Film Review | Ekk Deewana Tha

Director Gautham Menon’s second Hindi film (his first was Rehnaa Hai Terre Dil Mein in 2001), Ekk Deewana Tha, is a remake of his own Tamil film Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa.

Some films should not be remade, and this is one of them.

But the path of true love is potholed. First, she is older than him—by one year, which is much made of. She belongs to an Orthodox Christian family that does not watch movies. Her father and brother clearly do not like an aspiring film-maker.

In modern times, that too in Mumbai, it is hard to imagine reasons such as these being deterrents for a marriage. Even harder to imagine is the fact that there is actually an Indian in this film—Jessie’s father —who does not know who Amitabh Bachchan is!

Film-makers from the south should realize that Hindi movie audiences are also now far aware of technical sophistication, film-making grammar and good performances. We live with the times. Concepts of difference in age, inter-caste marriages and parental opposition are archaic for subjects.

When Sachin confesses his true feelings to Jessie, she rejects him but agrees to be his friend. It is a strange friendship where she rebukes Sachin for holding her hand but has no objection to being kissed by him. A confused Jessie then flip-flops between fear and duty on the one hand and attraction towards Sachin on the other. The film moves from Mumbai to Kerala, and then to Goa and Agra. After much ado about nothing, the pair reunite against the backdrop of the Taj Mahal.

The script and dialogues are so tiresome and laboured that even A.R. Rahman’s music fails to rescue the poor film-making. Flat lighting, unimaginative camerawork, sloppy editing, overwritten scenes and Jackson’s darkened skin, the hues of which vary throughout the film. It is inexplicable why a British model, who clearly cannot speak either Hindi or Malayalam, has been cast to play a 23-year-old Malayali girl and then dubbed by a woman who speaks in a monotonous, rasping voice. And which 23-year-old working girl in Mumbai wears immaculately draped saris to work?

So it is up to the relatively inexperienced Prateik to carry the film on his shoulders. He tries hard, but the sparkle he showed in both Jaane Tu... Ya Jaane Na (2008) and Dhobi Ghat (2010) is not to be seen here. Manu Rishi, who plays Sachin’s confidant and love guru, is overused.

After a gruelling 2 hours and then some, just when you think the ordeal is almost over, the director adds on a convoluted climax which introduces a film within a film. By then, you are ready to get up and leave.

*****

Ashok Amritraj’s Hyde Park Entertainment takes 2007’s ‘Ghost Rider’ ahead with this sequel. Nicolas Cage again plays the tortured human/demon. Expect hellish flames and fury. The first movie made hundreds of millions of dollars for its makers, but did not receive critical acclaim. Directed by Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor, this instalment is a whole new take on the Marvel comics character the Ghost Rider is based on

*****

An ensemble comedy written and directed by Alex Gregory and Peter Huyck, ‘A Good Old Fashioned Orgy’ is about New Yorker Eric Keppler (Jason Sudeikis) and his pals who gather at Eric’s father’s estate for wild parties. When the estate is about to be sold, he plans the biggest party of all, an orgy, among the 30-somethings. Brazen American humour and sex don’t often make sophisticated comedies, so expect a farce and little else. But the cast, with Sudeikis, Leslie Bibb, Lake Bell, Lindsay Sloane, Lucy Punch and others, is impressive.

*****

Based on a novel by Susan Hill, ‘The Woman in Black’ is a horror thriller directed by James Watkins, with Daniel Radcliffe of ‘Harry Potter’ fame in a lead role. Set in the Edwardian era, Radcliffe plays a young, widowed solicitor who lives with his child and nanny. He has visions of his dead wife, while coping with financial stress. The thriller unfolds when he is endowed with the responsibility of handling an old estate.

- Sanjukta Sharma

Ekk Deewana Tha, Ghost Rider: Spirit Of Vengeance, A Good Old Fashioned Orgy and released in theatres on Friday.

feedback@livemint.com