Katti Batti Movie Review: The Tragic Death of Romantic Comedy

You can also read this review at Mad About Moviez.

I didn’t have much expectations from Katti Batti. The trailers looked somewhat drab, the music – a vital ingredient of any worthwhile Hindi rom-com – was uninspiring, and most annoyingly Kangana Ranaut looked like stretching her ‘Tanu spirit’ beyond the thresholds of predictability and well into the zone of annoyance.

15 minutes into watching the film, almost all of my aforementioned fears came true. One by one. Even though director Nikhil Advani, who seemed to be meandering for over 2 hours, suddenly jumped on to a tragic track towards the end trying to salvage some pride, but alas, it was well and truly late by then. I had already proclaimed ‘Katti’ with Katti Batti.

Nikhil Advani, a man who started his career with the remarkable Kal Ho Na Ho (and continues to live in the shadow of that iconic film), but has gone on to direct duds like Salaam-e-Ishq, Patiala House and most recently Hero, further prolongs his bad run through Katti Batti. The film neither manages to garner the goodwill of a typical rom-com nor does it make you pull out tissue papers through its belated tragic twist. Not just that, Katti Batti also lacks conviction, originality and a proper execution of ideas and ends up being an outright boring film.

Madhav Kabra aka Maddy (Imran Khan) is an architect who is in love with Payal (Kangana Ranaut) from the moment he saw her for the first time in college. The two do not hit it off instantly, largely thanks to Madhav’s creepy, ‘chipku’behavior, but eventually end up being in a live-in relationship for good 5 years. Things change when Payal walks out of relationship one fine day, leaving behind a whining, sobbing Maddy. The entire film revolves around Maddy’s desperate bid to get Payal back into his life while she shrugs off his advances rather heartlessly. A tiny Kal Ho Na Ho meets The Fault in Our Stars kind of twist in the end tells us that Payal does all of this knowingly; deliberately trying to push Maddy out of her life. Why? Because, she has, wait for it, cancer! Sob. Yawn. Sob. Yawn.

Katti Batti suffers from severe identity crisis. It does not know whether it is trying to be a treatise on break-ups and relationship issues, or it is trying to be a cute, little tear-jerker. Needless to say that while trying to be too many things at a time, it ends up being almost nothing. Consider these – the tongue-in-cheek humor and LOLworthy moments, of which we got a glimpse in the trailers, are as scarce in the film as rains are in Rajasthan. Call it smart trailer cutting or a bluff on the part of the makers, Katti Batti does not have humor, light-heartedness that it shamelessly promised. Also, rhe film never really builds up the romance between its lead pair – there is no breezy college dating like 2 States or a cool live-in relationship drama like Salaam Namaste. We are repeatedly told that Maddy and Payal were ‘living together for 5 years’, but we are shown no glimpses of their love, chemistry and camaraderie. As a result, it hardly bothers you when Payal leaves Maddy, or you are further disinterested when you see the later chasing the former to get things back on the track! Phew!

Similarly, the film is also not a definitive take on relationships and strings attached to it. In fact, it ends up projecting its male lead as a sheer loser who runs after the car of his ex-girlfriend like a dog and its female lead as a cruel, chaalu girl who treats men like doormats. Through the film, you feel sorry for the characters as they are poorly written and are projected in an even worse light. By the time the director tries to turn the tables by coming up with the big revelation, you are both fed up and tired by the entire sham of a rom-com that’s dished out in front of you. Maddy and Payal are simply poorly sketched out characters that fail to find any resonance with its audience.

But there are a few bright spots in Katti Batti. And surprisingly, it’s Imran Khan who is shiniest of them all. The actor, who is coming back to the silver screen after a hiatus, is affable and somewhat convincing as Madhav. He does well in the ‘crying scenes’ and you do feel for the poor guy at times, especially that dog-chasing-the-car kind of sequence. Puns and taunts aside, this character lay within the strengths of an actor like Imran Khan, and he does try hard, but is undone by a shoddy script and an even shoddier direction.

On the other hand, Kangana Ranaut replicates her Tanu act (just replace mostly Indian dresses of TWM and TWMR with some weird western outfits) through most of the film. She is predictably ‘free-spirited’, believes in ‘time-pass’ and flashes a packet of condom to a complete stranger. And not to forget, there are some trademark not-so-funny one-liners that ‘establish’ her as a ‘free woman’. But sadly, these repeated theatrics seem as fake as those feminist posts shared by thousands on Facebook every day.

