Many a successful director has been interested in ’copying’ another movie, mostly made in some other language and sometimes in the same tongue too. To prove that it isn’t ’his’ movie, he decides to produce it and hands over the director’s chair to someone whom he considers will maintain the flavour that he wants.
The whole world seems to know that this flick is heavily inspired from the highly acclaimed and enjoyed When Harry Met Sally. The basic plot of a guy and a girl starting with hate and ending up in love over a span of several years is picked up, along with many scenes, situations and possibly some dialogues too. Added to that are some essential Bollywood masala ingredients and an innovative cartoon idea.
In this just-over-two-hours movie, the first half moves quite fast with the end relatively dragging. There are a whole lot of humorous one-liners, mostly mouthed by our hero. A few emotional scenes too are there, overall keeping you engaged. The (doubtlessly Punjabi) lead pair traverse a few continents for our viewing pleasure and to keep the happenings ’hep’. Songs are mostly fitted into the narration. The cartoon strip idea is interesting but isn’t interwoven well. Overall, the movie seems to target the urban audience.
Saif is thoroughly delightful; he’s reason enough to catch the movie. The only hitch seems to be his reluctant dancing to songs. Both he and Rani display their transformation through the years effectively. The latter sadly has to wear certain ’glamorous’ clothes which don’t really suit her character. Rishi Kapoor seems to have returned after a long hiatus and endears himself to the audience. Kher impresses with her comedy skills. Agnihotri too does a fair job. There are some special appearances thrown in for excitement.
There are a couple of catchy songs and one good melody. The background score is unimaginative. Cinematography, editing and art direction are good enough for a ’romcom’. Kohli puts in a better performance than his previous attempt, Mujhse Dosti Karoge.
The ’copy’ is worth a watch, not necessarily involving a visit to the theatre. But it also makes you nostalgic and hunt for the CD of the original.
Bottom-line: For once, we get something other than a cheap imitation.
Category: Comedy / Romance
Starring: Saif Ali Khan, Rani Mukherjee, Rishi Kapoor, Kiron Kher, Rati Agnihotri
Music: Jatin-Lalit
Direction: Kunal Kohli