London Paris New York

Romantic Love Stories are staples of the Bollywood Industry. I mean, it's like what Steven Seagal is to action. So it gets hard to continuously reinvent the same melodramatic and shitty genre over and over. However, every once in a while there will be a movie that's somewhat decent. London Paris NEW YORK falls under this category.

One of those, random meet up stories, spanning a few years, where the characters grow and learn to live each other, kind of thing is what this is, but a cool one. Ali Zafar, musician, singer and pop artist from Pakistan makes his debut as a lead actor in his own movie with London Paris NEW YORK. Seen recently in the craptastic MERE BROTHER KI DULHAN, Ali Zafar seriously flexes his acting chops in this.

The girl is another new up and comer, seen in smaller roles here and there. Aditi Rao Hydari also does a very nice portrayal of a girl who evolves over the years.

Basically the story is about how this guy and girl meet randomly in the airport. Get to talking, have to end up spending the day together due to clichéd unforeseen circumstances, and end up falling in love…. Eventually. I know, it sounds gay.

However, the entire fascination of London Paris NEW YORK lies in its dialogue and performers. The whole movie is more talking and the characters' chemistry than anything else. The entire story relies on these two characters' chemistry…. And it works pretty well.

The story has equal moments of sweet-ness, comedy, sexual tension and not to mention just pure awkwardness. Which is refreshing to see, that a movie doesn't have the polished 'filmy'ness of typical Love Stories.

London Paris NEW YORK isn't for everyone. It'll be a little cheesy, however it's incredibly witty, sometimes satirical and just plain cool to see a Bollywood story where the interaction between guy and girl is so brutally realistic. Even down to the insecurities of pre-marital relationships in South Asian culture… without being stupid and retarded.

The show stealer here has to Ali Zafar. I don't mean to gush, but his Kishore Kumar-like voice, along with his pretty boy good looks and hip urban youth attitude, probably makes him the most natural actor in this kind of role that I've seen. A lot of actors have portrayed 'cool guys', but it always seems a little forced and having to try to be so. However, Ali Zafar here seemed to be oozing this comfortable and natural ease in his performance. This is further punctuated by the amazing monologue in the third act where he goes off on the girl, in a reversed 'guy using the girl' scenario, and makes a statement regarding how some Desi girls' actions directly cause the guy to feel like there's more in their interactions then there might be. Again, very real.

This isn't an exciting film by any means. Things don't necessarily, 'happen', they just are. The characters meet up years apart, and react to the changes in each other during their time apart. Some uncomfortable silences, awesome dramatic monologues that aren't cheesy AT ALL, make for some easy viewing.

London Paris NEW YORK doesn't change the status quo of Bollywood films by any means. It's a small film, relying on both the young and inexperienced actors' performances to move the story forward in a very nice and easygoing way. It's a very real and fresh Bollywood love story with minimal cringing.

Brilliant! Brilliant! Brilliant! Cannot believe that such a movie could be made in Hindi cinema.Complete Kudos to the screenplay,director,actors and the whole team for producing such a brilliant movie.

It would be a mistake according to me not to support such movies. Reality is it is a sensible movie which talks to all walks of life.

The balance between reality and humor has been taken care off in the most spectacular manner; never making the audience feel small,blamed or negative.

The characters are very real and they do make a lot of sense.

Once again awesome job to the rang London Paris New York Team .

Romantic comedies or Rom-coms are not a new genre. Love stories have been told in the past too and will be told in the future. Every rom-com has a bit of predictability in it but still every now and then, a 'Jab We Met' comes. A film which has that special visual treatment, powerful performances, gratifying moments and a good feel to them. London Paris New York (LPNY) is one of those special films.

Set in three lovely cities of the world and spread over more than half a decade, LPNY is a story of Nikhil (Ali Zafar) a happy-go-lucky charming boy and Lalitha (Aditi Rao Hyderi) a simple, nerdy Madrasi girl falling in love with each other thrice in six years.

And that's it.

