One thing is certain — the combination of Imran Khan and director Punit Malhotra is like a lead balloon. Their attempts at rom-coms are enough to make anyone ‘hate luv stories’. A Bollywood romantic comedy is deceptively simple. Songs, dances and a few laughs frame a basic formula — boy meets girl, kahani mein twist, love conquers all. Gori Tere Pyar Mein is a classic example of how to get it wrong.
The basic idea behind Gori Tere Pyar Mein isn’t particularly original. A rich spoilt brat falls for an earnest do-gooder “NGO-type,” and has to overcome his basic shallowness to win her. Whilst the story is something of a cliché, if done right this could have been a great romantic comedy. What it needed was some great songs, sizzling chemistry between its stars and a sparkling script. Unfortunately GTPM has none of these, and as a result, falls more than a little flat.
Imran Khan, as the lead Sri Ram, was his usual wooden self. He really struggled in the first half, and was particularly unconvincing as the black sheep of a Tamil-Brahm family. The problem wasn’t just the fact that he looks all wrong as a Tamil — the “family joke” that he was swapped at birth can’t mask the fact that he was unable to bring any South Indian character to his role. More than that, he wasn’t believable as a playboy type — his puppy dog eyes and chocolate box cuteness worked better in the second half of the film.
There is little or no chemistry between Kareena Kapoor and Imran Khan. She seemed more like his big sister than the love of his life. She made the most of her role as Dia, but the lack of a spark between her and Imran Khan left you wondering why Dia would fall for him.
Without any great musical numbers, and preciously few laugh out loud moments, the film struggles to engage the audience. There’s only one solid gold scene in the movie — which is when Dia’s father asks Sri Ram why he should let his daughter marry him.
The film is split into two halves, both of which feel a little too long. In the first, Sri Ram is on the verge of an arranged marriage to Vasuda, a Tamil Brahm girl who’s in love with a Sikh environmentalist. The picture of two people, who have other dreams, unwillingly marrying to please their families, had a poignancy that could have made GTPM a much better film. Imran’s speech, about the difficulties lovers from different communities face in making a life together, was ingenious. Shraddha Kapoor makes the most of her role as Vasudda and it’s clear that the Aashiqui 2 girl has the potential to be a real star. Unfortunately, it’s a little jarring that there seems to be more chemistry between Shradda and Imran than there is between Imran and Kareena.
The majority of the first half is a series of flashbacks showing how Dia and Sri Ram became a couple and then split up. Their love story is missing that essential filmy magic. Even so, the weak script leaves no doubt that Sri Ram will eventually ditch the wedding and go after Dia.
The second half of the movie is measurably better. When Sri Ram follows Dia to a deprived village, Imran becomes more comfortable with his character and the film improves as a result. Sri Ram vows to help the villagers build a much-needed bridge to win Dia back. The villagers may be one dimensional, the talented Vineet Kumar Singh may have been utterly wasted as a village strong man, but Dia and Sri Ram become more believable as a couple. Anupam Kher is excellent as a village collector, even though his role was limited and clichéd. Sri Ram’s development into a man Dia can respect is predictable, but well done.
All in all, GTPM doesn’t have the entertainment factor than a Karan Johar romance should. The song and dance numbers are mediocre and the story isn’t witty or engaging. The idea had potential but was miscast, badly written and poorly edited. Imran Khan has frequently shown that he doesn’t have the acting skills for top billing, but with names like Kareena Kapoor and Karan Johar, expectations were high. GTPM has its feel-good moments but don’t expect to leave the theatre on a high.
Cast:
Imran Khan, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Anupam Kher, Shraddha Kapoor, Nizhalgal Ravi, Sujata Kumar, Manoj Bakshi, Neelu Kohli
Director:
Punit Malhotra
Verdict:
Lacklustre — no more than a “timepass”
Rating: 2.5 stars
Oxford-grad Salima Feerasta is a social commentator and lover of style in any form or fashion. She blogs at karachista.com and tweets
@karachista
Published in The Express Tribune, November 24th, 2013.
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