You often hear Hindi film makers saying things like “Love story hai... lekin treatment alag hai.” And you take it with a pinch of salt. But this time, it’s actually true. Socha Na Tha is a fairly predictable romance that stands apart from the usual fare because its dialogues and situations, for the most part, are fairly believable. Of course, it comes packed with cinematic cliches: the families are super-rich business barons, the boy is a lazy-ass spoilt brat and the girl is an orphan being brought up by her uncle and aunt.
Viren’s (Abhay Deol) folks want him to get married but he’s already seeing someone. When his family takes him to meet Aditi (Ayesha Takia), he tells her that he’s actually planning to propose to his girl, Karen. In that very first meeting, much to their amazement, they find themselves sharing secrets. Quite simply, they ‘connect’.
But after Viren ‘rejects’ Aditi, her family takes it as a personal insult. Next, they bump into each other and even go off to Goa together. When they return, Viren realises he’s thinking more about Aditi than Karen.
The first half is great but post interval, the complications and misunderstandings, which result in Viren’s and Aditi’s families spewing more venom get a bit tiresome. The end is also a bit silly, yet on the whole, SNT is a light-hearted ‘date’ flick that works. Abhay is OK while Ayesha has some serious pin-up potential. Check out SNT coz it’s different - but only just.