Lekar Hum Deewana Dil Hindi Movie
Lekar Hum Deewana Dil does not quite have anything new. But then coming of age romances are never about having something. It is all about the new presentation.
Oops, Lekar Hum Deewana Dil does not have that either!
All it seems to have is a new cast and a new director... getting lucky as they get a seasoned producer to believe in them. Results are not quite believable though.
The film is about two best of friends Dino and Karishma. Karishma needs to save herself from being married off to someone she does not wish to. The two decide it's best to elope. Soon after they figure, over pints of beer, that they are perfect matches for each other... and get married!
The story then goes through some of the most inexplicable moments that I have seen in films of late, including an intolerably raunchy Mawaal Qawaali number. An encounter with Maoists comes across as amateurish.
AR Rahman's music does not help. It is rather mediocre. Surprising as he seems to have found his mojo back with Rockstar and Highway! Or maybe he reserves his best only for certain directors.
After an over the top first half, the second half gets into the realities of a relationship and you are not sure what you are watching anymore. The screenplay does find its path towards the end, but that's way after the film loses the audience.
Okay, one good thing that stands out about LHDD - Arif Ali managed to cut out melodrama from the film. Appreciated!
Though the young actors look fresh, they ham way too much to have made an impact in anyway. Maybe in time they better themselves.
Overall, Lekar Hum Deewana Dil might appeal to the college going audience. It clearly does not have appeal enough to become popular with anyone else. Arif Ali will have to do much more than this to actually be seen as a serious filmmaker, while people will continue to look at him merely as Imtiaz Ali's brother.
As we walked out after watching the film, a very senior journalist pointed out, "Sachin Tendulkar's brother is not quite cricketer and neither is Bhupen Hazarika's son any singer. To expect kin to deliver just because their family has done credible work earlier is pretty stupid." I would be more than happy with Arif Ali and Armaan Jain could actually prove this gentleman wrong.
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