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  Manisha Lakhe

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Hear the sound of millions of women going, ‘Nyah-na-na-na-na!’ to those eyebrowless super-bad villains and the continuation of the reign of muscle-flexing, shirt tearing action heroes this Friday! Romance is back!

Not that this is …

Hear the sound of millions of women going, ‘Nyah-na-na-na-na!’ to those eyebrowless super-bad villains and the continuation of the reign of muscle-flexing, shirt tearing action heroes this Friday! Romance is back!

Not that this is Baz Luhrman’s Romeo & Juliet in the sense of a path-breaking telling of a story, but it keeps you engaged in the goings on and puts a smile on your face through most of the movie.



Aha! You are clever. You noticed that I said ‘most of the movie’. Yes, the movie suffers from the debut director’s need to show how good the cinematographer is, how much effort has gone into making of the movie. This drags the first half down so much so that you want to sink into your seat and groan at the slow build up of scenes or wonder aloud if the screenplay was actually written in English and simply converted by a software to Hindi and although you smile at the funny culmination of the set up, you hope the actors stop d e l i v e r i n g t h e i r d i a l o g l i k e t h i s and come to the punchlines faster.



But you are hooked, because the characters are so lovable. And although the setting is that of Las Vegas, and the two get drunk and get married in a chapel, this is not anything like the horrible Ashton Kutcher movie What Happens In Vegas. And I loved the Shah Rukh imitation and so will the millions of women who will see this movie (and I bet they will come back and watch Kuch Kuch Hota Hai).

Exceot for the one scene where he flares his nostrils bigger than the War Horse playing next door at the multiplex, Imran is perfect for the role. Kareena shows us why Jab We Met was not really a flash in the pan. I am sure there was Karan Johar watching over the script because the text message clearly goes to Avantika Malik (Imran’s wife), and she appears in a song. Now that’s very typical KJo... Loved that ‘aha’ moment in the film.



Yes, it’s a fun filled romance. In the second half though, you will enjoy how the story progresses (and loved how it ends even more). I fell in love with Kareena’s family, and did not once wonder how these ugly people gave birth to such a gorgeous lass. The dad, the mom, the brother, sister in law as well as the funny granny made so much sense. Not that Boman Irani and Ratna Pathak Shah are bad as Imran’s parents... It is just that Kareena’s family is just more fun. Ratna Pathak Shah continues to be a wonderful choice as Imran’s mother. After you see the movie, you’ll agree when I say that you will never say, ‘Chopsticks’ without remembering her!

I have given away too much already. But there’s much more to this film, and I hope Karan Johar’s stable has more winners like this lined up for us this year. Romance is back, and you should make a date with Imran Khan and Kareena Kapoor soon.