The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : Nothing ghazab about it

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Sunday, Nov 08, 2009
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

Nothing ghazab about it

Piggy ride: Ranbir Kapoor and Katrina Kaif in ‘Ajab prem ki ghazab kahani’.

Film: Ajab prem ki ghazab kahani

Cast: Ranbir Kapoor, Katrina Kaif

Director: Raj Kumar Santoshi

As Raj Kumar Santoshi presses the refresh button in his career, he turns to the formulaic romantic tracks of the ‘80s and has dressed it according to the demands of today’s definition of youthful entertainment…entertainment, which is governed by an assortment of gags, not a yarn of emotions. It is ironic that the man who once declared ‘Andaz Apna Apna’ has taken the direction, where the winds are flowing. He is at home in the milieu, where the re is no space for socio-political context. Just a mad house – bursting at the bricks!

Fortunately, he has opted for a lead pair, which fits the flaws. It is fresh and appealing which livens up the time-tested situations. Ranbir Kapoor is the latest Prem and he plays it with unhinged flamboyance. If ‘Wake up Sid’ stirred the multiplexes, this could establish his bond with the masses. The boy doesn’t take himself seriously, and effortlessly gives into the tomfoolery he is expected to do. Be it bending on the dance floor or binding the laddoos or for that matter donning a female top, he has the energy to carry slapstick through the length of the film. Katrina Kaif wants the book to be judged by its cover and we are not minding it for the time being. Directors are writing characters which cover her limited Hindi and to an extent emotional depth.

Here Santoshi has carved her as Jenny, an adorable orphan yearning for love. She finds Prem, the oddball, who believes in spreading happiness and is the president of Happy Club.

The two strike a chord but by intermission we discover that it is just friendship. Jenny is in fact waiting for her Mr. Right (Upen Patel). Well, as always the supposed Mr. Right turns out to be Mr. Moneybags, who doesn’t stand up when it really comes to the crunch.

Some habits die hard and Santoshi has not been able to keep it crisp. He doesn’t realise when it comes to the basic plot he has nothing new to say. It is the comic tone and situations that keeps the proceedings alive and kicking. When you give in to the demands of madcap comedy and ignore the inconsistencies in the script, the melodramatic moments block the flow. The Prem is outdated; it is the performances – particularly Ranbir’s – that make it ghazab!

ANUJ KUMAR

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