Also, YRF almost invariably wants to take away the PIONEER tag while distributing (marketing) a film. First ones to talk about GAY issues - Dostana, first ones to talk about relationships outside marriage - Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna, first ones to talk about Live in relationships and pregnancy outside marriage - Salaam Namaste! I guess they thought after 8 years, let's just reuse the marketing tactic of saying "Live In relationships are not a taboo. Sex outside marriage is not a taboo". Ok, alright. We know you have the finger on the pulse of the Youth. You don't have to shout it out from rooftops!
The one good thing they have done is invest in a star writer like Jaideep Sahni. After brilliant scripts like Khosla ka Ghosla, Chak De! India and Rocket Singh:Salesman of the year, Jaideep himself has fallen into the YRF Trap. It seems this film was preordered. Make it in a new state, make it feel ethnic, make it bold. So the movie starts off by showing the love affairs of Jaipur. Then the familiar Band Bajaa Baraat routine begins. Wedding. Sushant Singh -- a bhaade ka baraati, is getting married(arranged) and needs bhaade ke baraati. Enter Parineeti, who becomes his fake sister. Smooch. They hit it off during the trip and well, their love story begins. Sushant wags his tail. They start living in. 15-20 smooches later, they decide to get married. Roadblock. Parineeti disappears. Another wedding. Enter Heroine no.2, Vaani Kapoor. Sushant wags his tail. Smooch. Boom. Yet another wedding. All 3 meet. Explosion. Audience dead. Smooch, smooch. The end.
So why are critics going ga-ga about it? Really have no idea. But there are some excellent scenes in the film. The first half is brisk and ends with a bang. Parineeti and Sushant Singh have an endearing presence. Manu Anand, the cinematographer captures the colours of Jaipur beautifully and Sachin-Jigar's compositions, though repetitive, add life to the movie.
Now the problems and there are several. First and foremost, watching it is like sitting on a Ferrous Wheel. You see the same things happen again and again and again. It's like watching "Source Code". Now, though the relationship between Sushant and Parineeti is bold, has a fresh outlook and has countless smooches, there is no chemistry between them. I can understand the Carnal aspect of the relationship, but when towards the end they think it's actually eternal love (meant-to-be kinda stuff) you want to wring their necks. When the characters themselves have to explain to the audience why they take certain decisions, you know that the film is not connecting with anyone. So, Parineeti explains us why she lives in with Sushant and Vaani has to explain why towards the end she doesn't feel anything for Sushant etc etc. Sushant by the way is a vagrant loner with no background, no future and its inexplicable why anyone would get their daughters married to him, let alone have a serious relationship with him.
Rishi Kapoor plays the agony uncle, fattie who is always eating. Even he falters with his accent sometimes and it's rare to see him falter! Sushant Singh is adorable for a few minutes and then becomes gnawingly irritating in the second half. He plays the confused hero who isn't ready to commit, but you know that he is the flirty, horny guy who wants just one thing. Parineeti nahi, toh Vaani sahi. Though there is nothing wrong in that, the problem is that the director tries to show him as a confused soul with a good heart. F@ck that, he is more cruel than Ricky Behl if you ask me, but here the heroines don't really mind. And finally, YRF seems to have created a Heroine cloning machine. So Vaani Kapoor seems like yet another version of an Anushka Sharma/Parineeti Chopra. All these heroines talk in the same way, their head moments are annoyingly similar and even the air blows their hair in a similar manner.
So go ahead, watch this film for its supposedly bold outlook and ethnic flavour. Frankly setting a story in Jaipur, doesn't make it a small town film nor does it make the protagonists more likeable. I was bored out of my wits by the end of this seemingly endless film. Chumma chaati toh theek hai, iss film ne Dimaag chaat liya !
Rating: 4/10
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