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Marriage laws re-invented
Marriages
may be made in heaven, but they’re broken here on earth
by the NRIs; Indian lasses are more advanced and forthright
in matters of marriage than their American counterparts —
they’re engaged to one man and love  another.
The reason: the surname is difficult to pronounce. These are
some of the profound truths that Siddhivinayak Films’
latest social caper, Kahin Pyar Na Ho Jaaye seems to propagate.
The story is not in the least convincing, and the screenplay
seems to be a perfect example of too many cooks spoiling the
broth. Director Murali Mohan Rao has unfortunately made a
hash of the old, inspirational Hollywood musical. And despite
the presence of a good starcast, the film has opened to a
feeble response.
Prem (Salman Khan) is in love with Nisha (Raveena Tandon)
and the two are inseparable. Prem and his family, comprising
sister (Kashmira Shah) and brother-in-law (Mohnish Behl) vouch
for their relationship. Enter Priya (Rani Mukherji), a distant
cousin of Mona’s (Pooja Batra) who lives next door. Nisha
is struck with the NRI syndrome. She has an ailing brother
who has to be taken to the US for treatment. The only alternative
is to marry a rich NRI for the sake of her brother and she
does just that.
What a pity! A crestfallen Prem looks for an alternative love.
He takes a liking to Priya but dithers from expressing his
true feelings. Finally he bares his heart, but the very next
day, she hands him her engagement card with an NRI, Rahul
Pugaliya (Inder Kumar). Coincidentally, the chap happens to
be the same guy with whom Nisha was engaged. True to how NRIs
have been portrayed in our films, Rahul is projected as a
casanova who doesn’t have much time to spare for his
would-be wife. Priya starts loving Prem who by then, has made
a habit of hitting the bottle. Reenter Nisha to say she cannot
marry Rahul. Priya feels jilted on knowing that Nisha has
once again come into Prem’s life. She decides to marry
Rahul at, you guessed it, the Taj Mahal of Agra. Is there
any other place for people who are in love? Mona comes to
know of the misunderstandings, and everything is settled in
a mid air drama on the sojourn to Agra. All courtesy Air India!
Performance-wise, the film is just average, inspite of the
artistes delivering their best. The problem is the never-ending
twist in the story and the characterisation that dilutes these
performances. Salman Khan once again gives his best performance
but what he lacks is the correct emotion at the right moment.
He seems to raise laughter in certain serious situations in
the film. Rani Mukherji does a fair job and is at her best
in a full length role. She is quite natural and essays her
role to perfection though it doesn’t offer her anything
new. Raveena Tandon comes up with a very matured performance,
and does a fair job of whatever little is assigned to her.
Jackie Shroff as Salman’s buddy is wasted in an inconsequent
role. Pooja Batra tries to leave a favourable impression in
a role that doesn’t do any justice to her talent. She
is capable of doing more sensible roles. Monish Behl and Kashmira
Shah just about fit the bill. Shakti Kapoor in a cameo as
a pundit, manages to raise some laughter.
What appears to be a good story on paper hardly looks convincing
on screen. Director Murali Mohan Rao falls a victim of this
deceit. The twists in the film are so repetitive and cliched
that they hardly manage to leave an impression. It is hard
to fathom why the director chose this story at all, after
successfully exhibiting his talent in his earlier films. The
screenplay written by the quartet is an amateurish effort.
Music by Himesh Reshammiya rise above the standards of the
film, alright, but fails to provide any boost to an otherwise
boring film.
Padmaraj Nair
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