Gazab comedy, this one. Really, Ranbir is a revelation, Katrina is full of beans and the newly formented Ranbir-Katrina chemistry sets the screen
Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani
Still from Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani More Pics
on fire in this mad hatter's tea party that takes you on a roller-coaster ride as Raj Kumar Santoshi tries to retrack his way to his Andaz Apna Apna days.
Film: Ajab Prem ki Gazab Kahani (Comedy)
Cast: Ranbir Kapoor, Katrina Kaif
Direction: Raj Kumar Santoshi
Duration: 2 hours 30 minutes
Critic's Rating: /photo.cms?msid=5200940
The Salman-Aamir comic caper may not have stormed the box office in the 1990s but today, it has devoted fans who don't miss it on its umpteen TV re-runs. Ajab Prem... might not suffer the same fate and may kick up some fun moments in the here and now, rather than the future.
And why not! For not only Ranbir and Katrina, the rest of the cast is in crackling form too. Of course, leading the brat pack is Ranbir's ninth-drop out Prem, the president of the Happy club, who hangs out with all the losers in town, calls a Ferrari a Fawwari and abducts young girls to send them packing to their boyfriends, for a living. He falls in love with Jenny (Katrina Kaif), the prettiest newbie in town, who's smart, sassy, orphaned and in need of a friend. And yes, she's also a vegan, with a penchant for pudine ki chutney with moong dal pakodas. But that's a home truth our hero takes time to learn, along with another fact of life that makes it difficult for him to cross the thin line between best buddy and boy friend. But the Ranbir-Katrina dosti draws its flavour from the other characters too. Like, Ranbir's adorable mum-dad (Smita Jaykar-Darshan Zariwala) who love him any which way and the local don Sajid (Zakir Husain) who has neither a functional cell phone nor a loaded gun. All he has is hot air. The plot progresses like a jolly ride into cuckoo land as Ranbir tries to bring Katrina's love story to a logical end. Of course, he does manage to succeed, despite his bumbling ways and ends up stealing the show with his crazy antics, his witty one-liners and his comic sense of timing. Katrina matches him step by step, creating the perfect tango that has just a few moments of tedium: a tardy middle and a clumsy climax where most of the gags have a been there done that feel.
But that's just a minor irritant. For some of the scenes give you all your paisa-vasool entertainment. Watch Ranbir chaperone Katrina to a dance party, with a permanent waltz in his step and a goofy grin on his lips or see him don her girlie pink top to save her skin and carry on a monologue with Jesus: it's fun unlimited. Add to this Pritam's peppy music score with Neeraj Shridhar, Atif Aslam, Hard Kaur, Sunidhi Chauhan and Mika raising a toast to high-spirited song and dance and Raj Kumar Santoshi penning some of the funniest dialogues in recent times and you have a great escape awaiting you at your favourite audi this weekend. Go, have a ball.
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