I Me Aur Main Movie Review

"Too modern in thought" LOL kya criticism hain 😆

Review: I, Me Aur Main has a tight first half leading to an unconventional climax

Last Updated: Friday, March 01, 2013, 14:46

Tags: John Abraham, Chitrangda Singh, Prachi Desai, I Me Aur Main review, I Me Aur Main, Ananya Bhattacharya

Ananya Bhattacharya

Take 1: 'Hi, this is Ishaan Sabharwal' If it's good looking, it's me!' ' so runs the voice message on the charismatic music producer Ishaan Sabharwal's phone. Take 2: 'Ishaan is the best' boxing preludes in front of the mirror. Take 3: When somebody asks him if he loves his girlfriend, he goes, 'But we looked so good together!'

Narcissism, self-proclaimed 'The Best', and beneath all the gloss and sheen ' a total jerk. That's Ishaan the protagonist for you. This man-child can't think of anything beyond himself, his looks, his appeal and so on and so forth. So much so that even after three years of living with a girl, in her apartment, on her money, this guy just cannot utter the blasphemous 'C' word. Commitment is a big and bold 'No'.

Debutant director Kapil Sharma's project of sculpting this self-centred adorable jerk into a responsible man with a heart is a likeable one. Added to that is the extremely good-looking couple ' John Abraham and Chitrangda Singh, and I can't help re-iterating Ishaan's 'But we looked so good together' sentence here... This pair appears extremely enviable on screen. Prachi Desai's Gauri, the bubbly girl next door is one you would want to fall for.

The film begins with this selfish man promising Anushka (Chitrangda) to take her to Pune to meet his parents. But no, Ishaan whiles away his time surrounded by other girls in a discotheque and realises on his way to the girl-he-picks-up's home that he had to get to Anushka. Once he gets back to his girlfriend's apartment, she throws him out. Thus begins Ishaan's journey downwards. When trying to woo her back doesn't work, Ishaan moves to an utter middle class locality ' a huge plunge from the plush place that Anushka owned. Meanwhile, Ishaan's mother (played by Zarina Wahab) shifts from Pune to Mumbai to live with her son ' and her paraphernalia includes ajwain parantha, melamine crockery and whatnot.

Enter Gauri (Prachi Desai) the stylist and part-time electrician. She doesn't hesitate to tell Ishaan on his face that she wouldn't sleep with him ' to a man, who cannot imagine such a sacrilege. In the midst of it all, our jerk doesn't lose a moment. When he is not with Gauri, he is either trying to pick up girls from the pub or obliquely flirting with his sexy boss Bina (Raima Sen) or scanning the masses for a 'promising voice' (read: hot girl). In the hullabaloo, the guy loses his job too when a blackmailing-his-boss plan falls awry. Gradually, after constantly being pointed out by Gauri that he is absolutely blind to anything beyond himself, Ishaan begins falling for her. And then comes the bolt from the blue ' Anushka is pregnant with his child. Shivani (Mini Mathur), Ishaan's sister breaks the news to him in a terribly emotionally charged moment, and his mother's tight slap pushes Ishaan to consciousness. The change is visible in the man and realisation is extremely quick to set in. The film proceeds towards a difficult ' but maybe not impossible ' end.

John Abraham, who has spent a lot of his acting career hearing critics call him "wooden", can finally flash that famous half smile of his. The actor has done a neat job of playing the self-obsessed Ishaan and pretty much delves deep into the skin of the character. Chitrangda, on the other hand, could have done a much, much better job with the corporate lawyer in love with Ishaan that she plays. We've seen Singh deliver full-blooded performances before but this isn't one. Prachi Desai is a breath of fresh air ' a complete surprise. She performs Gauri to the hilt and pulls off a stunner. Mini Mathur's years of television work are clearly visible in her performance. Zarina Wahab is fabulous as Ishaan's mother. Together, the mother-sister duo leaves one applauding loud and hard. Raima Sen is good as Ishaan's boss. Sameer Soni, in his cameo too, doesn't fail to impress!