Katti Batti is also let down by a below par support cast that does not have even one actor of caliber. Similarly, Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy’s music is also very average with only ‘Sau Aasoon’ getting registered in your memory. The film’s cinematography is effective while the makers could have definitely chosen a better costume designer for its lead pair.

By the time Katti Batti nears its conclusion, there are some touching scenes of Imran taking care of a cancer-afflicted Kangana, but it comes too late in the day. You feel bored, cheated and tired by then and you simply want to curse Nikhil Advani for making a mess of a film. Yet again. Stay away.

Rating: *1/2 (Poor)

P.S. – Want to know what could be your expression if you still choose to watch this film? Check out Imran Khan’s expressions in the last image of this post.

I Love New Year: Canned But Not Devoid of Juice

If you decide to watch Sunny Deol-Kangana Ranaut starrer I Love New Year (stylized as ‘I Love NY’), which in all likelihood you would not, do not enter the theater with any pre-conceived notions. Yes, the film has been delayed for a couple of years and it is definitely not the best Hindi rom-com that you are likely to come across, but it is not unwatchable. In fact, I Love New Year genuinely tries to be different from run-of-the-mill rom-coms and attempts to tell a unbelievable story through believable means. Most of the film’s pitfalls are inflicted by the cruel fact that lost time and momentum makes any product stale and mediocre. Adding salt to the injury is Kangana Ranaut’s decision to mostly disassociate herself from the film and Sunny Deol’s lack of enthusiasm in promoting what is one of his better performances in recent times. More on this later.

Sunny Deol plays Randhir Singh, an ageing and unmarried Punjabi (no prizes for guessing that), who lives in Chicago with his father (Prem Chopra). A day before the new year, Randhir has a drinking binge with his friends and is in the process transported to New York. In New York, Randhir mistakes Kittu Verma’s (Kangana Ranaut) flat as his own and there begins a series of confusions and misunderstandings that spill well into the upcoming new year.

The film’s story is reportedly based on a popular Russian rom-com. That scope of inspiration aside, the story does have merits of its own. The premise of a drunk ageing bachelor from Chicago landing up straight in the bedroom of a young, vibrant girl in New York is quite tempting. Love as a subject has been so thoroughly explored by all the filmmakers that any innovation in ‘how they actually meet and fall in love’ ends up exciting me. The setting of the story is simple and real with most of the action unfolding inside an apartment. The indoor setting, the smooth flow of one scene into another, quirky and smart dialogues, they all set up a nice little mood for the film.

However, the bright side of the story and screenplay mostly ends here. There’s is too much left to chance and destiny in the whole proceedings. The film’s climax is rather underwhelming and you wonder if the film could have ended good 15-20 minutes before. As the film has seen the light of day after being in cold storage for long, there are some tacky dubbing and visual patches. The climax looks incomplete and the overall film does bear the stain of having a somewhat stale look.

Let;s now talk about the performances. Kangana Ranaut did not want this film to be released. When you will watch I Love New Year, you will exactly know the reasons behind the film’s leading lady’s inhibitions. Miss Ranaut perhaps did not want the film to release because her acting looks very unpolished and poor. In fact, there are some scenes where Kangana makes you laugh unintentionally because of her funny accent and problematic dialogue delivery. It is clear that she has come a long way in these two years and her apprehension about the film was very much related to her own performance. However, I sincerely feel that once a film has been completed, it becomes the producer’s property and the actor has little or no right to try and stall its release. Moreover, no matter how bad you were in your skills in the past or how fine-tuned you are now, an artist must stand by his or her work all the time. Specially, when big money and livelihood of many is at stake.

Sunny Deol gets out of his comfort zone and tries his best to give a sincere and composed performance. His chemistry with Kangana does look a little odd, largely because of the 30-year age canyon that separates the two. Though, Deol does a fine job of the difficult task assigned to him, you end up wondering why would have the makers thought of casting him in this role? Did they want to go for an unusual pairing? Then, why not choose an older actress opposite Deol or a younger actor opposite Kangana? I mean all the good acting talent of Deol and Kangana aside, there are some close-up scenes where the two look like father and daughter! T-Series should fire their casting director (or have they done that by now?).

