Khoobsurat

I am a die hard Fawad Khan fan and watch anything he stars in. That being said, I must admit that this movie had its high points and low points. I could not help but think as I watched the film that it was too western in orientation for its audience and therefore a misfit in Indian cinema; it was so very disappointing! I gave it a seven because I am a fan of both Fawad Khan and Kirron Kher. This film was a waste of these two powerful actors talent.

Khoobsurat is one of Sonam Kapoor's best performances. It is about a happy-go-lucky physiotherapist who comes to a royal family's house to treat the family patriarch. How she treats her patient and interacts with the family is the rest of the story. Sonam Kapoor plays the bubbly Dr. Milli Chakravarty with ease. Her mannerisms and actions are absolutely hilarious and make this film a treat to watch. Today she is known more as a fashionista than as an actress. I believe this film will start to make everyone see her as a leading lady. Fawad Khan, who is a well known actor in Pakistani Cinema and Television, is great in his debut. He seems confident and he compliments Sonam Kapoor very well. His performance as the disciplined Vikram Rathore is something to watch out for. Ratna Pathak and Kirron Kher are great in their supporting roles and do not go unnoticed in the film. Overall this film is funny, romantic and makes a great date night movie. This film was not talked about as much as other films such as Haider and Queen, but I believe it should be because I think it is one of the top 10 movies of 2014. Catch it whenever you can and you will enjoy the film.

Khoobsurat- Actually a beautiful movie. no doubt the starting was a bit slow but the audience never gave up like Milli didn't and continue the treatment for Mr. Shekar. Sonam Kapoor's Every action had very natural effects in it. The way she sat, ate, laughed, walked, jumped hence everything she did was her true side. But, on the other hand the Royal Family had strict rules and for them Sonam was no less than a retarded Doctor. Fawad Khan like always has acted very well and his face expression were way too amazing. It is a MUST watch movie as The songs are worth listening to.

The cinematography rocked and undoubtedly everything was Magnificent.

Though I don't like Sonam Kapoor as an actress but I like her in this film and Neerja. It was fun film and nice light comedy.

Many would agree to the fact that this was one particular film which everyone was expecting to be a pretty bad remake of the famous Hrishikesh Mukherjee-Rekha classic having the same title (with different spellings) released in 1980.

But surprisingly that is not the case since the film is not at all a straight remake of the 80s path breaking film from any angle. And the major argument behind this declaration is that Hrishi Da's script was actually about a young energetic girl entering into the house of her newly-wed elder sister and dealing with her strict mother-in-law running the house with her own self-dictated discipline. Whereas the present 2014 official version is about a physiotherapy doctor visiting her client's royal mansion in Rajasthan, looked after by a strict mother and her young son, instead of her old disabled husband.

So where the original was about the in-laws and the new big family where an elder sister has been married in, the latter is about a completely stranger family and that too of only 4 members, without any traditional values to be taken care of other than the professional ethics of a doctor. And anyone living in India can easily understand that how difficult and different a script becomes when you are talking about the elder sister's in-laws confronted by the younger sister visiting the house for a few days in comparison of a doctor staying in her patient's mansion taking it as a professional assignment.

Hence clearing all doubts, Hrishi Da's unforgettable gem KHUBSOORAT stays untouched excelling in its own distinctive theme and Shashank Ghosh's current venture just revolves around the same basic plot but doesn't copy any of the original film sequences as it is, despite being an official version.

Moving over the remake status, the film begins interestingly with the elegant Fawad Khan and the hyper and ever-smiling (overdoing it) Sonam Kapoor as the (too) young physiotherapy doctor. It keeps moving at a good pace with an all likable feel before the interval and has only two avoidable, filmy sequences to put you off in its initial half. The first one is the below average and cheap song sequence of "Engine Ki Seeti" and the other is a ridiculous kidnapping scene which contributes just nothing. Still the overall enjoyable mood and few light comic moments manage to keep you engrossed and one forgets these pretty weak, silly insertions as it moves further.

Post interval the only factor which goes against the movie is that even if you haven't seen the original, you still exactly know what's going to happen next. But again this demerit of an all predictable progression gets smartly covered by two fine performances by Fawad Khan and Aamir Raza Hussain superbly along with few immensely likable, innovative songs composed well. Also the film gets a great support from its final 20 minutes which do have a killer scene between Fawad and Kirron Kher. And therefore what you take back home while moving out of the theater is a smile with 'no complaints' kind of feel despite having watched an all predictable film right from the word go.

Speaking specifically this is not a Sonam Kapoor film like the original was a Rekhamovie all the way. The new age version is more of a collective effort with some very important contributions coming from Fawad Khan, Aamir Raza Hussain, Kiron Kher and above all the intelligent, innovative background score which keeps the energy flowing. Few enjoyable sequences and entertaining dialogues offered at regular intervals lift up the film repeatedly and the two songs, "Naina" and "Jo Main Aisa Jaanti" (by Sneha) build up the mood in a beautiful manner. Plus whenever Sonam's ringtone says "Maa Ka Phone Aaya" it does make you laugh effortlessly. And here I am not talking about any of those commercial, deliberate tracks wrongly promoted on the channels instead of the other well-made songs in its soundtrack.

In the performance section, Sonam leads from the front as per the script but not as per the impact on the viewers. No doubt she is much better, bright and energetic from all her previous films, still her act largely remains dependent upon the supporting cast till the climax unlike the original. Also she strangely vanishes from the screen for a good amount of time towards the end, though everyone keeps talking about her as the center of attraction. Fawad Khan in his debut movie excels in the same way as he does in his serials. The boy certainly has a special controlled charm in his stylized performance that helps the film big time including the comedy sequences, especially in the climax. Ratna Pathak Shah suffers due to a confusingly written character and is no-where close to her mother doing the same role in the Hrishi da classic. Aamir Raza Hussain adds a lot to the overall impact of the film despite being limited to a wheel chair throughout. Kirron Kher, playing the Punjabi mother once again seems to be a bit loud at the beginning and I personally didn't like Sonam calling her by name with a "Tu- Tadaak" kind of approach in the film's opening moments. However the balancing scene in the end explained the importance of that particular approach quite entertainingly and I got my answer from the writers. Further capturing the outdoors and the big mansions as a part of the script, the DOP does its job skillfully and so does the supporting cast in a reasonable manner as required.

Summing up, this first presentation of Disney does have a routine, predictable script having few major drops too. However its young and lively feel, accompanied by some crisp editing, good performances and an innovative background score cover up its minuses well and result in a fairly enjoyable, clean family entertainer respectfully living up to the reputation earned by its title.