What doesn't work for the film is its screenplay. There are times when one wishes that it did not drag so ' and saying that for a film whose runtime is a meagre 108 minutes is a lot. The ending is a bit hasty and comes scarily close to treading on the grounds of make-believe. The first half is really praiseworthy, but the second half appears a bit haphazard. Such a denouement is possible ' undoubtedly ' just that it is a bit hard to digest.

The music is really good, and the film boasts of a few soul-stirring and some foot-tapping numbers. 'Saajna' and 'Darbadar' are two tracks which are extremely melodious and 'Na jaane kahaan se' ' which is ubiquitous on music charts ' is an enjoyable one and needs a special mention.

In all, 'I, Me Aur Main' is a film that leaves you with a sense of disbelief on the one hand and sets your heart wishing for such a reality on the other. I'm going with three out of five for this one. More than women, all men need to watch this one, at least once. Who knows ' they might just decide to kill the Ishaan in themselves!



Rating:

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I, Me aur Main: lost in banal self-indulgence!

ByGaurav Malani, TNN | Mar 1, 2013, 02.12 PM IST

Director: Kapil Sharma
Cast: John Abraham, Prachi Desai, Chitrangda Singh


I Me aur Main is a film that tries to be individualistic with its purported progressive end. In most likelihood, the end seems to be conceived first and thereafter the entire narrative seems to be constructed to reach to that culmination. But in this backward and boring composition, you stop looking forward to its intended enlightened end.

Anushka (Chitrangda Singh) separates from her live-in partner Ishaan (John Abraham) because she feels he is too selfish and can't look beyond himself. Ishaan shifts to a new house and falls in love with his neighbour, Gauri (Prachi Desai). All seems to be going fine until Ishaan has to choose between his love and his responsibility.

When Gauri learns about Ishaan's ex-girlfriend Anushka and an element that is connecting their past, she doesn't overreact and receives the news quite soberly. The subtlety, in a way, is symbolic of modern times where relationships don't always come with the called for chastity. But much as the film tries to be an urbane and contemporary cinema, it keeps resorting to archaic stock phrases.

Like, the hero is a commitment-phobic Casanova who keeps flirting around but is never serious about love. And the heroine is the typical (and literal) girl-next-door who makes the hero a better person and gets him to realize the true meaning of love. Then there is the hero's doting mom who spoils him first and slaps him later saying 'I should have done this long back'. Ahhh... Give us a break please!

Also for a love story, John's chemistry with both actresses is absolutely bland and uninspiring. The screenplay is too lackluster and you are never glued into the romance to feel for any of the girl's dilemma. In addition, the protagonist's parallel track as a music producer, comprising his professional rivalry with a senior (Raima Sen) and his mentoring of a novice singer, is largely disconnected with the central plot and contributes practically nothing to the narrative.

The film is essentially unexciting because the characters don't seem to have any well-defined conflicts for a long time and the proceedings just keep going on and on pointlessly. Only towards the climax it attempts to make a statement or rather suggests a module for modern-day separated families. Alas by the time the film seems to make some sense, you have already lost your senses to its dreariness.

The performances are as peripheral as the plot. John Abraham is plainly functional. Prachi Desai looks cute but lacks depth or dimension. Even Chitrangda Singh fails to impress in a fragile character. Zarina Wahab for a change attempts to play a lighthearted mother but her character is too half-baked to register. Raima Sen is wasted in an inconsequential role.

I Me aur Main loses itself to self-indulgence!

Verdict: Average

Bollywood review: John Abraham's 'I, Me Aur Main' is clearly not his best

Despite the good-looking cast, a weak plot and lack of insight muddles up this love story

Love makes the world go round, they say, but in 'I, Me Aur Main' it made us go round in circles, turning the two-hour lock-up in the theatre dizzying and exhaustive.

The sheer inanity of the plot, where three lives get knotted over matters of the heart and their differences resolved in an impenetrable, hasty manner, is hard to absorb.

Surely, debutant director Kapil Sharma could've found a simpler love tale to pitch.

