Oct 27, 2007 10:40 AM
2015 Views
The ghisa pita formula of rich boy meets bubbly, lively girl is given a wonderful fresh look by director
Imtiaz Ali.
I wont go into the story at all. Suffice it to say it is a rehash of dil hai ki maanta nahin with a few tweakings here and there. Dil hai... was itself a rehash of chori chori which was again a copy of it happened one night. All these versions were great successes. Because they focussed on the lead characters and gave the audience ample reasons to empathise with them. This film too works because of similar reasons.
Kareena as the "bubbly" kudi works her charm with aplomb and is the biggest attraction in this film. I have always found her portrayal in films a disappointment except for ashoka where I was maha impressed by her. She has that elusive screen-presence which has film star written all over it. And though this film doesnt have that typical bollywood feel to it, she manages to do a film-ki-heroine on us. I would say she is the biggest reason for watching the film. Shahid is extremely good too but seems content to leave the limelight on her.
The film is a sequence of "settings" and the mood of each was well captured. The bonding during the journey was great. The Bhatinda setting seems like "oh here come the panjus again" but is in fact quite entertaining. (I once crossed Bhatinda by car and was stupefied by all the sardarjis I saw all over the place:) )
The humour is absolutely cool. There is no forced moment and is nicely situational. The lines are so funny and yet so everyday. We were still discussing some of the funnies when we left the theatre. Nice, very nice.
I loved the soundtrack of the film and all the songs were excellent and well-placed. I hadn't heard the song nagaada baja earlier and really liked it. A few critics have not liked the placement of the song "mauja hi mauja". I thought it was fine. Also the usual cacophony of sounds during each and every scene (sad scene mein sitaar, entry pe dhol, tense scene mein psycho ka music) is happily missing leaving you free to empathise with what's unfolding on scene. For me that's huge of the director. I especially hate RGVs background scores which seem to be waiting to lunge at you at every opportunity. But the candyfloss films are equally painful with their humming and hawing.
To sum it up, here is a film - a rom-com, that caters to your escapist fancies without insulting your intelligence. And while I love all the experimental films and really find the usual chopra-johar yarns trying, I am always looking forward to seeing a "nice" love story that is funny and relatable.
I absolutely enjoyed the film because each scene has been so clearly thought out. The director clearly knows what he is aiming for. A light-hearted film that tells a simple story of love between two complete strangers in a filmi setting and yet manages to convince you. Oh just watch it will you?
