Mere Brother ki Dulhan(My borther's wife) Hindi Bollywood film Review, Johnson Thomas-Rating: * *

Hindi Film ReviewJohnson ThomasNot for me this dull-hanFilm: Mere brother Ki DulhanCast: Imran Khan, Ali Zafar, Katrina Kaif, Kanwwaljiit Singh, Parikshat SahniDirector: Ali Abbas ZafarRating: * *This Yashraj medium budget quickie marks the writing and directing debut of Ali Abbas Zafar-but by no means is it a distinguished one. The film lacks fizz , is impossibly flat and uninteresting and except for the cuteness quotient of the triangular leads Imran , Katrina and Ali Zafar, there is nothing much on offer here. Yashraj specialises in romance so that is the top-most ingredient in the film and there’s a little comedy- too awkward and painful to smile about, thrown in for good measure? The set-up bears similarities to ‘Tanu weds Manu’ in a sense. Dimple(Katrina) is the bad girl with a heart of gold, Khush(Imran) is the straight as arrow young brother of the dulha Luv(Ali Zafar)-a consummate bad-good mix with Dev Anand’s pitch, tone and mannerisms. Now how they come together to form a triangle is the odious part. Luv has just had a tiff with his live-in girlfriend Piyali(Tara D’souza)- their tirade specifying their incompatibility. His lateness and tardiness against her becoming more Indian than what she was when he first met her- and the film immediately announces their break-up. Minutes after, he rings up his brother Khush(Imran) and makes a command request for a bride from India(contrary to what he expressed in his tirade against Piyali), then declaring that he is tired of videshi London Born Confused Desis. He tells his assistant-director-in-films, brother to make the search as he believes his brother’s tastes are the same as his(both apparently liked Madhuri Dixit when they were kids). Now why would someone so liberal in his thinking, savvy in outlook, who lives and works in London make such an outmoded and incredible request? The inconsistencies in this script are confounding. The pop-cine references in dialogue and plot do not help perk-up the narrative either. When Dimple(Katrina) assays her disgust with the fast life –something to the effect ‘Main potty, potty(she meant party, party I guess) jate thak gayi hoon’ – it’s time for a big guffaw. The rest is childish humour that comes and goes even before you can take notice.Mr Nice guy goes in search of his bother’s ideal dulhan(bride) and we are treated to a visual serenade of likely candidates in song, dance and awful close-ups, until the call from the right one comes, following a full-page picture classified in a leading daily. Off goes Khush with his mom to check out the proposal but Khush is in for a surprise. Dimple , the girl in question , is a London born and bred Indian girl whose father (Kanwaljit) retired from the foreign service. She also happens to be someone he met five years back while on a picnic with his college mates. Did they fall in love then? No. That was a chance meeting and they went their separate ways. 5 years later he persuades her to marry his brother and she readily agrees. The stage is set for them to spend a lot of time together, get to know each other better and fall in love too- to allow the narrative to ensue in some belaboured drama. And it’s not a funny sight at all. A day before the engagement Dimple expresses her doubts about her choice to Khush. A day after the engagement, Khush delivers his surprise declaration of love. Dimple suggests they run away but Khush, a wannabe Shah Rukh Khan from ‘Pardes,DDLJ’ claims he is committed to making his and her folks accept their togetherness without resorting to such a drastic step. Thereafter it takes some heavy duty manipulation on the part of writer-director and actors to arrive at a happily ever after finale.Ali Abbas Zafar, who is originally from Dehradun sets the story in and around Dehradun, Delhi and Agra. The Taj Mahal is a consistent motif abused unabashedly to underline the romantic overtures between the lead pair, especially when there is simply no zing in the air around them. The chemistry between Imran and Katrina is non-existent and it feels like banded labour when you have to watch the two broker a relationship in the back-drop of a twisted end-play that is stagey and uninteresting. The characters are all flaky, dimensionless and totally uninteresting. Performances appear stilted (Imran), awkward(Ali Zafar) and in Katrina’s case the effort to appear bohemian shows. Her sweet, Barbie doll looks don’t gel with the bad-girl persona that she forces herself to be in this film. Her gyrations looks awkward and painful too. It’s really not entertaining seeing her aim for a perky performance when the resultant appears well short of energy and is several yards off the mark.. The music is mediocre , the background score terribly lacklustre and the direction just doesn’t have a cohesive force enough to energise. Phew! Not for me this dull-han!Johnsont307@gmail.com