Faisel Jamil (simplyfsl)
MERE BROTHER KI DULHAN is doing well at the box office, I have no intentions to hurt its fans, but there was a lot of BAD here, I hardly rate movies less than 5 as I realize the effort behind even every movie, but here the audience was literally betrayed..So how we believe that:MBKD in short is a story of a flirt ALI ZAFAR in ENGLAND who has family in India, his brother is party guy IMRAN, after a break up with his GF, ALI asks IMRAN to find an eastern girl for him as he wants to settle down, the rest that follows forms the backbone, but the movie goes in multiple directions , not following a single path...*The trailer of the movie shows KATRINA slapping IMRAN and all other trailers too give the impression that Imran will fall in love with his brothers fiancé, though we all knew he would get KAT at the end, but here everything was very very predictable, in 10 minutes its shown that IMRAN and KAT know each other before, in 30 minutes, they are in love, so when ALI ZAFAR comes in scene, all sense of surprise is lost as you know there will not be any WINNING or ONE-ON-ONE confrontation, this really detaches the viewer from the movie..*What really bothered a lot of audience was that how DUMB and OBLIVIOUS ALI ZAFAR is to the situation, at one hand he is ultra-smart BANKER and has history of multiple GF'S, still under his nose, IMRAN and KAT are openly involved and indulged in a full fledge affair, yet till the end he doesn't know at all about this, here also the movie becomes relatively boring, as either as I said I expected a WIN-MY-BROTHERS- Fiancé type of theme or at least BROTHERS-IN-COMPETITION, would be really different..*As I mentioned before, the predictability of the plot detached me so much that I could not get back in the movie, I am a basically Hollywood GUY but India has really made some great movies recently which bring me back to theater to my Maternal Language..Namely MUNNA-BHAI-DUO, 3 IDIOTS had the audience rolling in laughter, also the comparable low budget BAND BAAJA BAARAAT had more applause from audience because of its VERY BELIEVABLE premise, TERE BIN LADEN was another UNDER-RATED effort from this great movie loving country but MKBD is none, the director is highly unaware of what he wants to make, its sometimes a SPOOF, sometimes a ROMANTIC COMEDY and at others SLAPSTICK, though all of these cakes are HALF BAKED..Now to the movie performances, ALI ZAFAR was the most inexperienced of the trio as an actor, he was given least dialogs but he really ruled the scenes he was in, his CUTE UNAWARENESS and GESTURES really worked, I really wished, he had some more scenes..Equally captivating and excellent was KATRINA KAIF, she really had excelled as actress after BOOM, even her criticized accent is now much better and eastern, the only scene she felt short were when she is drunk but I don't complain, no one does a AMITABH in this theme, its very tough to portray a drunk and be funny and not over-act, in short MKBD is a great addition to KATRINA'S CV as an ACE actress, as far as her performance is concerned..IMRAN KHAN is just average, he hasn't come out of JAANE TU YA JAANE NA, and he really needs to revolutionize like Ranbir Kapoor is or he will lose the FUTURE-UNO post..The Rest of cast is totally bad decisions and miscasting, why cast PRAKSHIT SAHANI in a comedy when you have much better actors playing fathers, for instance ANUPAM KHER, OM PURI...There is not a single memorable performance by the side cast when in BAND BAAJA BAARAAT, a really smaller movie, unknown actors did a better job (I compare this to BBB because of the same production house and comic feel of the movie)The laughs for which the movie is banked on basically are the physical comedy and at some scenes I really chuckled, especially KATRINA'S and IMRAN'S RUNAWAY scene :), the scenes between ALI ZAFAR and KAT are really fun too, there is little spoof thrown, when IMRAN churns out SALMAN'S Dialogs to KAT (sort of hidden humor as Salman-Kat are in news for their relations), there is also a big take on SHAHRUKH KHAN'S role in MY NAME IS KHAN, though a good idea, but the actor playing it couldn't;t master the mimickery, I really thought why not cast RAJPAL YADAV here who mimicks SHAHRUKH perfectly, anyways as I said, the laughs are bumpy and inconsistent, not following a smooth path...I just wish at the end that the movie really followed the great idea, though its doing great in India and in MID-EAST, but there are far better movies of this GENRE to invest here, but, to each his own..In a nutshell, the movie never really gripped me, I watched this in a packed theater, the multiplex had SALMAN KHAN starrer BODYGUARD running simultaneously, some people were saying while exiting, could have seen that, at least would have been better than this, I haven't seen BODYGUARD but I can't agree more...
