‘Gori Tere Pyaar Mein’


Puneet Malhotra’s Gori Tere Pyaar Mein has two good looking actors, some pretty locations, cool-looking costumes, a few good songs and also some funny moments Imran Khan and Kareena Kapoor look good together in the film. And we all know that getting the right actors is one of the most important requirements when one is making a rom-com. Another important aspect is to get the right look but since it’s a Dharma Production this is really taken care of.

When a Johar production heads to a village, as ‘Gori Tere Pyaar Mein’ does , it will be the sort of village where people dressed in tie and dyes hang around to fawn over the city slicks who will deliver them from a collector. Yes, in this fake Gujarat village with its charmingly innocent and clueless people, the collector is a straight offshoot of the moneylenders of yore with nary a government control holding him back. Let’s just say you should be grateful Karan Johar doesn’t see an India beyond the metros more often.

Imran Khan plays Sriram Venkat, a selfish city boy who can’t think beyond himself. He is an educated architect who is carefree , casual about love, lazy and show s little humanitarian inkling. His worried parents want him to settle down, so the next best bet is to push him into an arranged marriage and hoping that may set his life on track. Sriram is introduced to Vasudha (Shradha Kapoor) who he likes at first sight but she doesn’t want him to say yes to the arranged proposal because she loves someone else. Sriram starts narrating his ex girlfriend, Dia’s (Kareena Kapoor ) story to her.

Dia is a social worker , living in Bangalore who wants to contribute to the world, she is an active social worker and that’s the only thing on her mind all the time. She is a fiery, righteous rebel, a mini , Mother India who fights for everything unfair. After bumping into her when she is in action, they both fall in love and start seeing each other. But their ideologies are entirely different. Obviously since they are totally different from each other, there is bound to be a conflict and they split up and move on. Sorry to break your heart but all the fun parts are only before the interval.

Post interval Dia has moved to a village where she helps villagers and is satisfied with her simple village life, Sriram obviously wants her back and hence he goes all the way to the village. Dia won’t leave till a bridge is constructed over a river that links the village to the more developed parts, so far the villagers have been using a make-shift bridge made of rope.

She talks about corruption with a Gandhi topi, promises to solve all our troubles in a couple of days and leads candle light marches is the least of our grouses. What is that she doesn’t stop at that. Her litany of causes runs the course from sex workers to aids victims to orphans to crabs about to be eaten to stray dogs and finally the aforementioned village, with the charmingly meaningless name of Jhumli.

Performance wise Kareena Kapoor steals the show, her character is well written and she keeps you entertained throughout by doing her job convincingly. Imran Khan suits the role, he has tried hard and it has worked to a certain extent. He plays the city boy very well but it’s tough for him to pull off the over the top herogiri. Punit Malhotra did alright with his easygoing, easily forgotten ‘I Hate Luv Storys’. Imran is quite the same here, not holding anything sacred or dear in that very with-it cool way and then letting loose on what he really thinks about fellow rich kids like him but with bleeding hearts. However Malhotra aims to be different without a difference here and his core audience suitably placated, he rambles onto that village and its – you guessed it – very ‘Lagaan’ ending.

None of which by the way comes in the way of her jiggling her bottom to the celebration of buttocks in true Punjabi wedding style. For Punjabis do figure in a big way – and how could they not – even if the film starts off inspiring from a Tamil household in Bangalore. ‘Chennai Express’ novelty is quickly done away with. Imran and Shraddha are the Tamil half and, must say, because of the sheer artificiality of Kareena’s character, their emphasized shallowness runs deeper.

Overall, the music by Vishal – Shekhar is average. Tooh, Dhat Tere Ki and Chingam Chabake are catchy numbers and must add that Dhat Tere Ki is indeed very well shot. This is Punit’s second attempt at a rom-com and he gets a few things right and a few wrong, making Gori Tere Pyaar Mein an average entertainer Bleeding hearts can be messy, especially when all you have been aiming for so far are handkerchiefs to dab some eyes.

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