Nur Dir zuliebe - Gori Tere Pyaar Mein

Imran Khan is in a rut. Much like Rishi Kapoor during the late 70s and early 80s, the only kind of movies that he can get by with his limited acting skills are light hearted romantic flicks. He has not moved up an inch since his debut in Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na. Pappu could not dance in that movie, but Imran is worse than Pappu- he cannot dance, or act, or even lip sync properly. He is not even good looking, and the only thing still getting him movies is probably his star kid status. For inspiration, he just needs to look at Ranbir Kapoor- similar star kid, started off at around the same time as himself but immensely more hardworking, with the balls to experiment, and the drive to excel.

Sorry for digressing- this is not a post about Imran, but about his latest act in Gori Tere Pyaar Mein. Another time Imran does his Imran act- dress well, try to dance to hummable numbers, provide some comic relief and woo girls all without any change in facial or voice expression. Here he Sriram, is an Audi loving, shallow to the point of being non emphatic South Indian in love with his polar opposite played by who else but the perennially hyper ventilating Kareena Kapoor, again played herself, or Geet from Jab We Met. Yeah yeah, the age gap. No, Imran is not new competition to Saif, and the disclaimer is right when Kareena enters the story- that she is way older than him. The first half of the movie is about how their love story ended the first time round, while the second part of the movie is how Sriram wins her back again, in a Lagaan type setting, still not letting go of designer clothes and Wayfarers. And to think they would have had the second round of romance if a pet crab had not died. Go figure.

In between there is a lot of drama around the building of a bridge, some nefarious polity, a couple of land deals and a couple of laughs, some catchy songs and loads of racism, and an ending that felt a long time due. This is a movie that is a new low for Dharma Productions, and makes you search hard for positives- maybe it was Anupam Kher's too little screen time, or a luminous special appearance by Shraddha Kapoor, or the fact this was 50% of the term "clean entertainer"- as in not entertaining, but at least not crude. Not even worth a DVD watch, and Imran- please take a break from acting. Just because you were a Khan does not mean this is your cup of tea- 4/10

Is Gori Tere Pyaar Mein worth seeing? Short answer: Yes. The long answer, is also yes. Though its not going to challenge you or make your uncomfortable or leave you gobsmacked, Gori Tere Pyaar Mein is definitely worth your entertainment rupee. The film begins with our 'No do, no care' hero Sri Ram Venket (Imran Khan) the son of a wealthy Bangalore builder. Of course the family decides to fix their son the way countless desi parents vow to...marriage. The very arranged meeting and engaging with Vasudha, (Shraddha Kapoor) with close-ups of banana leaves and teak furniture, are framed with both wit and sophistication. Yep, there are a bumper crop of Punjus playing at Tamil Iyers in this film. Through their engagement and flashbacks we meet his first love Dia Sharma, (Kareena Kapoor), a feisty fighter for those who cannot defend themselves. She does everything, fighting for parks, for children, for sex workers. Dia has left her Delhi home and is matter-of-factly introduced to our hero as being much older. The second half of the film ends up in a small village in Gujarat. Where Tamil is used for humour and confusion in the first half, Gujarati has its turn later. Astoundingly there are not foreign shoots or even foreign dream sequences. Gori Tere Pyaar Mein, writer-director Punit Malhotra's first film I Hate Luv Stories did very well at the box office. I didn't see that film, but Mr. Malhotra's became best known for being his leading lady Sonal Kapoor's boyfriend, which may have been a step up from being known as fashion designer Manish Malhotra's nephew. I think judging by the deft handling and American sitcom type setups of this film, Mr. Malhotra will soon be best known as himself. Imran Khan has become the desi version of Hugh Grant. He usually manages to elevate rom-com material. This is his second film with Kareena Kapoor and the second film where Ms. Kapoor is a rabble rouser. Both Mr. Khan and Ms. Kapoor are pros and this role required no stretching for either one. They essentially played appealing characters which they probably are in real life. Shradha Kapoor is lovely but she too had no scope to do much. The songs particularly "Shake That Tooh," have already hit the airwaves are being played at weddings this winter. Dharma gloss is evident in every frame and costume, but it does not overpower, just makes us understand that our protagonists are upper middle class. Thankfully, the giant homes with spiral staircases have been retired. The cinematography is bright and polished. The story by Punit Malhotra and television writer Arshad Sayed presents the rom-com scenario in quite a fresh light. The writers also played around with structure to make the film more interesting, though it took away some of the 'will they,' 'won't they' element required by successful rom-coms. Punit Malhotra's direction is deft with supporting characters in both cities and villages used to build the humour. Anupam Kher brings life to the villain who is funnily menacing. A lesser actor would have had trouble walking the fine line. I'm just curious whether building a bridge was actually part of the filming budget or whether they found a village where a bridge was being built. The situations of helping society are woven throughout the story in a way never seen before in a Hindi film. That is impressive as the weakness of most Bollywood rom-coms, was that characters did nothing but fall in love. Love is not enough, it is never enough. The lover too needs to be worthy. Gori Tere Pyaar Mein delves into the aspect of being worthy of love in humorous manner, but the stakes are never that high. That is the film's strength and why it will stay on your mind longer than the average glossy entertainer.

Certain films raise not one or two but several questions in your mind about the team behind its making and their basic thought structure before going ahead with such tasteless, ridiculous and uninspiring kind of script without giving it a second thought. So instead of writing a usual review, here I would like to share my conclusions after watching this 'quite hard to see' romantic comedy, wherein I neither found the romance nor any comedy as calmly promoted by its makers with a pretty bad song.

