[Sopzoozyren]

nice

[KignPeeseeamn]

Story:

An architect Rahul Kapoor (Imran Khan) and hairstylist Raina Braganza (Kareena Kapoor) are strangers and jobless. The duo happen to bump into each other on the Christmas Eve and eventually get high on drinks. But hell breaks loose for society conscious Rahul (who hails from an elite class), when he discovers himself married to Raina the next morning. On the contrary, free-spirited Raina is super-chilled about the situation, which surprises Rahul, but later he falls for this very quality of Raina. Instead of feeling awkward, they become thick friends and file a divorce in the court. Raina introduces him to her family and deeply in love with Raina; Rahul gets the second blow when Raina shows no inclination towards HIM as far as love is concerned. What happens next is an interesting watch.



Story Treatment:

Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu begins on a thin note, as it looks like a replica of Hollywood flick What Happens In Vegas, courtesy the accidental marriage aspect but, in due course the story takes a new turn. But, again, one can find traces of Jab We Met and Anjaana Anjaani in the screenplay which makes it quite conventional. The film however, is full of surprises post interval with various powerful moments which are quite mind-boggling. Watch out for the scene where Imran confronts his parents about his real feelings and later, seeks apology from Kareena which is complemented with an equally mesermerising act from actress’s end.




Star Cast:

Kareena surpasses the expectations by her performance, which is par excellence. Though, she dominates most of the times as a chirpy and lively character, which is her forte; Imran too doesn’t withhold as he beautifully switches lanes from being timid to being assertive. Boman Imrani as Imran’s father fits in the bill perfectly, but at times is boring with his patent expressions. Ditto goes for Imran’s mother, Ratna Pathak who brings the memories of Sarabhai V/s Sarabhai on big screen. Ram Kapoor in small, but pivotal role pulls it off nicely.



Direction:

The climax of the film justifies the entire narration and why the characters react in a certain way thus, initial verdict, a ****tail of many films falls flat. The director could have taken the liberty of adding new elements to the film, which would have made it a flawless venture. The director makes it up for the missing chemistry between Imran-Kareena as he showcases one-sided love. A wonderful moment is created when real-life sweethearts Imran-Avantika do a cameo in the song 'Auntyji'.



Music/ Cinematography/ Dialogues/Editing:

Music speaks volumes and goes with the flow of the story but can’t make it to chartbusters list, besides the title song. Cinematography is ‘A’ class. Dialogues are too casual that leaves them slightly punch-less at certain occasions. Editing is the saviour as it keeps the film short and crisp.




3 Ups and 3 Downs: Stunning performances, editing, cinematography and extremely unique climax makes it a special film. Monotonous approach towards story-writing and screenplay along with music are the drawbacks.



Overall, Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu is a typical popcorn entertainer with super-amazing climax, which puts it in a different league altogether.

[Liaptoono]

She is fun, feisty and ….well, full-on. He needs to loosen up. Urgently!! Son of two stuffed-up high-society mannequins Rahul Kapoor is a repressed child going into depressive manhood. Since this is a rom-com, and one sparkling with vigour with warmth and what-have-youth, you know Rahul will meet Ms Fun-Feisty-Full-On before Reel 1 is done.

“Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu”(EMAET) comprises a series of elegantly-written, confident but never in-your-face scenes about what happens when two opposites meet in a city as all-embracing as Las Vegas. Of course, sparks fly.

But neither Kareena Kapoor nor Imran Khan is in a hurry to set off a combustive fire. There is a whole lot of tranquility in the way the relationship between the firebrand and the nerd is built. The rough edges are largely sacrificed on the editing table. The progression of the relationship is seamless and smooth.

Unlike, say, Siddharth Anand’s “Anjaana Anjaani” where the on-screen rapport between the protagonists suffered because one of the actors was constantly trying to steal scenes from the other, here neither Kareena nor Imran is in a hurry to hijack a single moment from one another. This is one of the most immaculately cast romantic comedies in recent times.

Sure, Kareena has an edge. Her character is less passive than Imran’s and she has some of the film’s best lines. The actress, back in form after two marginalized mammoth odes to machismo (“Bodyguard”, “Ra.One”) turns in a perfectly-modulated performance. Her character is not so much a portrait of warmth and radiance as it is an illustration of perfect asymmetry. Here’s a woman who enjoys the chaos that she creates in her universe. She lives by her own rules. And before the film is done she teaches Imran Khan’s character how to tell your parents to buzz off before it’s too late. Rules be stuffed down the toilet.

Imran is good at playing the attentive, obedient, faithful boyfriend. He did the invisible-halo act effectively in “Jaane Tu…Ya Jaane Na”, “Break Ke Baad” and “Mere Brother Ki Dulhan”. He does it even better here, probably because of the company he keeps in this film.

There are episodes in this boy-meets-girl, girl-tweaks-boy’s-life saga that leave you smiling for a very long time. Indeed EMAET is a high-concept ever-grin mellow-drama. You just can’t stop grinning at the sparkling warmth and the cute quips shared by the lead pair.

Curiously, debutant director Shakun Batra opts for an open ending. Finally we only know that some day Rahul might win the feisty Rihana over. But here’s the glimmer of hope. Even if he doesn’t win her over he gets to keep her company for as long as they share a common ground.

Here is a film that doesn’t score high on ground-breaking ideas on romantic relationships. Instead it weaves itself into commonplace ideas on love romance and commitment and comes up with vignettes of terrific sincerity. A lot of the film’s gently persuasive energy comes from the discernible respect that the lead pair has for each other’s space as actors. No one-upmanship here, thank you. Boman Irani and Ratna Pathak Shah too are delightful as Imran’s la-di-dah parents. They reminded me of Pran and Sonia Sahni in Raj Kapoor’s “Bobby”. In comparison Kareena’s Catholic family comes across as too casual to be real.

Within two weeks Dharma Productions has given us two diametrically opposite genres of cinema from two debutant directors. If Karan Malhotra’s “Agneepath” took us back to the grand formulistic revenge drama of the 1970s EMAET takes us into the future of Bollywood where actors don’t have to sing. They don’t have to act. They just have to be as normal as people in love tend to be.

This is a perceptibly urbane love story, told in a style shorn of gimmicks. There is no attempt to capture our attention. The narrative gets us watching without getting sweaty with anxiety.

A very chilled-out romcom indeed.