That's all LPNY is. No impediments, no pretentiousness, no preaching, no 'zaalim samaaj' and even no supporting cast. The only third person with a line to say is Dilip Tahil who appears in the last ten minutes of the film.

The first few looks of the film give an impression that it has shades of 'When Harry Met Sally' which has already been done in Bollywood (Hum Tum), however, LPNY is a different story with a different treatment. In fact, it's closer to '500 Days of Summer' and also has a peculiar similarity with 'Rodger Dodger' because of its heavy dependence on dialogue between only two main characters. Nonetheless, LPNY is a lot simpler than any of these movies. Instead of relying on twists and complications of the plot, it thrives on performances and the affability of the lead characters.

It's a short film of less than two hours, one of the strongest points of the film because of which it does not drag at any point and is fairly gripping for a simple story. The first story of London is a bit tacky and one takes some time to get comfy with the characters specially the extrovert Nikhil. As the story moves forward, the entertainment and audience engagement bars go up. Paris story is better than London and then New York wins from Paris hands down. The climax is beautiful. Watch out for the penultimate sequence at Hudson River; best scene of the movie. The film could have finished at that point and it would have ended at a high second to no other love story of recent times. No complains though.

Ali Zafar is dynamite. 5,000 tons of talent. Besides being the lead actor in the film, he is the music director, singer and lyricist as well. While he has done well on all the fronts; acting still takes the cake. In Tere Bin Laden, you were convinced on his comic timing but needed convincing on his ability to handle emotional scenes as TBL had none. LPNY has shown the audience his flexibility, range and ability to carry the film on his shoulders. He shows his emotional side and what a show this has been. His comic timing in London segment, impatience in Paris and outburst at the climax in New York… fantastic performance. Amazing screen presence and charm.

Aditi Rao Hyderi is not far behind either. Her portrayal of Lalitha and transformation the character goes through are extremely natural hence authentic. Her adorably shy demeanor in the first story, sultry looks and heartbreak in the second and mature conduct in the third are absolutely brilliant. Her best performance after smaller roles in 'Yeh Saali Zindagi' and 'Rockstar'. She looks gorgeous in rain sequence in London and steals the hotel room scene in Paris which of course is a defining moment in the story too.

The third star of the film is Anu Menon. Anu too has worn multiple hats for the film. She has written the script, directed it and has also written the dialogues. Had I not known, I would have thought LPNY is an Imtiaz Ali film and that's a huge compliment for Anu. Her aesthetic senses deserve applause for the way he has handled intimate scenes between the lead pair. The story has been kept simple, narration even simpler while dialogues put soul in the film. They do get cheesy at times but that is the requirement for Nikhil's character build-up. Anu hasn't gone over the top and has kept the film as close to reality as possible. If there is a term 'Unrealistically Realistic', it fits LPNY. I can swear several guys have gone through what Nikhil goes through on the bench in London. Yes, it's that real. She also deserves credit for keeping the film short, not going beyond two hours by dragging the film needlessly. The credit for this should also go to the debutant editor Sally Salgoanker.

LPNY is exactly the way love stories should be made. Trendy, Urban and fairly realistic. It takes great courage to make an entire film for only two characters, played by new comers and that too a talkie one. Even if it does not win bumper opening at the box office, it will increase the audience size for Ali, Aditi and Anu significantly. A beautifully made artsy commercial film which deserves a successful run.

As mentioned earlier in one of my recent reviews, here is another film made on the same low cost recipe of Bollywood which has more chances of recovering its cost featuring two fresh faces. Posing as a new age romantic comedy with few bold dialogues and novel sequences, London Paris NEW YORK once again follows the same old process of presenting before the audience a smart interesting dish, inspired from two great English Classics, adding the usual unavoidable Bollywood ingredients in it for a clichéd climax.

