Oct 01, 2002 11:37 AM
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(Updated Oct 01, 2002 11:38 AM)
MUJHSE DOSTI KAROGE! Starts on a real 'friendly' note. Tina (Kareina Kapoor) and Pooja (Rani Mukherji) are best buddies and their langoti yaar Raj (Hrithik) moves base to London with family. Tina keeps in touch with Raj through email, via Pooja. For it's actually Pooja who writes those long, sweet & mushy letters to Rahul for fifteen lonnnnnnng years. Thak gaya hoga padte padte…!!!
Now this friendly tale takes a turn and flips in to a love-story when Raj is back to Shimla (I wonder why not to Yash Chopra’s favorite place…………Swiss alps???), and instantly falls head over heels in love with Tina, his beautiful letter-writing lady. The truth that she never penned (read typed) down a word herself is kept buried and shoved in a corner till the end of the movie. Somewhere in between Raj's little delayed instincts go tick-tock and he has the filmi ehsaas that Pooja is the figment of imagination he's always been in love with (his adarsh Laila, Heer or Juliet). Tina is just a surrogate face who is playing the role of impersonating all that. So in seconds our aashiq Raj swaps from Tina to Pooja. Pooh…that was quick ain’t it? Faster than you change the channels on ur screen. Anyway Hindi movie hai…….anything can happen. Well, great going so far and it could have been this way till the end. But no, we're left craving for the final 'C'…no, I didn't mean 'Climax', I meant 'Cliché', (that we could sniff from scene one anyway) till the end of the three-hour long episode.
It's simply 'unquestionable'! Yes, you heard (oops!! Sorry) read it right…I mean the film 'Mujhse Dosti Karoge!!'. Exactly the reason I wonder why the name 'Mujhse Doti Karoge' sums up with an exclamation (!!!) and not a question mark (???). Guess in our movies often better judgement and common sense doesn't prevail and nothing can be 'questioned'. So let's just leave it at that, okay. Anyway what's in the name man…especially dosti mein, hai na? Probably it's creative license of chopra camp. Fine, we shall settle for that.
Whether it was plain simple happenstance or one of those creative strategies, we don't know, but must admit, the timing of the movie was perfect. What better time than 'friendship day' to release a dosti-vosti film? Besides, here's a film that proposes friendship and not just intolerable diabetic love. Refreshing change! To start with, that's a smart cue to drive the teenyboppers and college campuses to the theatres.
Hats off to Kunal, for casting such a contrasting trio - Rani, Kareina and Hrithik. And all three with distinctly amazing screen presence of their own. And equally well-crafted roles for each by the big 'D'- Kunal.
A pony-tailed, subdued Rani scores almost full marks for her heart-rending performance. Brownie points too for Rani, for standing shoulder-to-shoulder with the hot-hot glamorous Kariena, and yet being the cutest package around. Kareina is looking ravishing and the background score that resounds whenever she makes her wisecracks towards Mr. American (that's what she calls Raj in film) adds to all that oomph. In the first half of the film you'd want to be Hrithik's best pal instantly, but in the latter half he wears his emotions on his sleeve; as a result it's almost like he's cringing your neck to moisten your tear glands.
As a debutant director, we can't say Kunal's attempts are all in vain. There are portions in the movie that bring a smile to your face and leave a pleasant after-feel. But just a little friendly advice out here…if you really want to keep your bond of friendship intact with the audiences, your script needs to be far more imaginative, crisp and meaty. And for the rest of the cast…here's a 'friendly' pat on their back for their performances!
