The movies story has been ripped off from the Hollywood Hit THE WEDDING DATE but no doubt “indianised”. The movie revolves around Anu(Priyanka Chopra) who is London based N.R.I who lives in Mumbai. She has hired Aman(Akshaye Khanna) to come back to London with her and pretend to be her boyfriend so that she can win back her ex boyfriend Danny(Dino Morea) by making him jealous. Anus sister Shirani(Amisha Patel) is about to get married to Gujrati named Kunal(Suniel Shetty). As luck would have it Danny turns out to be Kunals good friend and Anus plan starts to work slowly yet surely as Danny starts drawing closer to her. In the meantime Aman has secretly liking Anu. However just as things are going right for Anu a secret is revealed that will change things between Anu, Aman, Danny, Shirani and Kunal. Whats the secret? AAP KI KHATIR provides the answer!
The screenplay in the movie is shoddily written. The movie starts out well enough the the first hour in the movie really kicks off well with a nice pace, laden with some really good comic scenes and establishing of characters. However it’s the second half that the screenplay becomes extremely slipshod once the “misunderstanding” is revealed. Characters aren’t explained properly, and more-so the story is devoid of the much needed emotional touch needed in order to connect with the viewer, without which it just falls flat. Sunil Munshi seems more focussed in writing a flimsy plot which borrows heavily from other films including PYAAR TO HONA HI THA, MONSOON WEDDING and HUM AAPKE HAI KOUN. The fact-the final impact of the love story which is precisely the core of the movie comes across as weak as the viewer can’t decide how Anu gets over Danny so fast and falls in love with Aman. Is Aman just a rebound? Also why does Suniels character get so immature in the end despite been shown as so mature throughout?
Dharmesh Dharshan makes his “lightest: movie to date. He has always been an extremely overrated director IMO. Apart from LOOTERE and parts of DHADKAN I haven’t liked his other movies much, and in that sense I liked AAP KI KHATIR more than his previous works though that doesn’t say much. In interviews Dharshans aim was to make a light and frothy “date movie” and his attempts are clear from the outset that he wants to make a light-hearted fare which doesn’t take itself too seriously. However in the process I don’t think Dharshan has taken himself seriously at all either as he directs the movie in a relatively “flat” manner. The first one hour of the movie is no doubt the best part of the entire enterprise and the comic scenes/light hearted scenes work really well, and despite being weak they keep the viewer smiling and entertained. The second half falls over flat and gets worse from one moment to the next. The climax is a terrible letdown and leaves much to be desired for. Dharshans narrative style is no doubt relatively “fresh” however in his attempt to be more “hip” he has made a product that seems like a movie targeted at primarily the N.R.I audiences, which for the most seems force-fed. Also the whole “Punju/Gujju” angle gets rather annoying after a while. Granted that it was a good idea and the theme presented are very realistic as far as N.R.I’s go, however the treatment is amateurish and caricaturish. Above all Dharshans attempt at doing the Rajshri type family scenes lack the much needed touch. As far as love stories go this is Dharshans weakest love story yet as well, and it’s a pity as the movie starts out REALLY well and one wishes Dharshan had carried that through to the end as well instead of bowing down to conventions and ruining it for himself. Still some work to be done.
So what saves the movie from being an absolute disaster? Well, two words…Akshaye Khanna! I’ve always been a huge fan of Khanna, and his ability to transform the most poorly etched characters into something else, and in the process elevating the most mediocre movies to a watchable status is simply amazing and he does it again in AAP KI KHATIR. One of the most natural actors we have in Bollywood today, Khanna slips into this role with effortless ease and brings the right amount of smug charm and comedy needed. Right from the very first frame he appears he forms with a bond with the viewer and it’s simply hard not to like his character. From his cheeky dialogues to his goofy smile…they all hit the right notes. His “Lokandhwala” dialogues all raise a smile and its simply amazing how excellent Khannas timing is even in the simplest scenes. Which brings me to his choices. His choices in movies have been bugging me for a while now. Granted that he has shown a penchant for comedy of late and delivered successes with HUNGAMA and HULCHUL, however one seriously wonders why he signed movies like SHAADI SE PEHLE and 36, CHINATOWN? In both cases, the movies were salvaged simply by Khannas presence and performance(the latter more than the former which was just unwatchable) and in that sense AAP KI KHATIR falls into the same category although it’s a better movie than SHAADI SE PEHLE by a far far stretch! One just hopes Khanna gets a role which does justice to his talent with films like SALAAM-E-ISHQ, GANDHI, MY FATHER and his much talked about remake of the Tamil Hit AUTOGRAPH.
Priyanka Chopra is OK in her parts. The girl no doubt looks dazzling and possesses a good screen presence though her performance is simply OK. She annoys in the initial portions of the movie but impresses as the movie progresses further. Her delivery and diction both is good, however she needs to work on her emotional scenes and her comic scene a bit more. Her chemistry with Khanna is good!
Amisha Patel is just OK. One surprises to find her playing a second fiddle to Priyanka here as the role is rather flimsy, however I was even more surprised to find her give a totally controlled performance, and even in the emotional scenes she hits the right notes. The best thing is that she doesn’t do her whole “crying like shes dying” routine which is simply atrocious. After a great act in ANKAHEE, this is again proof that maybe Amisha Patel has improved for the better?
Dino Morea is good in his part. He looks suave and plays his rather “slimeball” character really well. Though it seemed like director Dharmesh Dharshan was two ways about whether he wanted to show Dino as a negative or positive character which seemed like a bit of a compromise as it would’ve been more fun to have Dino play the negative part with much more zest!
Suniel Shetty is totally and utterly miscast in his role. After a really pathetic attempt at playing a Gujrati in CHUP CHUP KE, he does it again in AAP KI KHATIR and once again makes a mess out of it. He simply doesn’t look the character he is playing either, however in saying that he does have a good screen presence and plays his part with conviction. Newcomer Bhumicka Singh doesn’t leave much of an impression in her debut, and just flaunts her rather uneven figure in tight/short clothes.
The supporting cats are apt in their parts. I said it the other day, and I will say it again..it’s fantastic to see Anupam Kher back on the screen in a variety of roles. Some of these roles aren’t as meaty as his ones in MAINE GANDHI KO NAHINM AARA and KHOSLA KA GHOSLA, but those roles/films only come once in a while. In AAP KI KHATIR he plays his “father” routine really well and excels in the comic scenes with some great timing as well as superb scenes with Khanna. Lilette Dubey is her usual fantastic self. Tiku Talsania, Kamini Khanna and co. seem forced and don’t raise any laughs.
Music in a Dharmesh Dharshan film is always fantastic, though once Nadeem-Shravan split up there was always a question of who would fill those shoes? Who else but Himmesh Reshammiya! And as expected the outcome is a job well done. The songs are all upbeat and funky and match well with what Dharshan was trying to make here. Both the title tracks, I LOVE YOU FOR WHAT YOU ARE, MEETHI MEETHI BATAN, TU HAI KAMAL,ASFANA and KEH DO NA are all melodious and work well in the movie however the picturisations could’ve been more imaginative.
Technically the movie is slick! The cinematography by W.B Rao has the right look and feel needed for the movie.
All up AAP KI KHATIR is simply an average movie which mainly fails due to a weak screenplay which takes it’s viewers for granted. However the movie is salvaged to the “watchable” status simply due to a extremely charming and likeable performance by Akshaye Khanna in top form yet again in a movie that doesn’t deserve him.
Final Rating: * * ¾
