Gori Tere Pyaar Mein!

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.

And the film has two-two and a half clichéd points to make. You can only imagine how bad the movie and the cast performance are when the characters themselves are required to enlighten us about who the hero is. Terrible!

Not accounting to Punit Malhotra's previous & future blunders, this film strikes few brownie points here and there. The best thing was to cast Shraddha Kapoor as Imran Khan's fiancée and boy, does she do good. Kareena Kapoor, as an aunt figure, is passable. The hero (a bad moniker) should stay away from Tinseltown.

As to the story, it has nothing new to deliver. Just an hypocrite environmentalist who travels to make a point just because his ex pointed it out. Then the camera turns to how the good guy tries to woe his girl Friday in front of a village by bridging the gap with a pool bridge by fighting the corrupt state of affairs. Whoa! for the second part of the film, I just stared into the screen wondering why the hell did they make this movie? And when such an expression is born, you know what the verdict is. Poor attention to details, poor cinematography, poor editing.

BOTTOM LINE: First part will make you laugh 3-4 times and for Shraddha Kapoor, I rate it 4.2/10. Songs make up 30 minutes and there is not a single reason why you should spend 300 bucks for this stupidity.

Can be watched with a typical Indian family? YES

Sex/Foreplay: No | Nudity/Porn: No | Violence: Mediocre | Gore: No | Smoking/Alcohol: Mild | Drugs: No

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.

Director Mr. Punit Malhotra work is good. His approach towards a love story is convincing. Director and Arshad Sayed has written it. Story is very simple. Screenplay is fresh and good. Dialogues by Arshad Sayed, are witty. Few scenes are very good, i.e the first meeting of lead pair, black comedy at the time of funeral, hero interview with heroine father, interval scene. All these scenes are well written and well executed. Credit goes to director and writer especially. Even they try to convey some message, which is extra advantage. Movie slows down after interval for sometime otherwise it remains on a moderate pace throughout. Performance wise Imran Khan is OK. Kareena Kapoor is very good. Shardha Kapoor in brief role is fine. Vineet Singh is noticeable. Anupam Kher is very good. Music is not up to mark, which is usually required in a romantic movie.

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