closes with a panoramic of the rural landscape evoking deep serenity, stillness, pathos and the return of order from disorder. A paralyzed Vikram, who becomes an accidental victim of state terror, is shown, resting his head against the shoulder of Geeta looking towards an uncertain future. Geeta in many ways turns out to be the strongest character. The assault on her womanhood and the sexual degradation she suffered at the hands of the police does not break her spirit and courage. She goes back to Bhojpur to continue teaching the children. However, her resilience and the fearlessness do not constitute a challenge to the system. This middle-class NGO-ised activism is no answer to the exploitation and oppression the majority of people face today. Siddharth finally goes to abroad to study medicine, far off from his movement and changes in the society.

This attempt of Sudhir Mishra is completely mesmerizing. None can leave the place before the film shows `The End`. The actors do complete justice to their brilliantly etched out characters. Kay kay moves with his intensity. And Shiny is excellent in this film. But Chitrangada Singh, whose face draws inevitable comparisons to Smita Patil, is definitely someone to watch out for. She is a complete natural who zaps the camera with a passionate performance.

Cast and crew of Hazaron Khwaishein Aisi
The star cast of this film can be shown as Kay Kay Menon, Chitrangada Singh, Shiney Ahuja, Yashpal Sharma, Saurabh Shukla, etc. Among the crew members there are director Sudhir Mishra who also wrote the story, producer is Rangita Pritish Nandy, and music is by Shantanu Moitra.

Awards for Hazaron Khwaishein Aisi
The bollywood movie `Hazaron Khwaishein Aisi` is a critically acclaimed movie. The critics declared it to be a masterpiece and one of the best movies of the year. All the three leads were showered with praise for their performances. However Shiney Ahuja.s performance was considered the best in the film. He was awarded the filmfare best new comer for this film in the year 2005.