Love in Transition

The promise that Ranbir Kapoor displayed in Saawariya, his debut venture, has been duly fulfilled in this breezy, urbane tale of love and longing, set against a come-of-age backdrop of 21st century twenty-something Indians. Here is a crackling bunch of gals and guys who mirror the mores and manners of modern India. And leading the bratpack, or should we say, carrying the film through, is the smart and superbly relaxed Ranbir Kapoor who proves he's a complete natural before the camera.

It's a three-track love story, relayed in a delectable style which unabashedly pays homage to Yash Raj productions signature film ‘Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge’. Ranbir Kapoor plays a newage Raj and takes off where Shah Rukh Khan left in DDLJ. This is not the greatest YRF movie, but it may be sufficient to get them their first hit of this year and break the jinx of a series of flops. The gist of the story is truly captivating; the guy is a complete flirt, he wears his heart on his sleeve. Enter three women in different stages of his life. Love is in the air. Two dream of marrying him, but he ditches them and the third, whom he intends marrying, says a blunt 'No' to the offer. Heart-broken, the guy realizes his folly. He goes back to the first two women and apologises. It’s a reasonably mature look at relationships and gives women believable roles to play. ‘Bachna Ae Haseeno’ bears an uncanny resemblance to the yesteryear film ‘Teen Devian’ starring Dev Anand, Nanda, Simi Grewal and also a recent hit Telugu film ‘Autograph’ starring Raviteja and Bhoomika. On the whole, ‘Bachna Ae Haseeno’ has an interesting first half, but a weak second half spoils the film which had lot of potential.

Ranbir Kapoor has grown from ‘Saawariya’ to ‘Bachna Ae Haseeno’. He handles emotional scenes now with more flair and comfortability. His comic timing is great and he comes across as a dashing young man with a heart of a romantic and he plays the role with aplomb. In just his second film Ranbir Kapoor shows why he is touted as one of the best newcomers. Finally, Bollywood gets its new chocolate boy. Bipasha Basu as usual sizzled on the screen throughout, maybe because she has a better written role. Minisha Lamba was inconsistent but good in parts. Deepika Padukone gives a super confident performance and that too just in her second film! Kunal Kapoor has delivered a knock out (pun intended) performance as a surprise element in the film. Hiten Paintal is a revelation, a talent to watch out for.

Siddharth Raj Anand offers stunning visuals and extracts some really fine performances, but is highly letdown by the script in the second half. Three songs stand out, the classic ‘Bachna Ae Haseeno’ ‘Lucky Boy’ and ‘Khuda Jaane’. The cinematography is fantastic; the locales have been beautifully captured.

If you have followed the news, you would be aware that Katrina Kaif was also a part of ‘Bachna Ae Haseeno’. Her role was eventually chopped off as the running time of the film was going well over 3 hours. I am very curious to know what her role in the movie actually was?!