Cast: R Madhavan, Bipasha Basu, Omi Vaidya, Milind Soman, Dipanita Sharma,Mrinalini Sharma, Helen
Directed by Ashwini Chaudhary
Rating: **1/2
Hearts and buttocks may not serve the same purpose but when in love, both are subject to equitable amount of pain. This is one of the many pearls of wisdom you might pick up from this rom-com about breaking marriages and bandaging hearts. While similar films have managed well in exploring the intricate particulars of relationships, this one dares to not take itself as seriously and makes for a flaky yet pleasant watch.
The film ushers us into the curious life of Sid Khanna (R Madhavan), a marriage breaker by profession and a divorcee by marital status. Although he isn’t a divorce lawyer, he lies very well and helps people part with their insufferable partners without getting bankrupt due to alimony. His friends and supporting cast include sexual athlete and bartender Nano (Omi Vaidya) and a couple who devise their screen time between offering advice and passing snide comments. Without any drum rolls or slow-mo intros, Sonali (Bipasha Basu) strolls into Sid’s favourite bar and into his life. HerAmy Winehouse eyes and playful manner impresses Sid enough to hire her as his workmate and she instantly hops on the offer.
After a speedy and entertaining first-half, the inevitable and predictable disaster occurs. Love. Sigh. And like a morning after the misadventures of a drunken night, it all seems to be going down. But dodging Bollywood clichés, it doesn’t become the crux of the separation, which naturally needs to happen. And the melodrama and grumpiness associated with the same is kept to a bare minimum. In fact, what is novel here is that love isn’t chased or forced but is allowed to brew over the entire runtime of the movie. So when it does reach a sweet spot, it sinks in with ease and is more believable and beautiful.
While many argue that R Madhavan is wearing an astronaut suit under his clothes, in actuality, it is just his bloated self. While for an actor of his caliber, a couple of gigagrams on the face and several gallons in the rest of him can’t take away from his performance and it doesn’t. Only bother, when he lip-syncs to songs, his lip movements look like streaks flickering on a humungous canvas. On the other spectrum of the lard horizon, Bipasha is glowing and skinnier than ever before. For skeptics, who feel Bipasha has little to offer apart from her appearance, I couldn’t agree more. But here, she’s almost tolerable, if that could account for a minor achievement. Omi Vaidya is a show stealer for his inimitable comic timing and the re-enactment of his legendary ‘3 Idiots’ horror speech is 24 carat. And while forcing an actor to recreate a successful scene is a horrible idea, here it just works. Vaidya’s character is trying to pull off a sex guru with just a bar menu in his hands. His opening verse, “Ek Old Monk ne kaha tha, apne andar ke Black Dog ko sambhal ke rakhna, warna mathay pe Black Label lag jayega.” Milind Soman and Dipanita Sharma are both stunning mannequins as their roles are mere props who talk only a little more than they express.
The story may not be entirely original yet the dialogues are refreshingly clever and crisp, keeping the pace of the film intact. The golden line being, “The best part of kissing is the unsure and unsettling feeling experienced just a moment before a kiss when you don’t know exactly how it’s going to turn out.” Greece is a country that doesn’t need a professional photographer to extract the plentiful shades of blue that the sea offers. But having one here only made it better. The music by Salim-Sulaiman is strictly average and even the high-pumping party numbers don’t induce any tapping of foot.
As Madhavan and Bips team up to snoop around, they remind you of Yogi Bear and Boo-Boo. But when they get intimate, your fond association with the adorable bhalus is scarred forever.
03:00
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