At Patiala House lives the Kahlon family ruled by Bauji. They follow his diktats as he tries to hold onto his "Indian values" in the land of the "goras". The younger generation at the Patiala House wants to assert themselves and follow their dreams, but is held back by their respect and love for Bauji and the shining example ...more
“One of Akshay's best performances in recent times! Watch it with hopes not too high.”
Review Patiala House & earn 20 DM Points.*
Patiala House is a film with its heart in the right place but sadly the rest of the films body is not as perfect.
A story delving into father son relationships, the film is about Gattu (Akshay Kumar) who is unable to fulfill his dream of being a cricketer since his father, Bauji (Rishi Kapoor), hates England and does not want his son to play for the nation. All this, when the entire extended joint family lives in London. And this is just one of the oddities in this mildly engaging film.
Baujis entire family lives with his idiosyncrasies and bordering-on-the-absurd-rules , till comes along Simran (a hyperactive Anushka) who pushes both Gattu and the rest of the family to rebel and change things. The time taken for this to happen though, could have been more engaging than it currently is in the course of the movie.
The treatment of this archaic, 80s bollywood story line is as archaic and clichd. A Punjabi family sings, dances and cries at the drop of a hat. All pubs and clubs in London have to play Punjabi pop. Bauiji, the father and patriarch, has to be an eccentric unreasonable old guy in the most caricaturist manner possible. And all characters have to dress up even if all they have to do is to fill space between the furniture in the unreasonably huge houses they live in.
Yet, Patiala House is not unwatchable. Akshay Kumar gives a measured and sensitive performance, restrained and very believable. He invests Gattu with a lot of authenticity, and one does feel for the character in many a moment in the film. It is the jarringly loud Rishi though, that removes any sense of subtlety and finesse to the film. He plays Bauji so annoyingly, one yearns for the nuanced actor who just recently enthralled us in the marvelous Do Dooni Chaar.
Udaan, last years best film by any measure, tackled a similar genre; that of a father son tussle, with sensitivity and conviction. Patiala House too could have been many notches higher had it not been so heavily candy-floss in its presentation, diluting in effect one of Akshays best performances in recent times.
Watch it, it is worth a try. But dont keep your expectations high.
