Review

Chal Mere Bhai
Haven’t we seen it all before?

Two brothers fall in love with the same girl. So? One has to sacrifice his love. Ok. Who will it be? Both take turns. Haven’t we seen this story an umpteen times before? Yet filmmakers don’t seem to tire of it, assuring us that their treatment will be different. At least, that’s what producer Nitin Manmohan and David Dhawan had promised, in their latest flick Chal Mere Bhai. Rest assured, the film is as stale as they come. Predictable situations are the order of the day.

Sapna (Karisma Kapoor, wonder why she has to be Sapna in every film) comes to Mumbai in search of a job. She’s staying with her mama (Shakti Kapoor) and mami (Himani Shivpuri), but the mami is eager to throw her out of the house. Sapna goes for an interview, but is rejected by her prospective employer Vicky Oberoi, because she doesn’t know shorthand and typing, qualifications absolutely necessary for a secretary’s job. But Balraj Oberoi (Dalip Tahil), chairman of the company, who also happens to be Vicky’s father, is moved by her plight and employs her.

Prem Oberoi (Salman Khan, and he has to be Prem in every film, too) is an aspiring actor working with Sapna’s mama. Sapna meets him on the first day of her work when she forcefully gets him to drop her at the office in his car. He realises she’s working for his brother Vicky. The way Sapna goes about doing things, one can’t make out whether she is dumb or whether Vicky makes her nervous.

Anyway, once she saves Vicky’s life and is rewarded with a picnic with his family to a farmhouse. Now, Vicky’s dadima (Sushma Seth), with the help of Sapna’s mami starts matchmaking between Vicky and Sapna. Vicky who was in love with Sonali Bendre - in a guest appearance - does not want to get married since the time he’s lost her in an accident. Meanwhile, Prem and Sapna come close and just when Prem gets serious about marrying her, Vicky tells his dadima that he’s willing to tie the knot with Sapna. If you can’t guess what happens after this, you deserve to watch the film.

Frankly, there’s nothing worth writing about this film. Salman Khan is his usual exuberant self which makes him extremely watchable. Sanjay Dutt is okay , while Karisma Kapoor does the innocent, lost girl act yet again. Music by Anand-Milind is no great shakes except for the catchy Chori chori sapnon mein. One hopes director David Dhawan takes time to do some soul-searching, or rather, script-searching, before he doles out such inane comedies in future.

Chaya Unnikrishnan