And, with two good-lookers on board, a few hummable tunes and some decent camera work, he could've struck a sure-shot box-office winning concoction.

But, no. Kapil tries to do the unimaginable and complicates his own efforts by picking a plot that's illogical, sluggish, inconsistent and unrealistic. And, to his disadvantage his good-lookers aren't great performers.

It isn't like we were expecting to be swept off our feet by Kapil's dreamy romance, but what was unexpected was his ability to hurt our emotional equilibrium rather strongly.

If anything, 'I, Me Aur Main' is confused about what it actually sets out to do.

It started off by claiming to be a breezy romance, later it turned into a messy break-up story, then it shifted back to romance, but side-tracked again to play out a weepy, family drama, only to tie it all together with a lecture on ambition and dreams.

Clearly, Kapil is on a mission to drag us down in his sinking ship.

Writer Devika Bhagat, who co-scripted the ambitious 'Manorama Six Feet Under' along with Navdeep Singh and later, the glam-doll rom-com 'Aisha', loses the plot the third time round. There are way too many sub-plots, themes and characters that she is unable to give anyone any substantial insight and never allowing us to invest in any character.

The hurried end is just a clear example of this burden.

'I, Me Aur Main' is easy on the eye, no doubt, with ample glossy frames that flatter the gorgeous Chitragada Singh and the beefy John Abraham.

If a movie could run merely on superficiality, we've got a winner.

Alas, the Bollywood audience has matured in its intake of mush, and seeks much more than a gorgeous legged beauty or a shirtless hero to make them skip a heartbeat.

Ishaan Sabharwal leads a pretty much self-indulgent life, chanting 'I am the best' while throwing punches at his mirrored reflection. Even mobile answering machine echoes his self-obsession, ringing out a recorded message that says; "If it's good-looking, it's me".

And, when he isn't nurturing his bloated ego, he plays music producer, scouting around for new music talents to groom into stars.

His girl-friend of three years and an affluent legal expert Anushka is tolerant of his man-child escapades and houses him, hoping that he'd magically reform and conform to her way of living.

And, when things don't turn out her way, she packs him off for good.

He, on the contrary, doesn't let the minor setback injure his ego and continues without any regrets, barring a few occasional fits of jealousy when he spots her with another male friend.

The narrative chugs along, with no real purpose, until he moves into an ordinary neighbourhood, where the chirpy next-door-girl Gauri starts influencing him.

Anushka and Gauri are opposites in manners and style, one attempting to be sophisticated and refined, while the other being free-spirited and bouncy. Yet, both have a go at Ishaan's heart.

Apart from these two women, his life is further complicated with four more women ' his ever-grouchy boss, boisterous sister, generous mother and his new discovery.

Barring one male friend, Ishaan's devoid of any impressionable male bonding. Even references to his dad are distant and unconvincing.

John Abraham loyalists won't be disappointed, as there's a lot of complimenting skin-show that should make-up for his unimaginative acting. While there are glimpses of improvements in his performance, images of him squinting a smile and crinkling his face are far too many to take him seriously.

Chitrangada, on the other hand, appears to have sleepwalked into 'I, Me Aur Main' from the set of 'Inkaar'. The hair, outfits and tone, are all too similar. We'd only hope she takes on more significant roles that match her talent.

Prachi Desai, however, isn't convincing as the stylist. She tries too hard to glam up. Surely, her director wasn't able to guide her accurately, leaving her bouncing around with no real purpose.

Powerhouse performers like Zarina Wahab and Raima Sen are wasted in this chaos.

Taking a cue from Gauri, who advices Ishaan with "put your money where your mouth is", we'd safely tip you against putting your money (and time) into this movie.

For, this is a love story that doesn't end 'happily ever after', at least not for its audience.

