ashdoc
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Ever since ' Hum aapke hai kaun ' became such a superhit 20 years ago , showing marriage in movies has become the staple for Bollywood entertainment . Endless number of movies are made showing scenes of marriage and the rituals and customs associated with it . Indian audiences simply love the feelgood atmosphere of marriage ceremonies and the feast of colour that is displayed by people wearing extravagant clothes while dancing to loud music in the festivities of marriage . But usually the story has other angles like scheming relatives or villains or some dramatic event that forms the turning point in the movie .
This movie takes the Indian obsession with marriage in movies further by showing the ordinary story of the fixing of a marriage between two lovebirds . Other than the fact that the two lovers belong to different states and cultures in India , there is nothing interesting about the story . Nothing dramatic happens , there is no sudden twist in the story and above all there are no bad people or villains playing mayhem . Even the fact that the two lovers belong to diverse cultures is diluted for me by the fact that I have seen countless such marriages happen in a cosmopolitan city like Mumbai where I was born and raised and this sort of thing is not new for me .
Inspite of this the director does manage to hold your attention especially in the first half when romance blossoms---and it blossoms so effortlessly that you wonder why everybody doesn't have a love marriage....
And the romance blossoms in the rarefied atmosphere of IIM Ahmedabad---the premiere management institute of the country where the people are highly intelligent and their views and attitudes are above the ordinary....
So is it such a surprise that love makes a beeline to the bedroom and soon the lovers are Kissing and sleeping together....
And is it such a surprise that the dress code for the heroine ( Alia Bhatt ) consists of modern western clothes which expose some of her lovely flesh....
But once the education is over and the lovers are out of the hi fi campus of IIM Ahmedabad , they are back in the welter of backwardness that is the real India....
.....And this welter of backwardness contains parents who belong to a different and earlier generation and who are not exactly comfortable with the idea of marriage between different states and different cultures .
The words ' not exactly comfortable ' are important here---for unlike other movies , there is no dramatic opposition to the marriage by anyone . No major battle takes place or any blood is spilled . But there is initial hesitation by parents on both sides and a major culture clash always seems to be on the cards....
To be honest the movie does tilt towards the side of south Indian Tamils ( Alia Bhatt's ethnicity in the film ) by showing the tamils to be more civilized than hero Arjun Kapoor's parents---the Punjabis....
.....For Arjun's father is shown beating his mother like typical punjabi male . And like a typical punjabi , he is forever drinking....
Punjabis are shown to be greedy for dowry and gifts from the girl's side . And they bring racism in by frowning upon the tamilians as dark skinned while they pride themselves on having fair skin .
You almost empathize with Alia's tamil mother when she herself shows some narrowmindedness and scoffs at punjabis as ' uncultured '.....
So how is the culture clash that almost happened is just avoided ??
And does everything end well ??
Watch the movie for that....
The movie has good acting by Alia Bhatt who looks good enough to eat . But her dress code changes from western to ethnic once out of IIM Ahmedabad . Why so ?? Modern Indian women wear western clothes even after marriage don't they ?? Anyway she looks good in both clothes , though do I show typical Indian male mentality by saying she looks better in Indian clothes---I wonder....
Arjun Kapoor is decent and his acting is improving , though it does not match Alia's acting . Music is only so so .
The second half of the movie is less fun filled than the first half and in some scenes is somewhat depressing . The fact that Arjun's father is forever scowling and his relation with Arjun and Arjun's mother is fraught with tension is not a great sight to see . But some scenes in the first half are heartening to watch---especially when Arjun proposes to the whole of Alia's family bringing engagement rings for all of them rather than her alone....
In the end , one must applaud the director for bringing an ordinary love story to life by making it appear more interesting than it actually is....
Verdict---Good .
This movie takes the Indian obsession with marriage in movies further by showing the ordinary story of the fixing of a marriage between two lovebirds . Other than the fact that the two lovers belong to different states and cultures in India , there is nothing interesting about the story . Nothing dramatic happens , there is no sudden twist in the story and above all there are no bad people or villains playing mayhem . Even the fact that the two lovers belong to diverse cultures is diluted for me by the fact that I have seen countless such marriages happen in a cosmopolitan city like Mumbai where I was born and raised and this sort of thing is not new for me .
Inspite of this the director does manage to hold your attention especially in the first half when romance blossoms---and it blossoms so effortlessly that you wonder why everybody doesn't have a love marriage....
And the romance blossoms in the rarefied atmosphere of IIM Ahmedabad---the premiere management institute of the country where the people are highly intelligent and their views and attitudes are above the ordinary....
So is it such a surprise that love makes a beeline to the bedroom and soon the lovers are Kissing and sleeping together....
And is it such a surprise that the dress code for the heroine ( Alia Bhatt ) consists of modern western clothes which expose some of her lovely flesh....
But once the education is over and the lovers are out of the hi fi campus of IIM Ahmedabad , they are back in the welter of backwardness that is the real India....
.....And this welter of backwardness contains parents who belong to a different and earlier generation and who are not exactly comfortable with the idea of marriage between different states and different cultures .
The words ' not exactly comfortable ' are important here---for unlike other movies , there is no dramatic opposition to the marriage by anyone . No major battle takes place or any blood is spilled . But there is initial hesitation by parents on both sides and a major culture clash always seems to be on the cards....
To be honest the movie does tilt towards the side of south Indian Tamils ( Alia Bhatt's ethnicity in the film ) by showing the tamils to be more civilized than hero Arjun Kapoor's parents---the Punjabis....
.....For Arjun's father is shown beating his mother like typical punjabi male . And like a typical punjabi , he is forever drinking....
Punjabis are shown to be greedy for dowry and gifts from the girl's side . And they bring racism in by frowning upon the tamilians as dark skinned while they pride themselves on having fair skin .
You almost empathize with Alia's tamil mother when she herself shows some narrowmindedness and scoffs at punjabis as ' uncultured '.....
So how is the culture clash that almost happened is just avoided ??
And does everything end well ??
Watch the movie for that....
The movie has good acting by Alia Bhatt who looks good enough to eat . But her dress code changes from western to ethnic once out of IIM Ahmedabad . Why so ?? Modern Indian women wear western clothes even after marriage don't they ?? Anyway she looks good in both clothes , though do I show typical Indian male mentality by saying she looks better in Indian clothes---I wonder....
Arjun Kapoor is decent and his acting is improving , though it does not match Alia's acting . Music is only so so .
The second half of the movie is less fun filled than the first half and in some scenes is somewhat depressing . The fact that Arjun's father is forever scowling and his relation with Arjun and Arjun's mother is fraught with tension is not a great sight to see . But some scenes in the first half are heartening to watch---especially when Arjun proposes to the whole of Alia's family bringing engagement rings for all of them rather than her alone....
In the end , one must applaud the director for bringing an ordinary love story to life by making it appear more interesting than it actually is....
Verdict---Good .
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