I Love New Year’s biggest plus is Pritam’s music. From the peppy Gudd Naal Ishq Mitha to sombre Judaai, the film’s soundtrack is soothing and melodious. In fact, you may want to hunt for the film’s songs and download them – a definite good addition to your playlist. The film’s production value, editing, dubbing and sound design aren’t great. That’s most likely because of the huge gap between production and release of the film.

Overall, you feel letdown by I Love New Year, not because it’s a disastrous film, but because it’s been handled disastrously. What could have been a light, little rom-com is eventually a half-baked embarrassment that does more harm than benefit to reputation of everyone involved. Watch it if you want to see how mediocre Kangana was as an actor just a couple of years ago or if you want to see a calm, caring Sunny Deol who still has some acting chops left in him.

Rating: ** (Average)

The review is also published on Mad About Moviez.

Box-Office Analysis: Lessons from TWMR and Piku Success

The Hindi film industry can’t hide its excitement. Almost like a young girl going out on her first official date with her childhood crush. The buzz in Mumbai is that ‘Acche Din’ are finally here and there’s now no looking back at what has been a disastrous, to put it in polite words, first few months of 2015 at the box office. With not a single ‘Super Hit’, forget about Blockbusters, and hardly a couple of clean ‘Hits’ in the Jan-May period, the industry was clearly looking down the barrel in terms of business and revenue. But, with Tanu Weds Manu Returns (TWMR) getting a phenomenal response from the audiences all across the country, we are all set to witness the first Blockbuster of 2015. Yes, you read it right. That elusive blockbuster is finally off the block!

TWMR’s weekend collection was over 38 Crores INR, the biggest opening weekend of the year, closely matching the collections of a much-bigger film like Gabbar Is Back. In the overseas market, the film raked in close to 15 Crores, again the highest opening weekend in overseas this year, beating the previous best of 12 Crores set by Piku couple of weeks back. On the face value, these numbers may look pretty healthy but not exactly path-breaking. However, if you dig a little deeper and analyze the overall film business scenario, you will realize that TWMR is nothing less than a thunderstorm in this prolonged period of dryness at the Box Office.

If the weekend business of TWMR came as a much-needed relief to the industry, the film’s historic collections on Monday must have sparked off jubilations in the film circles. The film collected 8.5 Crores INR on its first Monday, which is equal to/slightly more than its Friday business. Such a strong hold of collections on Monday is literally unheard of in recent times and this ensures that the film will have long and strong run at the ticket windows for at least a couple of weeks. Now, 100 crores, that much-abused and much-publicized number, is definitely on the cards and the sky is the limit for TWMR, given the excellent trend at the box office.

But, for Bollywood, success of TWMR and Piku (expected India Business to be more than 80 crores), another actress-oriented film that released in early May, signals a huge paradigm shift and a definite changed pattern in what differentiates success from failure. We list down a few box office lessons from TWMR and Piku:

1. Get the Budget Right:

Before the release of Piku on 8^th May, Bollywood only had three clean hits – Badlapur (Budget: 25 Crores INR, Business: 52 Crores INR), Dum Laga Ke Haisha (Budget: 15 Crores INR, Business: 30 Crores INR) and NH10 (Budget: 13 Crores INR, Business: 32 Crores INR). Badlapur and NH10 found limited appreciation among the multiplex audience and still managed to yield profits largely because of their sensible budgets. Contrast it with Bombay Velvet which is struggling to touch 25 Crores lifetime business and was made at a humungous budget of over 100 Crores INR! This period also saw the release of two films of Akshay Kumar, a huge star across India, but both of them – Baby and Gabbar Is Back – could only be best described as semi-hits with lifetime collections in the 80-90 Crore INR range. Needless to say, a little discipline from the producers, in terms of budgeting, could have easily sailed these two films into the ‘Hit’ category.

