EK MEIN AUR EKK TU:
Fresh and filled with froth. The
fizz is unpretentious and the fun good as long as it lasts. Debutant director
Shakun Batra brings in a high degree of authenticity to a tale that is likely
to go well with the popcorn you have just ordered. It is interesting that the
film maker takes on a tested tale of opposites attract and how initial
hesitation leads to love. Even the clichés come alive and that is truly what
the Director brings on board.
The film has multiple factors to recommend. The cast bring in the right emotive
mood, the energy and the commitment to their roles. In a film that largely
works around just the two characters, the script depends largely on the
delivery skills of the prime actors who are required to share a screen
chemistry but yet required to keep short of being hot . This the two deliver
with consummate ease. This contributes to the credibility of the film. Then
there is Las Vegas where most of the story takes place until it shifts to a
home in Mumbai. The cinematographer David MacDonald gets you to view a
wonderful Las Vegas and saves you of the usual pics of the roulettes and the
slot machines. The technical support the film maker gets goes a long way in
making the film worth watching. For instance who would not want to sit through
a fun and light hearted relationship story for just about two hours when it is
also easy on your nerves. Special credit must go the script writer (Ayesha
Devitre along side the Director) and to the Editor (Asif Ali Sheik) for keeping
goings on in the realms of the relevant . There is also some lively music
delivered by Amit Trivedi.
The boy meets girl story comes with a twist. The boy Rahul Kapoor (Imran Khan)
is the stiff guy filled with inhibitions and self doubt. Aproduct of high
society parents( Boman Irani and Ratna Pathak Shah) . He has lived life on
their terms and invariably fallen short of their expectations and thus an
emotional recluse who is clue less and is drifting on the plans and decisions
of his parents. The girl Raina Braganza (Kareena) is full of energy who has
just ditched her nth boy friend and single. If there is one thing common to the
two at the point of their chanced meet it is that they have been thrown out of
their jobs –he ( budding architect) , she ( a hair stylist). Accidentally on
Christmas eve they get married at a chapel and when the alcoholic led act
leaves them they decide to annul the marriage. They however grow as friends and
begin to live and enjoy each others company.
Back in India for a short while Rahul knows that this is love and props up the
question. It is here that the film gains great momentum and the class with
which the Director deals with the important twist to the script shows sure
signs of our cinema coming of age. Finally our cinema is willing to head to a
climax where the principal players do not have to take a keeps sake photograph.
Watch the film for the restraint of Imran and the vibrancy of Kareena. Watch it
for you rarely get to watch such pure yet sensible entertainment from the
mainstream corridors.
L. Ravichander.