Gori Tere Pyaar Mein!

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.

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.

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.

I have no idea why this film has such average reviews and ratings online. It's got a good story, the film flows well, the actors are all great, the music is fantastic, what's not to like?

Kareena Kapoor is adorable in her role. Once again outshining her hero. This role reminded me of her character in Jab We Met - the free-spiritedness and zest for life! She's a go- getter. She inspires an entire community and is so charming in doing so.

It's a story about love, life and coming full circle.

Definitely recommended if you like Rom-Com's - this is one of the better ones out there. One of Kareena's most flawless performances.