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Directed by: Honey Irani
Screenplay by: Honey Irani & Javed Akhtar
Music by: Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy
Starring: Amitabh Bachchan, Anil Kapoor, Gracy Singh, Preity Zinta, Randhir Kapoor

What is ambition? And what sacrifices ought to be made in order to realize them? Honey Irani's ARMAAN (ambition) deals with these questions through the relationship of a father and his adopted son.

Dr Siddharth Sinha (Amitabh Bachchan) and his son Dr Akash Sinha (Anil Kapoor) are doctors at a hospital, that Siddharth had built. Siddharth's dream is of upgrading the facility into a "state-of-the-art" hospital. This in turn becomes the single biggest goal in Akash's life through a chain of unforseen events.

When a vacancy for an anaesthetist comes up at the hospital, Dr. Neha Mathur (Gracy) steps in and takes the job, meeting and getting to know Akash through their dealings within the hospital. Eventually, through some rough waters, they fall in love and get to know each other.

However, a major accident turns everyones lives around, and affects the hospital which was a dream of Siddharth's,in keeping it from being shut down. How Akash tries to work towards his father's dream, whilst managing his profession and emotions - in particular his dealings with the two ladies in his life - Dr. Mathur and Sonia Kapoor (Priety Zinta) forms the crux of the story.

Honey Irani's handling of ARMAAN deserves full marks in her maiden directoral venture. The screenplay by Javed Akhtar and Irani is handled with beauty, sensitivity and shows a woman's touch in many of the scenes. The beauty of watching a family drama such as this is that it touches on melodrama that is real and warranted, not the larger than life or loud emotions that we have seen in countless other films. The emotions in the film are realistic and believable, and the four lead actors form their vehicle. Every character has that Irani touch with stays with viewers even after they leave the theatre.

All four lead actors deserve much praise for their genuine talents that they bring to the fore in the film. Bachchanji's first movie with a woman director has truly brought him into a new league. The sensitive portrayal of his character is beautiful, as well as his dealings with Anil Kapoor are heart touching.

Anil Kapoor comes into a new being with his character and comes out with a heart-felt and emotional performance. His portrayal of a man who keeps trying to balance the women in his life while also trying to respect the dignity of his father are real and outstanding. Preity Zinta has done well in her portrayal of a spoilt brat who knows it is real and down to earth for her, and she pulls it off easily.

Gracy is extremely sweet, sensitive and comes through with a very mature performance in the movie. In stark contrast with every other newcomer in the industry, Gracy has demonstrated a couple of important things. One, she can genuinely act, and that Lagaan was no fluke. And two, despite all the talk of glamour and donning particular dress codes, Gracy oozes sensuality even in down-to-earth, smart clothing. Infact she looks heavenly throughout the movie . Surprisingly this is only Gracy's second film. Even though she will polish herself into a mature actress overtime, one thing's for sure, she is definetely a gem! Don't believe me?... Then watch the movie.

After the completion of Lagaan, Gracy got a call from Honey Irani. "I have always been fond of her very thought provoking scripts and an admirer of all her stories. When Honeyji narrated the script to me, I liked the role immediately".

Not only that but working with childhood idol Amitabh Bachchan was also a dream come true:"I was nervous. I had butterflies in my stomach but Amitji was the best and he did his best to make me feel at home. I consider myself privileged to have been given the opportunity to work with a living legend like him. He is so encouraging on the sets. In one of the sequences, I had to snap at him and I felt so awkward doing that. But I made it seem very natural while shooting the sequences. On another occasion, he said the rehearsal was better than the take. On his advice, we went to a re-take and it turned out to be much better".

"Even Anilji was a great help. He was very supportive. As for Honey aunty, she's like the mother hen on the sets fussing about every detail from our clothes to our shots and made sure we had hot food to eat. I've seldom met such warm people in my life".

In a television interview Anil Kapoor had this to say about our girl: "Some heroines are blessed with immmense talents. Gracy is definitely one of them."