Aap Ki Khatir has romance, song n dance and high drama, unfortunately the main storyline of the film is unclear. There are several different sub-plots like a wedding, a romance and the hiring of an escort all just thrown in together to make it a commercial potboiler. The film begins in an interesting fun manner but gradually develops into over the top drama. Aap Ki Khatir seems frivolous and illogical at times, the screenplay is inefficient, the script is below average and the performances are just about average. Overall the film turns out to be quite a disappointment.
The film title literally means ‘Anything For You’ and has been produced by Ganesh and Ratan Jain. The part of the film which includes the hiring of an escort and the pre-wedding drama is inspired from the Hollywood flick ‘The Wedding Date’ and also includes several sequences from other successful commercial Hindi films. The film belongs to the genre of drama with doses of humour. Unfortunately even Himesh Reshammiya’s brand of music does not do anything special for the film. Although the cast has an interesting mix of actors, they too don’t manage to lift the film much. The cast includes Akshaye Khanna (Aman), Priyanka Chopra (Anu), Amisha Patel (Shirani), Dino Morea (Danny), Suniel Shetty (Kunal), Bhumicka Singh (Nikki), Anupam Kher (Arjun Khanna) and Lilette Dubey (Betty Khanna).
Anu a rich London bred girl came back to Mumbai after her sexy boyfriend Danny dumped her. Anu still nurses a broken heart for Danny and now she is faced with a new problem. Anu has to go back to London for her sister Shirani’s wedding to Gujarati businessman Kunal. But the catch to the situation is that Kunal and Anu’s ex Danny are good buddies so he’s definitely going to be at the wedding. Now Anu does not want to seem like the poor lonely girl with a broken heart, so she comes up with a plan. Anu decides to ask her colleague Aman to escort her to the wedding as her make belief boyfriend. Aman is also a male escort from Lokhandwala in Mumbai. Aman is witty, mischievous and fun.
Anu takes Aman along with her to London for Shirani’s wedding to make Danny Jealous. Once they are in London, there are plenty of pre-wedding functions and hoards of relatives attending the functions. Anu’s mom Betty Khanna re-married Arjun Khanna after Anu’s father passed away. Relatives of both the bride and groom are attending the pre-wedding functions and everyone seems to be having a great time. Anu’s plan too seems to be working fine. However things take a turn when Aman the make belief boyfriend begins to fall for the confused Anu, while Anu is torn between Danny and Aman. The situation goes completely out of hand when it comes to light that Shirani and Danny too were involved with each other.
The script of the film has glaring deficiencies and unfortunately director Dharmesh Darshan’s execution too is lacking. The first half of the film is humorous and light and keeps one entertained but unfortunately the second half is a downright disappointment with over the top drama and a predictable climax. These are several loopholes in the writing which does not establish the relationship between any of the characters well, like the relationship between the sisters, the relation between Aman and Anu and neither the relation between the bride and groom to be. The film tries to incorporate too much of the wedding drama which has been done to death in several Hindi films and does not work as well in today’s times. Dharmesh Darshan tries to add a balanced mix of laughter and emotions but unfortunately the final result is below average.
There are few points which make the film watchable, the comic light moments in the first half and Akshaye Khanna’s decent performance. Unfortunately the music is average, though not of the hit variety. The title track ‘Aap Ki Khatir’ is average and listenable, it is heard quite a few times and Akshaye’s ‘Shayari’ in the song impresses. Unfortunately there seem to be too many songs and they are more situational than catchy. Dialogues by Sunil Munshi work well for most part. Cinematography by W.B Rao which have London locales impress but certain frames look dated and jarring.
Performances are quite a disappointment too. Akshaye though as the witty, sarcastic charmer does well in his role, he delivers a decent and efficient performance. Priyanka Chopra on the contrary seems a bit loud and over acts at times. Her look too at times is a bit gaudy. Overall her performance in the film does not impress much. Dino Morea looks great and is average in his performance. Amisha Patel is sidelined in the film and her performance is mediocre. Suniel Shetty does not quite fit the character and his performance does not make a mark. Anupam Kher is average and Lilette Dubey as a character actor is good. The rest of the cast comprising the various relatives are too loud and garish.
Aap Ki Khatir falls short of even making it to the average mark. The film’s script and screenplay lacks appeal, objective and direction and hence the film is a let down