What is a sequel? Is it to carry the
tale ahead? Is it to familiarise the viewer to the cast and overcome the need
to establish the backdrop and the characters? Is it just a franchise? Or is it
repeat the story with the fond hope that the audience has better things to do then
recall the earlier outing? Tum Bin operates on the premise that the viewer has
well and surely forgotten the tale told many years ago and will not guess the
twists and turns that the latest damp offering has in store.
Also the film maker (Anubhav Sinha) tread and does so ever so slowly in foreign
locales telling us the same story. The love triangle is arguably the most geesa
peeta hua kahanin of our times. One can only augment it by a style quotient or
by throwing in treatment that would overtake the content. This time it is
neither. In fact, there is a scene in the film when the three principal
characters cry out loudly in helplessness. They have the luxury and are paid to
do it. The audience too are in the same mental framework, only they cannot scream
their agony.
We have a couple out on a long journey with the guy Amar (Aashim Gulati – as
stiff as Vinod Mehra) and his fiancée Taran (Neha Sharma). Soon the trip turns
into a major tragedy with the adventurous Amar going out skiing and meeting
with an accident. He is believed to be dead after many searches prove futile.
Papaji (Kanwaljeet Singh) helps the devastated Taran and her siblings Manpreet
(Meher Vij) and Gurpreet (Sonia Balani) overcome the tragedy. Into the scenario
walks in a young man Shekar (Aditya Seal) who has been an orphan and thus
empathises with pain and suffering of the recent tragedy.
You do not have to be a film buff to know that it is going to be love between
Shekar and Taran and the conflict is sooner than later going to be with the
return of the lost. In the meanwhile, you get a lot of gyan on how to live
life, what love truly is and a near crash course on how you must deal with life
and live. Yawn.
The movie stretches for about two and half hours with songs (a saving grace)
punctuated every once in a way. The cinematography (Ewan Mulligan) is top
class. Most of everything else is not. The cast simply does not click. For
instance, Aashim Gulati looks like he is yet to decide whether he wants to
follow Sid Malhotra or Aditya Roy Kapoor. Dazed he is throughout the film. Neha
Sharma is a huge let down. She could give Kim Sharma the run for her money.
With such thoughtless casting the film refuses to infuse any energy and the
lethargy grows over you. Aaditya Seal is the guy who alongside Sonia Balani try
to infuse some sincerity and energy respectively to the film. Not enough.
Surely not to exchange valuable currency.
Rating: 1.5 stars
– Very lethargic
+ music and cinematography
L. Ravichander.