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I, Me Aur Main' Tweet Review: Watch it for John Abraham

Bollywood reviews, Updated Mar 01, 2013 at 04:39pm IST

This should have been a straight to DVD release. 😉

I, Me Aur Main

By Taran Adarsh, 1 Mar 2013, 09:48 hrs IST

The coming of age movie of a man-child has fascinated many a storyteller in the West. In fact, Hollywood has often churned out movies about guys who refuse to grow up. I, ME AUR MAIN, directed by first-time director Kapil Sharma, has John Abraham reprising the role of an adult who's a narcissist, a self-obsessed guy who refuses to own up responsibilities and is also commitment-phobic.

In the past, movies such as KYA KEHNA! and SALAAM | NAMASTE traversed the hitherto unknown path. Also, the male protagonist in those films did not own up their responsibilities, albeit initially [coincidentally, Saif Ali Khan enacted the part in both the films!]. Although I, ME AUR MAIN is *not* remotely similar to those two films in terms of plotline, it does talk of relationships [live-in, child without wedlock et al], but at the same time, it also takes the easy route of drifting into the stereotypical zone, at times.

Kapil brings with him present-day, urban sensibilities, which is evident in a couple of episodes [more on that later], but the drama vacillates between spellbinding and mundane constantly. What emerges is a part watchable fare, despite an attention-grabbing premise. Had Kapil grabbed the opportunity of going unconventional out-and-out, I, ME AUR MAIN would've been in a different space altogether.

Ishaan [John Abraham] is a charismatic, good-looking music producer from Mumbai. He lives a sheltered existence, is the centre of his life, the apple of his mother's [Zarina Wahab] eye, always protected by his elder sister Shivani [Mini Mathur] and stays at his girlfriend Anushka's [Chitrangda Singh] swanky house. He takes them all for granted!

But there comes a day when his life falls apart like a house of cards. Fed up of being taken for granted, his girlfriend throws him out of her house. He moves into an ordinary dwelling, his mother leaves his father and moves in with him, his sister is upset with him and his boss [Raima Sen] asks him to resign. His ego is punctured and his confidence shaken.

At this point, his new neighbor, Gauri [Prachi Desai], walks into his life and from her he learns the importance of relationships. There comes a point when he has to make a choice…

I, ME AUR MAIN has several worthy of note sequences. Instances: John's I-me-myself attitude comes across very well at the start itself, besides his relationship with Chitrangda, which goes from bad to worse with the passage of time. In addition, the segments featuring John and Mini Mathur echo a certain reality. You can't help but laud the freshness Kapil brings on the table in those sequences. I'd like to make a special note of the finale, when John wants to be by her side, but Chitrangda's words of wisdom sound so valid.

Nonetheless, there're tracks that fizzle faster than expected. John's relationship with Raima, his boss, gets repetitive after a point. Also, John's quest to introduce a new singer [Sheena Shahabadi] -- the entire journey from scratch to star -- is humdrum. Even the sequences with Prachi are inconsistent. As and when Kapil decides to take the unconventional route with her character [Prachi fleetingly talking about her previous relationships… also the sequence when John decides to get close to her, after she has had a couple of drinks], those moments compliment the spirit of the enterprise. Conversely, there're portions that seem far from satisfying or enjoyable.

The debutant director strikes the perfect note when he dares to defy the rules of the game. Also, what's credible is that he spares us the melodrama that generally accompanies such subjects. But, like I pointed out earlier, the screenwriting should've been coherent. The storyteller restricts the flow of songs in the narrative, which, again, needs to be appreciated. As for the soundtrack, 'Cappuccino' and 'Na Jaane' add a lot of zing to the narrative.

It's the first time that John plays a man-child and I must add, he ensures that the character doesn't deviate into the negative alley. Shunning the 'Action Abraham' image that he has steadily built, the actor delivers a striking, likeable performance. Chitrangda lends undeniable credence to her part. Prachi adds so much zest in those tiny little moments, enacting the spunky girl part so well. Mini Mathur is natural to the core, getting the nuances of her role spot-on. Raima Sen is perfect, despite the fact that her role lacks meat. Zarina Wahab is dependable as the doting mum. Sameer Soni doesn't get any scope. Errol Peter Marks is efficient.

On the whole, I, ME AUR MAIN is a decent watch. More for the urban youth!

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