When I started to watch the film, I was aware of the bad reviews this film had got for its excessive nudity and bad "acting" by Tanisha. I had read how the film puts off family audiences used to the sweet desi love stories that are a trademark of Yash chopra and Aditya Chopra films. And, the reviews said that Uday Chopra has a big Shahrukh complex.
So, when I started watching the film, I didn't have high expectations, I was quite prepared to switich off the DVD player and go to sleep if the film got too bad.
The film is indeed bad, but not in the way, the reviews in India explained it. And, I didn't switch off the DvD, I watched it right till the end.
Lets start with the story. Neal is going to get married and wants to have some fun, so decides to go to Vancouver, where he meets Nikki, who throws a spanner in his wheels everytime he is getting in the pants (or the skirt) of girl. Then Nikki asks him to act as if he is in love with her, so that she can take revenge on her ex-boyfriend, Trish. Finally between Neal and Nikki kuch kuch hota hai and they end up in bed, but the guys don't communicate very well and go their separate ways. Destiny brings them together because Neal is engaged to Nikki's cousin, who conveniently loves someone else so that finally N&N can clarify all their doubts, get married and live happily ever after.
Comments: The film is for testosterone high adolescents and there are any number of raunchy films like that with corny jokes and double meaning dialogue. The only difference is that they are american films. In Indian films, when they do have raunchy films for adolescents (and repressed men), the wives are all nice bhartiya naris and the naughty sex element is provided by other women after whom the men lust.I can understand their dismay that characterization of a pure bhartiya nari, a wife material, has been mixed up with the sexy other woman. She swigs vine from the bottle, points at the man's crotch and says that she wants a cork-screw, threatens that she is going to cut off his tiny little ... Not only, she wears skimpy clothes like the ones worn usually by the videshi blondes, doesn't mind showing off an oral sex misunderstanding & goes to bed with the boy she likes without marriage! And, then comes back to kiss her man hard on the lips. Must be a nightmare to the fragile male ego!
Films like this are very common, except that they are all american films and not desi films. So if it is such a liberation film for the bhartiya nari, why didn't I like it?
Because, it sucks. The story I mean.
6 May 2006
I was supposed to finish this mail long time ago. Any way, I didn't and now I have forgotten all about Neal & Nikki! Perhaps, it is better this way.