2. Content is (Still) the King:

Dum Laga Ke Haisha probably had the best word of mouth of the year before Piku and TWMR hit the screens. A good word of mouth for these films ensured that even though these films didn’t open to record-breaking collections on day one, but eventually gathered steam and came into their own on their first Mondays. While TWMR pulled off a stunner by not dropping at all on its first Monday, Piku and Dum Laga Ke Haisha witnessed a miniscule 30% drop in collections compared to Friday. Piku showed how a topic as drab as motion could be the key subject of a motion picture! If your content is genuine, out-of-the-box and most importantly, as per the understanding and likes of the audience, you are very much in the game. So, grand scale, lavish sets, star power and a ‘Hollywood-ish’ look and feel would lead you nowhere! It’s no coincidence that Piku (story of a Bengali family living in CR Park), Dum Laga Ke Haisa (set in Haridwar) and TWMR (set in Haryana/Delhi/Kanpur) are all earthy and genuinely ‘Indian’ stories. Point to note for screenwriters out there.

3. Girl Power on the Rise: 

Anushka Sharma debuted as a Producer with NH10 and the film went on to become a solid hit at the box office despite an off-beat theme, no prominent male lead and an ‘A’ certificate. Ditto for Piku, which was brilliantly marketed as a Deepika Padukone film. The initial marketing of Piku was solely driven by Deepika, given the limitations of brand Bachchan and Irrfan Khan’s niche face value. Similarly, Tanu Weds Manu Returns was marketed as an out and out Kangana Ranaut film who is at a Vidya Balan-like high post the success of Queen. Kangana’s star pull can be gauged from the opening day collections of TWMR which are better than two Akshay Kumar films that have released this year.

4. Khans Still Rule:

You may not exactly like the kind of films they do each year, but all the three Khans still rule the roost at the Box Office. In fact, only Shah Rukh, Aamir and Salman can ‘guarantee’ a box-office success in truest sense of the word. If first half of 2015 was very disappointing for the industry, it was mainly because there was no Khan film in the offing. Akshay Kumar is still a big star but only ‘certain’ types of his films go on to become huge box-office grossers. Hrithik Roshan is another huge star but his frequency of releases has been very low. Ranbir Kapoor, considered to be the youngest superstar, perhaps needs to think over the choice of his films as his last three releases have bombed at the box office.

All these key pointers make TWMR and Piku significant box office successes of 2015. Just when we thought that the first half of the year will mostly go dull and dry, and the box office will have to wait for something like a ‘Bajrangi Bhaijaan’ to light up the proceedings, then came the much-needed respite in form of these twin hits. These films have not just set the cash registers ringing but have also reaffirmed the audiences’ and the makers’ faith in this old adage – quality content will eventually find its place in the heart of the audience. And these two films have also sent out terse and clear reminders to those who believe that mediocre work mounted on grand scale and starring a popular actor will yield them dividends. Let this get it straight – only the Khans can sell off ‘anything’ to the audience right now. Nobody else.

Tanu Weds Manu Returns Review: You Will Like the Film, Not Tanu & Manu Themselves

Tanu Weds Manu, Anand L Rai’s much-liked rom-com that released in 2011, managed to break quite a few, if not all, shackles when it comes to predictable love stories. But, Tanu, the feisty, unconventional protagonist of the 2011 film is somewhat underwhelming and repressed in this sequel. Equally cut to size, barring a few kilos that he seems to have gained, is Manu (played by R Madhavan), the inconspicuous and ‘boring’ hero. The task of seeing through this rather ‘forced’ sequel is assigned to Kangana’s double avatar, Kusum aka ‘Datto’, the Haryanvi athlete studying at Delhi University who happens to be Tanu’s doppelganger.

Tanu Weds Manu Returns flatters to deceive since beginning. Starting four years after the marriage of the unlikely couple Tanu and Manu, the film initially ignites hopes of looking into the subject of post-marital discord with doses of earthy humor. When Tanu leaves behind Manu in a mental asylum in London and comes back to her den in Kanpur, you shift a little in your seat quietly telling yourself – okay, let the madness begin. However, right after the first half an hour and well till the end of the film, Tanu Weds Manu Returns makes you question the logic, the rationale of the supposed dissonance between the lead couple and their means to overcome it. So, it is rather unfathomable when Tanu who returns to Kanpur with same swagger and rowdy spirit that had made her stand out, miraculously melts down towards the end and almost surrenders herself in order to get back in Manu’s life. So much for her free spirit, unconventional ways, in-your-face attitude and walking in slow motion to Move on, Move On? Was the sequel made to somewhat tame or to show Tanu her true place?

