Film 'Mere Brother Ki Dulhan' Review:

'Mere Brother Ki Dulhan';

Starring: Imran Khan, Ali Zafar and Katrina Kaif;

Written & Directed by: Ali Abbas Zafar;

Just like Kareena’s character in Jab We Met’s as Geet Dhillon, Dimple charater is played by Katrina in 'Mere Brother Ki Dulhan'.

Must say, the other two movies got it right dead-on. MBKD flounders in its playful fusion of a love triangle and appeal for an arranged marriage. Debutant director Ali Abbas Zafar knows the subtexts in his script well enough to hide the rather noticeable discrepancies in the narration.

Though it also stars Imran Khan and the 'Tere Bin Laden' find, Ali Zafar, it is obvious from the outset that 'Mere Brother Ki Dulhan' is a movie that belongs wholly and solely to Katrina Kaif, who relishes her moment in the sun here, playing it up to her effervescent best.

Kaif stars as Dimple Dixit, a firecracker of a girl, a London-bred Delhi-based rocker and a rebel, who has finally given in and fallen in line with the family policy of arranged marriage. She has also been sought out as his bhabhi-to-be by Kush Agnihotri, a filmy AD played by Imran Khan. Kush, you see, has been assigned the duty of finding him a 'dulhan' by his London-based 'bhaisaab', err, brother, Luv, Ali Zafar, who has just fallen out of a relationship with his girlfriend, Pyali, played by Tara D'Souza and simply wants to settle down, now.

The problem in this plot kicks in right at the start, when Kush and Dimple meet each other, and realize they've met before, five years ago. Kush is familiar with Dimple's crazy ways, but approves her for his brother anyhow, only to realize in the end that he is falling in love with her himself. Thereon, the movie proceeds in the most expected manner, until it reaches its, yes, unsurprising end. What helps the movie along though, is the fact that until it gets there, the performances and humour at hand, delivered periodically in healthy doses, keeps one in good spirits.

Though the debutant director and story writer Ali Abbas Zafar is pedaling a rather expected script here, what helps his cause is the fact that he doesn't feel the need to look into any needless melodrama. Though the movie is kitted out with a serious father (Parikshit Sahni as Luv and Kush's colonel father), and an autistic brother (Arfeen Khan, as Dimple's brother Ajju), Ali Abbas, thankfully, stays away from employing these tropes in a clichéd manner, and instead, keeps the movie quite regularly light-hearted throughout, with very few serious moments in between.

What works brilliantly for 'Mere Brother Ki Dulhan', though, are the superb performances that the leads deliver here. While Katrina is previously spoken for, it is the chemistry between her and Imran that really makes the movie shine.

Zafar who delighted in the humorous mode of 'Tere Bin Laden', returns with yet another act that knows how over-the-top to go without toppling over. Yup, Zafar gets it pitch-perfect all the way. The same cannot be said of the movie which irregularly slips into becoming a stretch.

What really redeems the film's blind spots is Katrina Kaif who brings a very special simplicity and dazzle to her role of a wild child who wants to have all the fun that she can before she settles into a comfortably arranged marriage with the rakish NRI Ali Zafar.

'What will I tell everyone? That I fell in love with my Bhabhi?' the embarrassed and horrified brother-in-law tells his untamable babhi-to-be.

That's Imran Khan, playing the thoughtful kind do-gooder once again. Khan stays in his comfort zone while Katrina comes out of it to give herself and the audience the time of her life.

Performances apart, the film is also a triumph for Sohail Sen and Irshad Kamil, who team up to deliver one of this year's best soundtracks for 'Mere Brother Ki Dulhan'. Ali Abbas deserves standing ovation for the way he uses his music in the movie, choreographing and placing them to excellence. Of the soundtrack, 'isq risk' and the title track, along with Katrina's introductory song, 'dhunki', all deserve mentions.

Overall, Director Ali Abbas Zafar on the head, what he has managed to deliver with 'Mere Brother Ki Dulhan', with Katrina Kaif as its centerpiece, is pure, unadulterated candy-floss entertainment. It is worthy to one-time watch.