Revisiting the era of Hrishi Da and Basu Da. Review on Tere Naal Love Ho Gaya

During the seventies and early eighties, amidst several action-dominated flicks, the Hindi cinema intermittently presented low budget, neat and clean and simple movies too which provided light and rib-tickling entertainment and could be watched by a whole family together. Hrishikesh Mukherjee and Basu Chatterjee were flag-bearers of this kind of cinema which had developed its own audience and that’s why such movies were though not blockbusters, able to recover that cost and minimum profit. It was that stream of the mainstream Indian cinema which had an identity of its own. Anand, Piya Ka Ghar, Baawarchi, Chhoti Si Baat, Chupke Chupke, Khatta Meetha, Golmaal, Baaton Baaton Mein, Khoobsurat, Naram Garam, Hamaari Bahu Alka, Kisi Se Na Kehna, Rang Birangi, Jhoothi etc. were amidst the simple yet high quality movies served by these two directors, containing a bit of lovely romance and healthy laughs for the Indian families.

Times change. Just like in the life of any individual or the society at large, phases come and go in cinema too. These stalwarts grew old and stopped directing movies and with that the phase of healthy, clean, low-budget comedies also waned. In 2010, the success of an excellent comedy – Atithi Tum Kab Jaaoge provided a feeling that the bygone era of Hrishi Da and Basu Da could be back. There's an audience to welcome such movies if well-made. And then in 2012, a newcomer director, Mandeep Singh came up with a movie – Tere Naal Love Ho Gaya which though does not live up to the standard of Atithi Tum Kab Jaaoge, yet it’s a decent movie which can be termed as a romance enveloped in comedy.

Tere Naal Love Ho Gaya(fallen in love with you) is a Punjabi title chosen for a Hindi movie being the words of a song of this movie. It is a movie which starts as a pure comedy and later focuses on romance. Autorickshaw driver, Viren(Ritesh) is in very low spirits when the owner of the autorickshaw, Bhatti(Tinu Anand) sells it and alongwith that the savings of Viren that he had hidden in that autorickshaw are also gone. He suspects that Bhatti had usurped his money before giving away the autorickshaw. Being meek by nature, he reaches Bhatti’s house in an intoxicated state to fight with him and get his money back. The engagement ceremony of Bhatti’s daughter, Mini(Genelia) is taking place at that hour who sees a golden opportunity in this event to run away from an unwanted marriage. She runs away from there with Viren, showing to the eye-witnesses as if Viren has kidnapped her. To the world, Viren is the kidnapper and Mini is the kidnapped but the reality is vice versa. Now starts the adventurous journey of this duo which is destined to become a couple in due course of time and during this journey, they arrange ample laughing and tickling moments for the audience watching them on the screen.

Tere Naal Love Ho Gaya renders much more entertainment in the first half than in its second half when the story lands up in Viren’s own family. Since Viren and Mini get more screen time together in the first half, they are able to entertain the audience better with the skillfully penned script. The second half is less entertaining with family life, relationships and ethical issues intervening. Still the sequence of kidnapping of a foreigner in this half is quite hilarious. The climax is typically Bollywoodish with the expected reunion of the kidnapper and the kidnapped(it’s difficult to decide now who’s who) who have become lovers in their hearts.

Despite satisfactorily written comic script and good direction, I will not term Tere Naal Love Ho Gaya as some great comedy movie. The item song of Veena Malik has been unnecessarily forced in the second half which mars the simplicity and decency of the movie. Besides, the writer could not think of many amusing incidents for the later half and sentimental twists have been inserted to move the narrative and fill the time duration before the climax arrives. However, the movie does not bore. The dialogues are also in sync with the script. Though the movie is sans any vulgarity, the director could still have done better and kept it thoroughly ‘vegetarian’.

The movie has some ethics-linked discussion too. Though I feel from the talks of the hero’s father(Om Puri) and sister(Chitrashee Rawat) that we, the Indians, have mastered the art of justifying all our wrongdoings through decorative but hollow logics, still when it’s said that the sister steals because she wanted to become a magician but could not become and now vents out her frustration by demonstrating this art of the hand(Haath Ki Safaai), the argument has some merit. Many talented youths resort to the wrong path because they do not get a right path to channelize their talent and energy. And the father’s speech to his son in the pre-climax scene, defining a coward and inspiring the son to shed his cowardice and shoulder responsibility is just superb.

This movie does not boast of foreign locations, costly sets and costumes and a high production value but the simplicity in the life of an autorickshaw-driver in Delhi is heart-winning and the greenery in the fields of Haryana is eye-soothing. The art-director and the cinematographer have done their parts well. Other technical aspects are also in order.

Music is another plus point of this movie. The melodious songs composed by Sachin-Jigar containing the beautiful lyrics penned by Mayur Puri and Priya Panchal are like oasis in the desert of today’s Indian cinema where it is fast becoming difficult to differentiate between music and noise. Songs like Main Waari Jaawaan, Tu Mohabbat Hai, Jeene De and Main Pee Pa Pee Pa Ho Gaya are ear soothing, eye soothing and heart soothing at the same time. Only the item song picturized on Veena Malik is not in line with the mood of the movie and should have been dispensed with.

Ritesh and Genelia have tied the sacred knot in their real life and hence their reel life chemistry has got positively affected by their real life love. Both have done exceedingly well. Where normalcy is required, they are normal and where over-the-top performances are required, they again fit the bill. All others have supported them perfectly.

Summing up, Tere Naal Love Ho Gaya may not be some great or unforgettable movie but it’s like a gust of fresh air in the suffocated environment of formula-based and big-budget Bollywood movies containing more style and less substance. If you are fond of watching the golden oldies(of rom-com genre) of Hrishi Da and Basu Da, this movie is the right choice for you.

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