May 30, 2005 11:22 AM
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(Updated May 30, 2005 11:22 AM)
''Bunty aur Babli'' is a an adorable, comic film, with great performances, a colorful mood, and fun and uplifting music! In addition to be being a comedy, it manages to touch your heart. At some point, we are all, or have been a Bunty or a Babli.
Well, to start, there is not that much of a story line. Abhishek and Rani are two youngsters from small villages. Their dreams are too big for their reality. The spunky Rani dreams of becoming Miss India, while her Dad dreams of her marrying the neighborhood Sardar. Abhishek's Dad, Raj Babbar, dreams of his son becoming a ticket collector like himself. Abhishek has a business idea and thinks and strives to be a Birla, or Ambani. Both are trapped in their small worlds, and want something bigger. Realizing that it would never be possible if they stay where they are, they both run away, and meet one another for the first time on the train and share their stories. They decide to stick together and try to achieve their dreams the honest way. Well, that backfires, so they figure that the only way to make their dreams come true is to take the alternative route, becoming con artists. Their cons start very small and start getting bigger and bigger! But you see, in reality they do not commit the crimes! It is actually their alter egos, aka Bunty and Babli! Their crimes start from conning 10,000 rupees out of someone and go to the level of selling the Taj Mahal for 250 Million dollars!! Somewhere along the line, these two fall in love and get married. The big B plays the cop who tries to track down Small B, (who is taller than big B!) and Really Small R. (rani) That is all I will tell you about the story and well, that is more or less all there is to it....
The performances are VERY strong! Let me say, Rani and Abhishek Bachan make an AWESOME screen pair. Their talents definitely compliment one another! And they are perfect for the roles. These roles could just not have been played by Aishwarya and Hrithik, or any actors who appear larger than life. Basically, these were the roles of very ordinary people with big dreams. Abhishek looks and acts like your average Joe. He is one of us, and yet that is why he is unique! You identify with him. And BOY, the small B has REALLY improved. Mark my words, this guy will be big. I think he is finally getting out of his Dad's shadow and it carving a unique niche for himself. Even in the terrific scenes with the Big B, the Small B carries his own!
Rani is adorable and like Abhishek, suits the role to the T. Again, she is someone you can identify with. She is very cute and attractive, but she is REAL. She could blend into a crowd, and like Abhishek, this ironically makes her stick out. He acting is SO cute, but not annoyingly cute.
The Big B rocks as the Bihari cop. WHat else can I say? I loved the scenes he shared with the Small B, especially in the item number with none other than Ash. Their steps and expressions together were very cool!
Bunty Aur Babli is a movie with heart. It has the feel of a fun, 1970's hindi adventure film (I am not sure what those are like, but I bet they were like Bunty aur Babli!) It is not a masterpiece and won't be winning any awards anytime soon. But it makes you think. Here are these two young people who are just tired of the monotony of every day life. Everyone keeps telling them to be realistic, but they just can't be! They know there is more to life, and yet...there isn't! They con purely for the fun and challenge of it, and this is their escape from reality. Haven't we all been there? Tired of the same ordinary routine of every day life? Haven't we all had dreams? The best part about Bunty aur Babli, is that after their string of capers, they actually attempt to rehabilitate themselves and come back to an ordinary and real existence. Now if this was a cheesy film, they would except that everything they did was wrong, and how they must grow up and embrace the harsh realities of life. But no! They don't! After trying out reality, they decide, its just not for them!
The director Shaad Ali does a good job. We can expect good films from him in the future. I personally enjoyed his first film, Saathiya as well. By the way, watch out for Shaad Ali dancing with Rani in one of the songs. Here is another one making guest appearances, just like good ol' Ghai. Bad idea. Stay behind the camera, dude. You do a good job of it, and that's a complement.
In sum, go watch Bunty aur Babli and cheer them on! See yourself in their shoes! Laugh! Think! Dream! And then get really bummed that your dreams never came true. Then dwell on the thought of becoming a con artist...Hmm!! OK, you don't need to do that. That was just me...
