'Anjaana Anjaani' is yet another half-baked attempt from the Bollywood brigade to come up with a more contemporary romantic comedy. A few months ago I nearly died of boredom while watching 'I Hate Luv Storys' which could have been repeated here had it not been for the effortless charm of the two leads.
Two strangers, Akash (Ranbir Kapoor) & Kiara (Priyanka Chopra) meet on a bridge in trying to attempt suicide. Hes run a stock-brokerage firm into the ground while shes sending the stock prices of vodka companies into the stratosphere while trying to nurse a broken heart. Not compelling reasons for a suicide you might say but people have killed themselves for lesser troubles. Anyways after umpteenth failed attempts to commit suicide together (which make me wonder, why didn't they just go their own ways and try separately) they decide to fix a date for the deed later and live life to the fullest for the twenty days they have in hand. So a daily "Bucket List" is cooked up and wishes are fulfilled from Akash wanting to lose his virginity to Kiara wanting to swim in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean to the two taking a cross country road trip to Las Vegas. As the two spend more time in each others company love naturally blossoms but is it really healing their psychological wounds or just giving them one last phase of happiness before darkness engulfs their lives forever? Don't beat yourself over the answer; I'm sure you'd be able to figure out the end even if you haven't watched the movie.
Predictability is a virtue this movie holds dear. Everything about the setup and events are telegraphed to you long in advance if you haven't fallen asleep by then. To call it a remake (*using a politer word*) of at least half-dozen international flicks would be not far off from the truth but thankfully it does not blatantly copy scene-to-scene, dialogue-to-dialogue.
The picturesque locations hold little in terms of novelty value anymore simply because every Bollywood movie has used it over and over again till the sheen was completely lost. The showcasing of Indians in foreign locations still appalls me in the manner of its depiction. They might have lived there for many decades together but do not have a hint of accent, still sing and dance on Hindi songs in New York pubs and even make foreigners sing and dance along with them in a synchronized manner. An entirely Indian stock brokerage firm on Wall Street, pitching to Americans in a very distinct Indian accent while here BPO employees, cant even be understood clearly without putting on a fake accent. But this is a Bollywood movie for isn't it? Logic & reasoning are are anjaani and anjaana to most of the stuff that this industry cranks out.
'Tumse Hi Tumse' is one of the few saving graces of the movie and the only song I could remember once I left the theater. There are a few other songs which are lively too but nothing memorable.
Ranbir Kapoor & Priyanka Chopra inject some much needed life into their otherwise mundane flick; more so Priyanka Chopra whose bubbly portrayal contrasts nicely with Ranbir's more anchored character. The flip-side is that Priyanka is so lively that she doesn't seem like the type who'd kill herself and her sadness only shows up when she goes back into flashback mode to talk about her past. Tanvi Azmi has a well acted but preachy cameo as a doctor extolling the virtues of life on the other hand the less spoken about Zayed Khan's cameo the better. Even Kumar Pallana who was in Spielberg's 'The Terminal' (2004) & a regular in nearly all Wes Anderson ('The Darjeeling Limited', 'The Royal Tenenbaums', 'Rushmore', etc) flicks shows up in a neat little cameo as a coast-guard at the end of the movie.
'Anjaana Anjaani' has little to recommend other than the acting of the two leads and few moments of humor sprinkled far in between many moments of boredom. The songs though far too many in number, are still tolerable but the utter predictability of the plot and some over-the-top sentimental scenes with dollops of cheesy scenes would make you groan rather than smile or cry.
My advice to you is, stay a stranger to this movie while its playing at the theaters.view less
Two strangers, Akash (Ranbir Kapoor) & Kiara (Priyanka Chopra) meet on a bridge in trying to attempt suicide. Hes run a stock-brokerage firm into the ground while shes sending the stock prices of vodka companies into the stratosphere while trying to nurse a broken heart. Not compelling reasons for a suicide you might say but people have killed themselves for lesser troubles. Anyways after umpteenth failed attempts to commit suicide together (which make me wonder, why didn't they just go their own ways and try separately) they decide to fix a date for the deed later and live life to the fullest for the twenty days they have in hand. So a daily "Bucket List" is cooked up and wishes are fulfilled from Akash wanting to lose his virginity to Kiara wanting to swim in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean to the two taking a cross country road trip to Las Vegas. As the two spend more time in each others company love naturally blossoms but is it really healing their psychological wounds or just giving them one last phase of happiness before darkness engulfs their lives forever? Don't beat yourself over the answer; I'm sure you'd be able to figure out the end even if you haven't watched the movie.
Predictability is a virtue this movie holds dear. Everything about the setup and events are telegraphed to you long in advance if you haven't fallen asleep by then. To call it a remake (*using a politer word*) of at least half-dozen international flicks would be not far off from the truth but thankfully it does not blatantly copy scene-to-scene, dialogue-to-dialogue.
The picturesque locations hold little in terms of novelty value anymore simply because every Bollywood movie has used it over and over again till the sheen was completely lost. The showcasing of Indians in foreign locations still appalls me in the manner of its depiction. They might have lived there for many decades together but do not have a hint of accent, still sing and dance on Hindi songs in New York pubs and even make foreigners sing and dance along with them in a synchronized manner. An entirely Indian stock brokerage firm on Wall Street, pitching to Americans in a very distinct Indian accent while here BPO employees, cant even be understood clearly without putting on a fake accent. But this is a Bollywood movie for isn't it? Logic & reasoning are are anjaani and anjaana to most of the stuff that this industry cranks out.
'Tumse Hi Tumse' is one of the few saving graces of the movie and the only song I could remember once I left the theater. There are a few other songs which are lively too but nothing memorable.
Ranbir Kapoor & Priyanka Chopra inject some much needed life into their otherwise mundane flick; more so Priyanka Chopra whose bubbly portrayal contrasts nicely with Ranbir's more anchored character. The flip-side is that Priyanka is so lively that she doesn't seem like the type who'd kill herself and her sadness only shows up when she goes back into flashback mode to talk about her past. Tanvi Azmi has a well acted but preachy cameo as a doctor extolling the virtues of life on the other hand the less spoken about Zayed Khan's cameo the better. Even Kumar Pallana who was in Spielberg's 'The Terminal' (2004) & a regular in nearly all Wes Anderson ('The Darjeeling Limited', 'The Royal Tenenbaums', 'Rushmore', etc) flicks shows up in a neat little cameo as a coast-guard at the end of the movie.
'Anjaana Anjaani' has little to recommend other than the acting of the two leads and few moments of humor sprinkled far in between many moments of boredom. The songs though far too many in number, are still tolerable but the utter predictability of the plot and some over-the-top sentimental scenes with dollops of cheesy scenes would make you groan rather than smile or cry.
My advice to you is, stay a stranger to this movie while its playing at the theaters.view less
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