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Thursday, April 25, 2024
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BOLLYWOOD LONDON PARIS NEW YORK
EDITOR'S PICK
Rating: ***
If only Siddharth Anand`s Anjaana Anjaani was funnier, warmer, more
kindered in spirit and less burdened by the responsibility of making the pair
look at home on foreign shores, it could have conveyed the pleasure quotient of
London Paris New York (LPN).
Indeed debutante writer-director Anu Menon imparts a talcum-freshness into a
tale that has only two principal characters - He and She. And what happened to
mama, papa, chacha, chachi?
Luckily, for Anu Menon the lines that she puts into the mouths of her lead pair
simply melt in their mouths. The dialogues that could make or fake a
romantic-comedy, seem to work mainly because the actors promptly absorb the
words and make them their home.
Unlike other singers-turned-actors, Ali Zafar doesn`t sound like a singer when
he talks. He is, in fact, a big bonus in this kabhi-sassy-kabhi-glum take on
that thing called love. Ali gives just that bit of extra push to the less perky
scenes. His ebullience and involvement with the romantic aspect of the script
seems sensible, cautious but not over-studied.
Aditi Rao Hydari was star material from the time she stood behind Sonam Kapoor
in Delhi 6. Come forward, girl, take a bow as we say a collective
wow. Here she comes into her own. This time she has no torrid smooching scenes,
no tumultuous moment to show what a bitch that thing called love can be. She
manages to convey a cool coquettishness which is never stagey or annoying.
Quite a pair, this. Having got them in place Menon glides gently if a little
languorously through the three cities mentioned in the title creating an arching
kinship between her co-stars who look more like pals than lovers.
Nikhil (Ali) and Lalita (Aditi) don`t seem like the kind of couple that would
spend too much time in bed once they`re married. And that suits the audiences
fine.
God knows we`ve seen enough couples trying to sleep if not sleepwalk through
romantic-comedies. LPN takes the guarded, serene, low-speed lane in the highway
of love. The three cities emerge as the true heroes of the plot, thanks in no
small measure to veteran cinematographer Sameer Arya who lenses the three cities
with the love of someone who`s been there and done it all, and not on a tourist
visa.
The film`s biggest advantage is its casual non-ostentatious calm and easygoing
mood. Don`t look for specially-written scenes to spotlight the couple`s journey
into the three phases of their life as they seek to find answers to the
conundrum of the heart.
Not too many secrets on the emotion called love are unveiled in this comme ci
comme ca romantic-comedy. But the going is never amateurish. Most importantly
London Paris New York gives us two new dependable engaging stars.
More than another romantic-comedy, we need those. Desperately.
London Paris New York is a film that captures the angst of the twenties, the most dramatic period of one`s life - when you have to find a career; you have your first significant relationship and most importantly form your identity in this world.
This is story about Lalitha, a middle class south Indian girl from Chembur (an eastern suburb in mumbai) who is on her way to New York to study politics with full scholarship, and Nikhil, a punjabi, rich kid from Bandra (a posh western suburb of Mumbai - read new money) who is going to study Film Making in London on 100% dad`s money. They decide to hangout together one evening in London and find that they are completely drawn to each other even as their future lies on separate continents.
The three bridges on the three rivers - Thames, Seine and Hudson witness the three states of love.
