Trying to put old wine in a new bottle, the Fanna team slaps some topical elements of terrorism against the signature-style cloying fare of romanticism, for which Yash Chopra’s banner has made a name for itself over the years. Does it all stick together well? Looks like that is not a question the team has had the time to muse over much, judging by how blithely they go about spinning this mangled piece of yarn.
Producer Aditya Chopra, story-writer Shibani Bhatija, and director Kunal Kohli take absurdity to newer levels with a story, and a set of characters, so loony that they make Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde look less szchitzophrenic, and the low-budget TV soaps look more plausible. In the tradition of Aditya Chopra’s earlier hit movie DDLJ, Kajol, playing this time the role of a Kashmiri girl, Zooni, goes on a road trip to Delhi, carrying her mother’s blessings along, to meet the man of her dreams. At that point in the story Zooni is physically blind. She sure meets the man of her dreams, Aamir Khan, playing the role of Rehan Qadri, who at that point in the story is her tour guide. Well, things get much ’worse’ from then on, both for Zooni and us poor viewers.
Credible performances by one and all (led by Kajol), and some enthralling cinematography by Ravi K Chandran don’t help matters much, as they get dragged down and drown into the morass of the trite proceedings. The same applies to Jatin-Lalit’s music and a peppy song by Shaan. The periodic loud wailings, in chorus, which form part of the background score are particularly nettlesome.
What a waste of effort and talent!