Originally posted by: Bossman
FIRST REVIEW of Gori Tere Pyaar Mein
By Lokesh Dharmani Thursday, 21 November 2013
Will you love Kareena Kapoor and Imran Khan's rom-com? Here's City 1016 RJ Lokesh Dharmani's review
Starring: Kareena Kapoor, Imran Khan and Shraddha Kapoor
Director: Punit Malhotra
Stars: **
Let's start with the good parts in the movie - the ads that play at the beginning of the movie and the trailer of Sholay, now in 3D! And the bad part? The rest of the 150 minutes that follow.
Last week it was Ram on the big screen (read Ram Leela) and this week it's S-r-e-e RAM played by uber-cool Imran Khan. After hiding his three and a half expressions behind the character ka demand' beard in Matru-can't-act-saala, Imran conveniently slips back to what he does best or what Karan Johar thinks he does best - play an urban guy. And guess what, he plays it differently this time - he hasn't waxed his chest! Aside from a talented famous mamujaan, Imran's biggest achievement is a million followers on twitter. (Oops, sorry that's the legendary cricketer... now, that's the perk of having famous namesakes!)
The first half of the film is about a couple who are as white as chalk and as different as chalk and cheese. Meet Dia (Kareena Kapoor), the hotter version of Anna Hazare, an NGO-type girlfriend who indulges in deep talk' like one must vote, not buy a fancy car with papa's hard-earned money, be a vegetarian (OMG, how can you kill somebody!) and thinks that you are shallow if you head to Spain's Tomatina festival! (Hrithik, Farhan, Abhay, go hide your face somewhere, gande bachche, hmph!). Her idea of a date is in a red-light area where she doesn't coochie-coo with her beau but makes a documentary on sex workers! (Girlfriend hai ya Gulabi Gang ki head!?). But Kareena plays the character with the utmost charm and infuses some life to a rather weak character written by Punit Malhotra and Arshad Syed.
In contrast is self-centered, lazy lad Sreeram (Imran) who, like his father puts it, is the black sheep' of the family. He is full of vices. He prefers partying (haw!!) to attending a relative's funeral (tch tch tch) and drools at the sight of a crab in a restaurant. (This is too much, how can you be so insensitive!)
The second half is somewhat serious and deals with real issues like building a bridge in a village because Mother India girlfriend has resolved to help poor villagers. This works brilliantly in plotting, sorry, building bridges between the couple (too much symbolism, worthy of Ayn Rand!) and changing Sreeram as a person. Except the whole thing takes so much time that I turned 50 by the end of it.
Then there are other important characters as well, like Vasudha, played by Shraddha (I-have-given-100-crore-Ashiqui2-yet-am-playing-second-lead-what-to-do-can't-say-no-to-Karan-Johar) Kapoor. Anupam Kher also has a (not so) friendly appearance as the antagonist in the film whose thappad ki goonj suni makes a very sad comeback.
Shashank Tere earns a special mention here for his prowess to create a Gujarati village far more real than the gaudy Ranjar in Ram Leela!
The songs in the film are...ummm...PLENTY! Lyricists after exhausting all similes around eyes, hair and lips have dared to move further down and got stuck at, err how do I say this, the posterior? Tooh' much I say. What's amusing is that someone is actually getting paid to write lyrics like - Tooh, duffer, dhat teri ki and chingam chaba ke. But do we expect more from Anvita Dutt Gupta who has given us gems like Yo! Nikki Bakshi, sweet and sexy, full on rocking, hot and happening from Neal 'n' Nikki) or more recently- (Stud)ent of the Year's - D'ance like a D'eewna tonight P'arty like a 'P'arwana tonight, M'ove like a M'astana tonight, that marked the sad demise of the term alliteration.'
But I must confess Vishal Shekhar's music grew on me in three stages:
a) First time- whaaa??
b) A week later - head banging in my studio when no one was looking!!
c) Dance like a windmill in clubs every time the DJ spun a tooh' or a chingam'.
Vishal Dadlani, the music director of the film, said that Gori Tere... would redefine rom-coms in our industry. I am wondering how many drinks he was down with when he said that! Not sure about rom-coms but the film would definitely redefine social activists in our country. Kareena plays a firebrand social worker who sweeps villages clean like a Sakku bai during the day and unabashedly shakes her tooh like a pro at night. (Arundhati Roy and Shabana Azmi NOT to get encouraged please!).
In India we have films catering to all sensibilities. Like you can't expect a Grand Masti' out of a Lunchbox' or vice-versa, you can easily expect a typical Karan Johar film from Gori Tere Pyaar Mein. I expected better writing, rounded characters and a stronger story line!
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