And Imtiaz is back….
So we have had a moderately poor year at the BO this year in Bollywood. With Salman, Ranbir, Bacchhan films sinking faster than a rock, so all hopes were on King Khan to salvage this month from literally going down the toilet drain… alas.
I have repeatedly mentioned that Imtiaz Ali makes movies for himself and his own satisfaction, I cant say creative because there is nothing creative in getting a qualified DOP (Mohanan) to shoot travel diaries and sell it at exorbitant prices for the gullible audiences.
The basic story concept itself is outright silly. An educated lawyer from a diamond trading Gujarati family on a Europe tour, loses her engagement ring and decides to retrace her steps along with her tour guide and the family not only is cool about it, but is rather insistent that the guide do so, or else she will complain, SERIOUSLY!
The film not only suffers from a non existent storyline, but also a non existent screenplay, and lack of talented actors. No, not that Chandan Roy Sanyal is not a good actor, as the Bangladeshi criminal in Lisbon, he puts in his life and soul for his 2 scene role here, but they could have done something with the lead pair and its chemistry or lack of it. but for that too, you needed a director with a script, not a travel plan!
Shahrukh, in bits, is his earnest self, but for most of the part is trying too hard to fit the lack of director’s role and do everything and anything under the garb of ‘doing something different’! The continuity issues with his looks still persist, (something which happened in Raees too) and this is bound to, cos the people giving him the material to work on, lack of directors and no writers, is forcing him to produce everything under the sun and go eating pan in Banaras and meeting Sejals in Ahmedabad and tour guides in Rajasthan…. I mean I have to give it to the man for the sheer magnitude of effort he has put in to promote this film with complete earnest and still knowing at the bottom of his heart that the product is bad, so might as well get in as much as brand associations, tie-ups, promotions, in order to minimize his losses. I feel bad for him. He not only looks as a misfit but is looking too old in places, something which happened in Tubelight also, with their leading bhai.
Anushka Sharma is the only saving grace in this film. Barring her over the top accent, that lady drives the screen wild with her eyes only. The only benefit of an Imitaz Ali travel diary (movies they are not) is that the female protagonist gets the better deal, Kareena, Deepika, Alia, Deepika again and now Anushka…. They all stole the show in the 2 way film against their male counterparts of Shahid, Saif, Randeep, Ranbir and now SRK….
Using Playboy at Worli and showing it as a disco in Prague with fake Russian goons is so passe, Imtiaz needed to be more open with the producers for their expense sheets! For every such shot, where they have goofed up on the sets and outdoors, the give is SRK’s hair and beard.. something am sure someone must have told the production team or their marketing teams.
During the Phurr song, halfway through in dancing, SRK’s bag is gone.. conveniently!
Pritam’s music is fantastic but so poorly used, that in the post interval portions, it irritates. The entire Punjab segment is so forced but by then the audience, who had no connect with the film at all, is just waiting to leave the cinema and this torture of an experience….
As a producer, SRK should pay me my money back, because we went to see the film for him and not cos that lunatic was directing. It is not only the economics involved here, you and your film might get its initial and make your 100crs, but the audience faith, if lost, will hamper you in the long run.
Anushka has to be more selective of her scripts henceforth, unless she wants to go the Katrina way.
As for as Imtiaz Ali, sincere request, please stop making rubbish in the name of films, you are nothing but a cheat!!
Rating: -1/5
By: Yusuf Poonawala
