screen presence, commending her for proving "she is one among those actresses who can combine good looks with histrionics". Jitesh Pillai of The Times of India was ambivalent about Armaan; he criticised its "crippling pace", but appreciated the credibility of the script, the cinematography, and the actors, calling Bachchan "brilliant", Kapoor "first-rate" and commending Singh for bringing dignity to her underdeveloped role and Zinta for adding "vim, vigour and sparkles with comic timing" to her part. Rediff.com's critic Deepa Gumaste was highly critical of the film, disliking the performances and finding the overall product to be "way off the mark". Giving the film two stars, Namrata Joshi of Outlook found it disappointing and after comparing it to the 1960 film Dil Apna Aur Preet Parai, said that Armaan only repeats the story but with a different ending. Taran Adarsh from Bollywood Hungama praised the acting while concluding the film "leaves a lot to be desired. The content ... does not match the heavy star cast, which in turn will tell on its business." Another review for Mid Day, by Narendra Kusnur, wrote the film off as extremely slow but liked the actors' performances. Manish Gajjar of the BBC applauded Irani for revisiting "the same formula ... [adding] freshness and zest", further praising Kapoor for delivering "his best" performance, Zinta for her "superb acting" and Bachchan for "outstanding performance". Derek Elley of Variety declared Bachchan the film's headline, but believed his performance was largely overshadowed by the other leads, adding, "Bollywood watchers should keep an eye out for this well-scripted item." He singled out Zinta's colourful performance noting, "though playing an archetypal bad sort, manages to make the self-obsessed Soniya an almost sympathetic character through the sheer vivaciousness of her part-child, part-vamp playing". Deepa Gahlot wrote, "Anil Kapoor is earnest as always, but looks jaded. Preity Zinta in an awful 'Cleopatra' get-up is irritatingly twittery, and Gracy Singh totally bland." She was disappointed by the casting of Bachchan in what she described as "an insignificant role, [which] getting rid of him and then making him walk around as a ghost." In a review in Stardust magazine, the editor Ram Kamal Mukherjee felt the entire film was "predictable and boring at times", attributing this to the screenplay and Irani's direction. Accolades References External links Official website 2000s Hindi-language films 2003 drama films 2003 films Films scored by Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy Films shot in Mussoorie