But here, few friends may like to support this movie with their argument that "How many of us have seen the Originals, so at least they are giving us something new." And in answer to their point raised, I would like to give my honest but strong opinion in the following words. LPNY revolves around only two main characters who become love birds as the time progresses and then in the end they realize that they were actually made for each other. The story basically talks about their meetings in three cities under different situations or time spans and the script largely relies on their mutual conversations alone to amuse the viewer. Now this whole concept of two people meeting each other in a journey, roaming around the city together and then parting with a promise to meet at a certain date is all taken from the two English masterpieces made in sequels. And they are BEFORE SUNRISE (1995) and BEFORE SUNSET (2004) directed by Richard Linklater featuring Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy in the lead.

As an individual project, London Paris NEW YORK can be called a sweet film which tries to be extra ordinary in its first hour and then simply gives away to the routine path in the end. Many of the youngsters may like it due to the bold dialogues written realistically, its fine performances by Ali-Aditi and its few hummable songs composed & sung by Ali Zafar himself.

But in frank words, what this film does to a sincere cinema lover (eager to watch all the well made classics in the entire world)………….is nothing less than a SIN!

Why? Because London Paris NEW YORK simply snatches away all those surprises, thrills, love, sensuality, intelligence, intellect and magic which one can feel watching its two originals in their virginity. In other words, now after watching LPNY if you try watching the two movies mentioned above then you will never be able to enjoy them or feel them in the way you could have, as a surprise viewer. The Bollywood version clearly ruins the "Out of this world Experience" of watching these two classics which is nothing less than a SIN if seen from the eyes of a passionate cinema lover.

Truly speaking I rate both BEFORE SUNRISE (1995) and BEFORE SUNSET (2004) as one of the best movies made till date in the World Cinema, especially for those who don't just watch, but like to study the films made with such rare conviction. These two movies have the power to teach you love as an unexplained phenomenon, which has its own unlimited dimensions. They can teach you the value of relationships as never before and can enlighten your deep thinking patterns bringing in more clarity or understanding in your personal real life love affairs.

As a commercial venture, directed by the debutant Anu Menon, London Paris NEW YORK should turn out to be a safe bet, preferably in the metros. The director shows the sparks in the execution but if only the writers could have stayed away from the routine ending, the film would have been at least a little close to its originals. However at present its miles away from its actual sources and is not able to give you even a sip of that delicious drink offered by the two masterpieces. It neither impresses you as a thoughtful love story nor is able to leave a mark through its borrowed intellect shown in its few sequences.

Still considering it in a positive manner, if you have seen London Paris NEW YORK and liked it even partially then treat this Indian version as a loving invitation to the world of Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy, the couple admiring each other. And if you haven't seen this new Bollywood release till now but the narration does excite you then before watching it, essentially go for BEFORE SUNRISE (1995) and BEFORE SUNSET (2004) as a must like an emergency. Because watching these two classics without having any preset notions about their actual content is something beyond explanation and imagination.

In the end though this is a write-up on London Paris NEW YORK which is unarguably an unintelligent mess inspired from two extremely intelligent foreign classics. Yet I would like to use it to inform all lovers and cinema freaks here, about these two precious gems, which should not be missed or delayed at any cost.

So if you are a lover or have felt the true love ever in your entire past then do watch BEFORE SUNRISE (1995) and BEFORE SUNSET (2004) both, like an essential medication for your precious life. London Paris NEW YORK might be cute in its own limited way but director Richard Linklater's two babies really talk about something of the BEYOND..............which cannot be copied ever.

London, Paris and New York: I absolutely love the way Ali Zafar talks and is easy on the eyes too. Aditi Hydary plays the middle class girl next door to the T. The story which starts in London and concludes in New York is of a guy who wears his heart on his sleeves and is not afraid to dive into love/relationship but is constantly met with reluctances and inhibitions of a middle class girl. The f...un is in the journey that these two take while discovering each other's nature, background, interests, future plans and feelings for each other. The contemporariness of the script makes it relevant and enjoyable and the hummable sing along songs add to the fun. My fav is "Voh Dekhne Mein". Liked the movie and recommend the rom-com for an evening out.