On the other side of the spectrum is Manu’s character, which becomes worryingly unidimensional, his motives become disturbingly unclear and there are stages in the film when you almost want to take decisions on his behalf – because, you know he is screwing it up big time! Manu’s character in this film, unlike in the prequel, is shockingly underwritten and his chemistry with both Tanu and Kusum is left rather untapped.

But, all is not unwell with Tanu Weds Manu Returns. All through the film’s 2-hour runtime, you are treated with some fine, humorous writing courtesy of Himanshu Sharma, who also wrote Rai’s previous films - Tanu Weds Manu and Raanjhanaa. That the writer has a penchant for earthy humor and whistle-worthy/crowd-pleasing one-liners was very much on display in Raanjhana, where he almost managed to make stalking acceptable with his superior writing. Here as well, you have glimpses of his talent, mostly displayed via hilarious lines delivered by a brilliant Deepak Dobriyal who reprises his role of Manu’s confidant and best friend, Pappi.

Another actor who gets the share of some fine writing is Mohammad Zeeshan Ayub as Chintu, a character that defines himself as ‘kandha’ or shoulder to Tanu whose heart’s been freshly broken. Chintu’s character is not just funny but is also very well-defined in terms of small town sensibilities and mannerisms. But, the biggest show stealer is Kangana Ranaut’s portrayal of a young Haryanvi athlete with short hair and slightly bulging teeth (hence, the nickname ‘Datto’). She is so believable and lovely as Datto that you almost root for her towards the climax despite knowing in your heart that the film is going to travel the predictable path. The way Kangana pulls of thick Haryanvi accent, body language and mannerisms of a young student cum athlete is truly remarkable. The film never caricaturizes her character or the overall Haryanvi connection, except for a brief sequence where you are preached about female empowerment and how everyone should let the women have some freedom of choice! Fake feminism, eh?

Interestingly, while Kangana pulls off the double role superbly, it’s her original character of Tanu that somehow gets overshadowed in the process. The blame for the same mostly lies at the writer’s door who has not done justice to Tanu’s part except for some repetitive insinuations towards her being flirtatious, strong-headed and sometime almost cynical. R Madhavan, the greatest representative of common Indian lover – the one who is a little plump, ages ‘normally’, wears glasses, has a boring job, but is a sweetheart from inside – is suitably restrained, understated yet charming as Manu but is undone by the monotony of his character. That Madhavan is a brilliant actor is showcased on more than one occasions where the actor steals a scene or two without speaking a single word. His shy looks, roving eyes, conceived emotions, believable behavior are all at display but that solid meat at the center is missing.

The film’s soundtrack is not as memorable as its prequel’s, except for the ‘Swagger’ song that’s clearly the USP. The background score and cinematography are well-oiled to capture the small town milieu. Ditto for editing, which is crisp and smart, ensuring that you never real check your watch!

Tanu Weds Manu Returns would have been a brilliant standalone film but is a little underwhelming as a sequel. You may end up liking the film but you somehow do not empathize with or root for its principal characters – Tanu and Manu – which is quite strange. In fact, all your sympathies are directed towards Kusum, who ends up being a sacrificial lamb in what is nothing more than frivolous and undefined post marital discord between Tanu & Manu. Add to this, the several untied knots in this supposed love triangle. For instance - while you can understand Manu being drawn towards Kusum as she heavily resembles his wife, you somewhat keep asking yourself this question about Kusum eventually reciprocating Manu’s feeling– why would a young college athlete fall for a 40-yeard old, almost-fat, divorced man who initially stalked her liked a goon?

All in all, points to the makers for trying because rarely does Bollywood go beyond the standard template of ‘happily ever after’. Tanu Weds Manu Returns is that rare mainstream Hindi film that tries to dispel the myth of 'all is well that ends well’ but eventually falls prey to the same predictable temptation of setting everything right at the end. The film is brave, ridiculous, funny, empowering, and powerless - all at the same time. Like how love is.

Watch it because Kangana Ranaut is in form, there are some genuine laughs and madness. You will most likely come out of the theatre with a smile on your face but you will realize that the charm of the original Tanu and Manu has eroded. May be that’s what happens when you are married off for four years.

Rating: *** (Good)