Movie Review: 'Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu';
Star Cast: Kareena Kapoor, Imran Khan;
Directed by: Shakun Batra;.
Star Cast: Kareena Kapoor, Imran Khan;
Directed by: Shakun Batra;.
'Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu'(EMAET) comprises a series of neatly written, confident but never in-your-face scenes about what happens when two opposites meet in a city as all-embracing as Las Vegas
Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu is a rom-com about two diagonally opposite individuals. The boy leads a bland and boring life. The girl is blabbermouth and vivacious. Their paths cross. And as expected, opposites attract. So what's new?
Rahul (Imran Khan) could never come out of the shadow of his parents who tried molding him in their customized templates. A random encounter with Riana (Kareena Kapoor) leads to a few drinks and they wake up next morning to realize they got married in their drunken trance. Annulling their accidental marriage would take a few days.
Meanwhile Riana loses her rented apartment and checks-in with Rahul. The anxious Rahul loosens up in Riana's company and starts 'living life'. Cupid strikes Rahul over a Kuch Kuch Hota Hai song. Further they fly to India
Let the accidental wedding idea not mislead you. Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu is nowhere in the zone of Hollywood films like What Happens in Vegas (2008) or The Proposal (2009). The accidental marriage theme is employed more as a gimmick and doesn't contribute anything to the story. In fact the makers take the convenient route and entirely do away with the actual marriage scene from the narrative. Also the lead pair chooses to stay together and is never compelled by any legal obligations.
The writing by Ayesha Devitre and Shakun Batra is a case of too much screenplay without much story. The overall tone of the movie is refreshingly lighthearted and the chemistry between Kareena and Imran is conversational over corporeal. But somewhere the story seems too shallow after a point with no tangible plot-point conflicts and the screenplay tries to fill that emptiness with birthday parties, New Year celebrations, school revisits and such similar elements that remain external to the central plot.
Nevertheless you find solace in the film's subdued sense of humour and subtle temperament. The subtlety is not per se but largely because the tale is devoid of any theatrical twists. And the residual dramatic sequences are handled with utmost sensitivity by director Shakun Batra, like Imran's climactic outburst at the dinner table. The dialogues comprise more of carefree and casual conversations over dramatically designed punches and go smoothly with the natural flow of scenes. There's an intentional aberration in the end to set the movie in a league of its own but could disappoint the ones viewing the film as a Valentine special.
Kareena Kapoor is stunning in both her looks and acts. Despite playing the chirpy-outgoing girl, she never goes overboard and is absolutely lovable. Playing the high-strung guy with deadpan expressions comes naturally to Imran Khan. He comes up with a reasonably decent act. Their chemistry is informal and easygoing. Ratna Pathak Shah as the elite fashion-fanatic mother is too good. Boman Irani as the business-minded father is restrained in his role. Sonia Mehra (after some disastrous films) comes across as desirable in her one-scene cameo. Ram Kapoor gets no scope. The actor playing Kareena's father is funny and a fresh deviation from the regular father figures of Bollywood.
This is a perceptibly urbane love story, told in a style shorn of gimmicks. There is no attempt to capture our attention. The narrative gets us watching without getting sweaty with anxiety.
The Auntyji track is peppy and ups the tempo and the end is actually the beginning.
EMAET had the potential of being an even better film. The three stars are for the excellent treatment and Imran's act.
Overall, it is worthy to watch.
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