1. "You are a born film-maker!" Now this phrase can be interpreted in two ways. One when a person has a great, gifted talent of film-making in him, which he has developed through his own efforts and hard work, working in the field for years before being called a Film-maker. And Two, when a person has simply got born in the family related to film business or movie-making and therefore obviously becomes a Film-maker by default. (And the same theory goes for the actors too in many cases)

2. Sometimes a project just gets all the needed approvals from a corporate house without any objections raised, simply because of the big names backing it from the front, even when there is no script, storyline or an idea shared about what actually they are approving and putting their money in.

3. In such ventures, even the actors don't know what they are actually being signed for, since the script is yet to be given a thought after finalizing the entire schedule and dates.

4. And when the need of the script arises, they just mix and match few of their senior's famous films hurriedly, as if there are only fools coming to the theater and they can be served anything in the name of a film with some glossy faces and songs.

5. Such projects try to incorporate everything which is trending around without any set vision. So if Punjabi is the in-thing, they get a completely insane and horrible song written around a Punjabi word used for the 'Bums' and just don't care to enquire about its actual use in the language at all! (And it was this song, questionably written as "Tooh", which simply left me with jaws open in disbelief and disgust like never before in all these recent decades honestly. In fact I cannot remember a Hindi film song falling to this sick and ridiculous level ever to say the least.)

6. Normally in the first day shows of a film, all the theater attendants, caretakers and torch-men are also very much interested in watching the new film, standing quietly along the wall with their eyes on the screen. But in a film such as GORI TERE PYAAR MEIN, even they walk out of theaters after an hour or so and never return back even post intervals.

7. When film-makers who perhaps have never been to any real village or remote areas, try to show a village in their film as per their forced-in script demand. Then it's pretty obvious that it turns out to be completely artificial, senseless and fake, since they haven't got the vision to portray such earthy elements on the screen in reality. And that is possibly the reason why GTPM truly becomes unbearable in its second half as it shifts into a fake village wherein a bridge is to be built in a pure LAGAAN or SWADES style by the star architect.

8. A film like GTPM does teach you a valuable lesson of life too, that sometimes even when there is everything available on the table to make a delicious dish, the cook still may make a silly mess out of it due to his over-confidence or no fear of a failure at all (read no-work) in the near future.

9. Lastly, GTPM strongly makes you wonder that did its makers really knew that for whom or for which target audience they were actually making this film and Why?

To end with, if a newcomer (or a struggler writer) would have gone to any of the production houses related with the film, with this SCRIPT in hand to make a movie on. Then either he would have got the rejection right away in hours or the script would have been thrown in the bin as soon as he has gone out of the office after reading only its few opening pages.

Anyway, searching for the only silver lining in this black cloud, there are 10 odd minutes of beautiful Shraddha Kapoor in the film, which are watchable. And in case you are too serious to watch her on the screen post AASHIQUI 2, then just see the film at a lower cost ticket before the intermission and simply walk away.

Punit Malhotra's 'Gori Tere Pyar Mein' is strictly time-pass entertainer, that sums up best as a one-time watch.

'Gori Tere Pyar Mein' Synopsis: A selfish shallow guy from a cosmopolitan city falls in love with a girl, who turns to be a social activist. Fun follows...

'Gori Tere Pyar Mein' has a breezy first-hour & a fairly okay second. The portions based in the cities are sparkling, but the portions in the second-hour, based prominently in a village, are plain ordinary. However, luckily, the film never gets boring.

The Screenplay appeals in bits & pieces. A stronger second-hour wouldn't have hurt. Punit Malhotra shows marked improvement over his debut film 'I Hate Luv Storys'. He has handled the film well. Cinematography is rich. Editing is average. Music by Vishal-Shekhar is excellent.

Performance-Wise: Imran Khan does a fair job. Kareena Kapoor Khan is just perfect. The immensely talented actress displays each emotion with great confidence & control. Shraddha Kapoor is passable. Anupam Kher entertains as the manipulative villain. Esha Gupta sizzles in a song.

On the whole, 'Gori Tere Pyar Mein' is watchable.

Rom-com flicks are one of genre which has not been experimented in Bollywood much lately. Gori Teri Pyaar Mein is refreshing change for Indian audiences who have witnessed an overdose of masala films in 2013.

Sriram Venkat(Played by Imran Khan) is good-for-nothing architect working in his dad's firm who has no respect for any relationships. Dia (played by Kareena Kapoor) is a social crusader who wants to help the needy. They fell in love only to break-up. However, Sriram travels to a remote village to build a bridge for the local people to win back his love at any cost.

From the director of "I Hate Love Story", Puneet Malhotra does a fine job in trying out something different. Though the love story is predictable, it is the treatment of subject that makes it set apart. The first half is hilarious, fun and has moments to remember. Second half begins with a bang but the climax makes it a spoilsport. How I wish it could be handled with maturity and overall it would have been a good rom-com to watch. Screenplay looses the steam and insertion of songs breaks the momentum of the film. Music by Vishal-Shekhar is a let down. Cinematography is eye-catching. Art direction is good. Dialogues are believable. Kareena Kapoor is the eye-candy of the film. She does an awesome job playing the social activist role with aplomb. Imraan Khan is good but still has to work on his expressions.

Overall, I liked the film and found it to be surprisingly fair entertainment. Good 3/5