Himanshu Desai
The director Ali Abbas Zafar (has no connection with Ali Zafar) works upon the common Bollywood formula of a love triangle but sadly, the movie fails to maintain a balance between love and humor quotient.The movie sparkles for about first half an hour, and as a viewer, you feel delighted. But gradually, the movie centers to the same old story with some added Masala in it.The messed up screenplay and ordinary performances are something to blame a big time. There are unnecessary comic scenes and over-the-top performances, due to which, the movie fails to create an emotional under current.The movie has many references of Bollywood movies (or say spoof), which somehow keeps you glued on the seat. But the main thing in a rom-com, the flavor of romance is missing here.The songs, in fact boosted the movie, which was supposed to be the role of screenplay writer.Imran Khan is as usual in the role of a chocolate boy, and his sweet image does trick for him. Katrina Kaif looks uncomfortable on the screen, she tries too hard to fit in her character and she somehow, fails to do so. Ali Zafar (though in a small role) has delivered a brilliant performance again. I want to see him more often. Tina D'Sousa is remarkable.Some scenes like the Chat show scene and Dabbang spoof are genuinely funny and scenes like Katrina's confession about love to Imran are touchy.Ali A. Zafar as a director has done a good job but Ali A. Zafar as a screenplay writer has a long way to go.
Somak Basu
EXPECTATIONS ---- Yash Raj, Ali Zaffar, Imran Khan & Katrina Kaif - now that's a pair that can drag audiences into cinema halls. MBKD is a brave attempt to compete with a tornado flowing these days named 'BodyGuard'. So, just to change the taste from Action to comedy, MBKD works for a big time. Imran Khan, the most successful teen in B'Town, Katrina, the most successful popular actress and Ali Zaffar, the heartthrob of many gals. MBKD is the biggest surprise that can come with three crackers. Also, the super-successful music is also there. What does one want more?MBKD is a rom-com based on a new tragedy as it claims itself in teasers. And, so it is. We have seen this type of story in Onir's SORRY BHAI or MY BROTHER'S WIFE (or A BEAUTIFUL WIFE). But MKBD is totally different from them. It's entertaining, funny, clumsy & is filled with strong performances.Kush Agnihotri (Imran Khan) is looking for the ideal Indian bride for his brother Luv Agnihotri (Ali Zafar), who stays in London. In his quest, Kush goes through an array of wacky encounters with several families until he finally finds that perfect girl in Dimple Dixit (D)(Katrina Kaif), the craziest / wackiest girl he has ever known.Both the families meet. Formalities are completed. Preparations proceed in full swing. And just then Kush falls in love with Dimple... his brother's dulhan. Dimple is also in love with him. How can their love overcome in this society? That's when a wacky plot with wacky incidents take place.MBKD deals with a very heavy plot in a funny and light manner and changes the whole mood where a calamity is occurring. Director Ali Abbas Zafar has a dream debut fulfilled by this. His smart direction and handling every scene with good humor shows that he's different from most other directors debuting nowadays.Imran Khan does a commendable job this time also. Unlike Delhi Belly, Imran achieves such a role this time that has been focused on him entirely. And also he lives with it more than good. Some people call it 'Reserved' and some call 'Fattu' Imran had to do work in such a role and does it bloody good. The dulhan herself, Katrina Kaif was gorgeous and pretty and a powerhouse entertainer this time. But she still needs to work on her Hindi and acting skills. Ali Zaffar was a joy to watch. A dashing, handsome, wild, cool & aggressive player, just opposite to his brother's nature. Ali Zaffar had delivered a far better performance this time than 'Tere Bin Laden' by giving some giggles. Kanwaljeet Singh as Dimple's Daddy & Parikshat Sahni as Colonel Agnihotri (Luv & Kush's Dad) were tremendous. Imran's friends were cool. Debutant Tara D' Souza (as Piyali) was fine. The man who acted a s Dimple's brother gave a bad performance trying to imitate SRK from My Name Is Khan.Music by Sohail Sen was the major plus point of this movie. Every song was situational (after a long period) and vibrant and excellent. Background Score worked fine too. Next comes screenplay which somehow covers up the flaws and immaturity of the script. A cool and pacy script, we can say. Cinematography by Sudeep Chatterjee, which mostly covered Agra & Taj was fine. Costumes were fabulous. Editing could have been much better.Allover, MBKD tries to be something different in clichéd rom-com movies but for a so-so plot and some clumsy moments, it stays afloat. Forget beating Bodyguard's records, it is somehow a nearly good competition to it. But some funny moments, Imran Khan & a spectacular music score make Mere Brother Ki Dulhan far better than most other movies of this type came in this year. It's lightening, joyful, honest & a bit introvert. So, just go to theaters, pop up the corns and forget stress and tension.
