Let me set it clear. Never judge a book by its cover. It can be deceiving. Of course there have been cases all the time that the cover has brought in the audiences and the product gets to be a lucky success too in some cases (Main Hoon Na, Kaal, Bunty Aur Babli)! Yet, the cover’s beauty, when representing mediocre content inside, can leave bitter taste in the mouth of the viewer. Honestly, ABA is one such movie that doesn’t leave all that a bitter taste, but yet in many ways falls short of expectations.
When someone has a fresh starcast, good production values, decent promotion, and a fantastic, record breaking sountrack at the disposal, chances are half the battle is won. Music being the show stealer and low budget being the key, ABA could’ve been a successful low budget love story like TUJHE MERI KASAM (though TMK didn’t deserve it in my opinion)! Yet, since ABA has some major setbacks to offer to its supporters and viewers, it might not recreate the same magic at all.
Director Aaditya Dutt does start off my demonstrating that he is making an all out commercial campus love story. In the first half itself, all the lighter moments (that are easy to relate with) are incorporated. In this half, the young director also develops the character of one of the lead men, Sonu Sood, in a way that many guys can relate to. Last but not the least, the outstanding musical numbers, perhaps all, are laced into the narrative in this half. Emraan’s stupid and baseless hanging sequence on the big wheel notwithstanding, ABA still manages to entertain the audiences in this half, regardless of the fact that the way isn’t really novel.
Yet, so far, not so good, yet passable. But as soon as the second half begins and the culmination begins, the narrative and screenplay go haywire together. Stupid, shocking (rather than thrilling) sequences are thrown in to absorb and excite the audiences, since the director has run out of his trump card of entertainment---the excellent songs---after using them in the first half itself. So poor. For instance, the sequence where one of the guys (I won’t reveal for those who are yet to catch this one) tortures his own love to paint a deceiving picture of her former lover, is childish.
First of all the guy’s character was so easy to relate with---the introvert nature, the shy expressions, all were so good, realistic, and contemporary. How can a guy all of a sudden be as saddistic as SRK of Darr and start torturing his own love undercovers, just to win her support. That sequence, right till the climax, stays in the viewer’s memory.
Even if that’s forgiveable, the climax isn’t. The execution of the most critical point is as childish as it gets. The culprit gives away the truth like a freaked out kid. Had he taken it easy, may be the girl couldn’t have guessed his true identity. Or even if he revealed a little of himself, it could’ve been better. The guy, shown to be quiet and wise in the first half, breaks lose like a clumsy person who can’t keep the secrets and reveals 200% of his actions to his lady love, just to be bashed for it. Wow, there was a great sequence before in the movie where the girl picked the guy as the most important part of her life. Now, the same girl tells the same guy to quit out of her life. What a childish way to end! Still, for some of you, the climax is partly under the wraps. So take it easy while catching this movie, it’s not at all thrilling.
If all the cons go against the movie, there is one factor that has been boosting the movie’s collections from below the mark to at least ordinary. That factor, without doubt, is ABA’s mesmerizing music. One can fall in love with the tracks when they are put into the screenplay as much as one loved them in Audio. That shows that even the choreography and cinematography have been efficient.
But here I would say that while Emraan isn’t lucky enough to steal the wonderfully composed ’’Aapki Kashish’’ from Sonu, as both share it...the lucky man of music and smooches still gets to be individual in the show stealing title track. Sonu’s fans, mostly fans of his character Karan, are bound to be disappointed by his absence. Yet all the guys can forget Emraan and take a close look at Tanushree...she has a body worth displaying!
Performance-wise, ABA aapne belongs to no one but Himesh Reshammiya. Haha, the guy’s music sets the characters and narrative on fire, so once again hats off to him.
On a more serious note, in terms of acting, all the three players fail to stand out and out do each other. While Emraan is strictly average in romantic scenes, he proves that he has no flare for comedy whatsoever. He overacts even when he has to laugh. On his smooching, well I can say he can never go too far with all those guys that might have an envy-based grudge on him, and even with the critics, who feel that he still has a long way to go in terms of acting. Overall, a passable performance.
Sonu Sood can be called average at best. Although the guy is likeable, and perhaps creates histrionics in two sequences (one where he gets to know that Sneha, Tanushree’s character, is in love with his playboy friend Emraan, and one where he beats up Emraan and tells him to stay away from Tanushree), his character is mostly underdeveloped post interval. His clumsy way of carrying himself in this crucial part of the movie, mostly with an uneasy performance in the climax, shows that at the end of the day neither his character Karan, nor the guy himself, will be praised all that much by the junta!
Tanushree is a good sex symbol. With good exposure given for the masses (oh I forgot it was one of the massy attractions), she proves she can give all the other seductresses a run for their money. Yet, with all that exposure, I believe the actress isn’t bad in terms of performance too. She looks comfortable in many scenes, and only overacts when she has to give happy expressions and laugh (the viewers will laugh when she laughs on one of Emraan’s jokes in the first half---it’s utter overacting)! So overall, she has good chances if she picks the right offers and works hard, and with her performance being one of the only things praised in the recently released CHOCOLATE, one can expect a lot from her.
Overall, AASHIQ BANAYA AAPNE is a highly ordinary movie in many ways. Yet, it is recommended on a 2-star base thanks to its marvellous 5-star soundtrack. Catch it for the tracks and take it for what it’s worth.
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Captain!