AJAB PREM KI GHAZAB KAHANI
A good-hearted, lovable, cheerfully forthy rom com from Santoshi that helps Ranbir in making strong grounds as bollywood’s new dream lover
by Vishal Verma

A Tips Presentation & Release.

Producer : Ramesh S Taurani,
Writer-Director : Rajkumar Santoshi
Genre : Rom Com
Target Audience : General

Starring

Ranbir Kapoor...... Prem
Katrina Kaif...... Jenny
Upen Patel...... Rahul
Darshan Jariwala...... Shankar
Govind Namdeo...... Pitambar
Smita Jaykar...... Shalini
Navneet Nishan...... Mrs. Pinto
Mithilesh Chaturvedi...... Mr. Pinto
Zakir Hussain...... Sajid
&
Salman Khan...... Special Appearance

Technical Analysis

Agreed, He may not be as charming as SRK….but boy he is adopting it well. That’s Ranbir Kapoor 4 u represented with a breeze & fresh air by the prolific Raj kumar Santoshi who at last finds some midas touch & treats this routine rom com story with fresh exuberance, grace, humour & fun.

Ideally, this should have been the kapoor kid official launch pad as the actor showcases most of his skills over here & makes the most of what he has been given and manages to triumph. In a word, Ranbir is fantastically spontaneous.

Santoshi from his own screenplay helms a romancer this time & shifts from his social actioners for a feel good boolywood moments that that charms the cinegoer largely because of the novelty in the treatment, decent writing, funny moments & fantastic performances.

Shot in a relax & easy mood, Santoshi tries to intoxicate with his undeniably funny ‘Andaj Apna Apna’ feel by placing the settings at a hill station, Ooty this time. Still, I wish the kahani could have been more inspiring then the moments, which anyway will be responsible for the flicks commercial success. Santoshi designs his Ranbir less ‘posh’ from his previous helmers & smartly makes him identifiable to a wider audience.

The chemistry between Ranbir & Katrina (who does well once again) are the highlights in which the dance party scene, the going to work sequence & of course the stammering act are influential enough to make the audience hooked up & get involved. The protagonist now has to bear the brunt of the audience's reactions which makes the movie click.

Bollywood rom com has had its ways, recently Kaal Aaaj aur Kaal was a smartly restructured routine love funda while Wake up Sid was slightly more up market. Bollywood successful love stories have had the hero either an NRI or a up market yuppie, Santoshi tries to bring back the ‘Rangeela’ days minus the tapori part, he tries to churn a  love story of a simpleton with a dash of British style & situational humour.
Anyhow the movie has its shares of flaws like in maintaining a delicate balancing act between romance and humour, its clear in Santoshi’s latest that humour had taken the upper hand.

The supporting cast Upen Patel, Darshan Jariwala, Govind Namdeo, Smita Jaykar, Shalini, Navneet Nishan, Mithilesh Chaturvedi, & Zakir Hussain chip in with valuable support. Salman in a one scene appearance clearly highlights the difference between Men & boys.

Beautifully captured by the lense of Thiru, the movie is briskly paced thanks to the sharp editing by Steven H. Bernard. Art by Nitesh Roy is impressive. Production values are excellent.

Musically Pritam scores once again.

The movie scores 3 out of 5.

One for the treatment & fresh feel

One for the performance

One for the music

The movie looses points on telling a new story & having less romantic feel.

 

The Story

Prem's (Ranbir Kapoor) fundas in life were very simple - be happy...make others happy...keep the town happy... But these supposedly simple fundas usually results in disastrous consequences for Prem, the members of his Happy Club, and the town!

It may have been a case of mistaken identity that led Prem to kidnap Jenny (Katrina Kaif). And it was sheer greed that made Prem try to pull a fast one over her father. As for sweet and simple Jenny, brought up by indifferent and uncaring foster parents, all she longed was to love and be loved in return.

And it was love and only love for Jenny that made Prem turn over a new leaf. From hardly working vagabond he began working hard to make money... From a besotted Romeo, he becomes a mature and thoughtful Majnu who put Jenny's happiness above everything else...As for Jenny...she was so much in love with the idea of being in love that she was blinded by the reality that was staring in her face.

 

Promotion

Well promoted in indoors & outdoors, the promotional strategy has been aggressive in creating the maximum buzz with business tie –ups & other joint ventures.
Media promotions are effectively sound.

 

Business Analysis

Well promoted, APKGK carries its share of curiosity & buzz which are delivered. Targeted at the wallets of the young, this breezy, fresh & well acted rom com is expected to give decent returns largely from the young pockets where Ranbir is slowly & steadily making grounds film by film.

Other Credits

Cassettes and CD's on Tips Music Films. Lyricist: Irshad Kamil, Ashiesh Pandit & Hard Kaur. Music Director: Pritam Chakraborty. Cinematography: Thiru. Line producer: Dilip Advani. Choreography: Ahmed Khan. Action: Tinu Verma. Art: Nitesh Roy. Editor: Steven H. Bernard. Screenplay: Rajkumar Santoshi. Sound: Rakesh Ranjan. Dialogue: Rajkumar Santoshi. Publicity Designs: Rahul Nanda, Himanshu Nanda & HR Enterprises. Media Promotions: Raindrop Media. Certified with a ‘U’ certificate. Running time 2 hrs 15 minus (approx). Reviewed at Famous Studios, Mumbai on November 05, 2009.

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