Anitha S
Daijiworld Media Network - Entertainment
Rating: 1.5

Mangalore, Sep 10: As you watch the title song of Ali Abbas Zafar's 'Mere Brother Ki Dulhan', you would have a sense of deja vu - Imran Khan doing the popular Salman towel dance, followed by DDLJ-like running after the train and hopping in thanks to a 'helping hand', and then again a Chaiyya-Chaiyya kind of performance on top of the train, all put together and mixed in one song.

The take on the Khans might have been deliberate, but that's how the rest of the movie is - a mix up, with nothing really new or special, run-of-the-mill love triangle with a little London polish, a number of songs popping up now and then, and a customary 'twist in the tale', all making up a masala movie with some ingredients falling short, and some too much. What does stand out is Katrina's role, which is really different, and for a change, centred around her.

Plot

Luv (Ali Zafar), described as a 'casanova' breaks up with his girlfriend Piali (Tara D'Souza) in London and in the spur of the moment, decides to finally get married. He assigns the task of searching a bride for him to his brother Kush (Imran Khan) who is an assistant director in the film industry. Kush heads back to his hometown Dehradun, and the hunt for a girl for his London brother begins. What follows is a string of prospective brides and their fathers comically trying to impress Kush, all in vain.

Then comes along Dimple Dixit (Katrina Kaif), who we come to know has had a change from a being wacky rock chick some five years ago when Kush had first met her, to a more demure middle-class, mature girl ready for arranged marriage. Being the extremely outgoing (to the point of being irritating at times) but honest girl, she is at once accepted by Luv and his family, and over the course of marriage arrangements, a chemistry is formed between Kush and Dimple, which, as expected, they realize only too late.

The first half of the movie is rather slow, while the second moves with a better pace. The latter half is all about how Kush and Dimple and their friends come up with various plans, including getting everyone drunk and later bringing Luv's old flame Piali into the picture, to make their own marriage happen. Kush, the good boy of the family, is against eloping, but is intelligent enough to come up with other plans. The part where their fathers get convinced over a ride in a car is rather silly and affected, much as the rest of the movie.

The Movie

Ali Abbas Zafar seems to be rather confused between 'middle-class' values and that of the 'high society' - on the one hand you have the concept of arranged marriage all over, with more than one lecture on middle class values, and on the other, you have Dimple's 'simple' parents letting her go all insane, even arrested, and spend the night out with the brother-in-law to be and get stupidly drunk. You do not really know what to make out of it all, so it's best not to dwell too much on it.

The script is ordinary, and dialogues could have been more witty. The film and its characters try hard to be funny, but the humour falls flat at times. There is a song every now and then, with all the colours and dance and celebrations that define Yashraj Films, and the one song that you might really enjoy is 'Madhubala,' where everybody gets drunk on UP bhaang.

Performances

It is Katrina's movie all the way, no doubt, and predictably so, given the title of the movie. She has managed her role well, but at times gets too annoying and over the top, like during the scooter ride scene when you almost feel like telling her to shut up. Somehow, she seems most comfortable in her rockstar avatar, which really goes well with her personality.

Ali Zafar is sadly under-used, given his immense talent. There's nothing much he could do with a script like this anyway, and in the absence of wit, most of his comedy is restricted to facial expressions which do not really work every time. He tries hard at being a Londoner-Indian, which is far from impressive.

Imran Khan is the only one in control of his character and brings some balance to the movie. Though he looks lost and confused at times, I liked him the best, both for the maturity he renders to the character and for his comic timing. And that is saying a lot, because maturity is one factor that is lacking in all the other characters, even those mature in age. Neverthless, the chemistry between Imran and Katrina doesn't seem believable. Not a hit pair by any means, at least here.

Kanwaljeet and Parikshit Sahni are fine, but without much to do. John Abraham's guest appearance is totally pointless. Tara D'Souza does a decent job.

Verdict

The movie is a masala entertainer, if you are willing to overlook and forgive Katrina for being too hyper, and Ali for the same reason. If you are the kind who likes a colourful song and dance every five-ten minutes, this is the movie for you. Don't expect much and you may even end up liking it.