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Paresh Rawal's one-man act
Kehtaa Hai Dil Baar Baar's supporting cast fail to match up to the veteran actor
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Sukanya Verma
Kehtaa Hai Dil Baar Baar does not make you laugh. Kehtaa Hai Dil Baar Baar does not make you cry.
The Friday fare this week will leave you going, whatever.
I did. This is why: there are three principal characters in KHDBB.
Rojer Patel (Paresh Rawal) is revealing his rags-to-riches story. Patel came to US from Gujarat with dollar dreams in his eyes. Much hardships later, Patel is now an illustrious businessman and owns a chain of motels in Edison, New Jersey (for the more uninitiated, non-Indians need a visa to enter the place, since it is choc-a-bloc with desis).
Patel is a shrewd entrepreneur. He is also a pathetic miser, and he makes no bones about it.
The only person who gets to view his soft side is daughter Ritu (a surprisingly decent Kim Sharma). Ritu is a paediatrician in New York, converses in chaste Hindi with clueless phirang kids. Incidentally, the kids always comprehend what she says.
She bumps into Sundar Kapoor (Jimmy Shergill). He has his own story to tell. Despite being a merit-holding medicine student, Sundar opts to turn chef. That is because he wants to eradicate the primary cause of disease --- unhygienic food. Therefore begins a mobile fast food restaurant, India on Wheels, which serves all kinds of Indian delicacies in NY.
Interestingly there is not a single shot of Sundar slicing, dicing or cooking. In fact he is shown urinating in a beer bottle, which is guzzled down by an American who then asks for more. Hygienic indeed!
Now, Ritu the paediatrician falls for this man and she tells her father about this new development. Patel is miffed that his daughter has chosen a roadside cook and a non-Gujarati for life partner.
He invites Sundar to spend a week at his traditional Gujju household. With his elder daughter's wedding just around the corner, it gives him a perfect excuse to investigate Sundar inside out. Thereafter, Patel makes it a point to make the latter's life miserable.
And all hell breaks loose when Patel discovers Sundar was married earlier to help a friend get a Green Card.
The premise of Kehtaa Hai Dil Baar Baar is promising even as it seeks inspiration from Jay Roach's Robert De Niro-Ben Stiller comedy Meet The Parents, and then ineffectively apes Aditya Chopra's Diwale Dulhania Le Jayenge.
De Niro and Stiller's chemistry in the English film relied mostly on timing and inventiveness. Here, a feeble script and Shergill's dullness cripple Paresh Rawal's one-man show. Unfortunate that a brilliant actor like Rawal has to make do with this fare.
An inexperienced star cast, barring Rawal and Johnny Lever (minus his trademark funny oneliners), lack of crisp humor and engaging screenplay are some of the immediate flaws that go against KHDBB. This movie has everyone doing their own thing, almost.
One positive factor about this film is its soothing melody by Jatin-Lalit, especially Chand taare. Shot entirely in the States, KHDBB is also visually appealing. Right from the intimidatingly fascinating skyline and the lush greenery of interior New Jersey, to the now nonexistent Twin Towers, KHDBB covers it all.
A helpful suggestion: A Gujju thali would be more wholesome than watching this mish mash of a film.
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