I Hate Luv Storys

Title: I Hate Luv Storys
Year: 2010
Cast: Imran, Sonam, Samir Soni, Sammir Dattani, Kavin Dave

The best part of the movie has to be who I saw it with, a really fun group of fellow bloggers and tweeters: Cynthia, Jessica, Valencia, The Bollywood Fan and Joe. The company unfortunately was far better than the movie could ever be. Which sounds ominous, but it really isn't- its not a bad movie, but not memorable; a fact that could have been avoided... but I'm getting ahead of myself, first- the story!

Imran has let his home in Long Island, NY to be part of Bollywood. He is one of Samir Soni's numerous assistants; Samir being a director modeled after Karan Johar, maker of numerous weepfests/lovesfests/Bollywood sagas. In comes Sonam, who is the art director; Imran gets assigned to help her, and like all the love stories ever, they argue first, and then eventually fall in love. She proposes first, he balks. Then he proposes and she balks. And then they both figure it out. And thats it.

But its really well done, which makes the movie. Unfortunately, it could have been the little movie which could, and it ends up being the not so little movie which simply couldn't.

The pros:

1. Imran Khan- he is all that a young hero should be. He makes his character quirky, funny, lovable, and that sweet face and those well threaded (or waxed) eyebrows do help- a lot. He slips right into his character, and lives it, and makes you believe, which is really all that matters.
2. Kavin Dave- plays the chubby friend to Imran, and adds that unfathomable something to the movie. His humor fills in and lifts all the little gaps that would have been glaring in his absence. I want to see him in more movies.
3. Samir Soni- One of those actors who has been around a long time, but hasn't gotten his due I think. This must be his most pleasant and long running role in a movie, and he does really well. His character behaves often how one would expect Karan Johar to behave, and he too, like Kavin, brings in his 100% to the movie.
4. The script is well done- while the story could easily be classified as run of the mill, the script, the dialogues and their wit keeps things flowing as well as any good romantic comedy should. The premise of a movie inside a movie and of the self-aware humor are executed with a large wink to the audience, and have been done seldom better.

The cons:

1. Sonam Kapoor- I saw Sawariya, and blamed Sonam's lack of performance on the fact that it was her first movie, and that she was just playing herself- a tentative, lovely girl, who is exploring the world around her. Then I saw Delhi-6, and blamed her lack of 100% being there in the fact that the movie was filled with so many great actors, an that since she was so new, she could just be herself- tentative, lovely, sweet. Unfortunately, with this movie, I cant make any of those excuses. She is lovely, wears adorable clothes, gazes prettily at the world, and - and that's pretty much it. The script granted her enough opportunities and dialogues to dazzle us blind. But like my fellow bloggers and tweeters agreed, she just doesn't deliver- her spoken dialogues lack emotion, her voice lacks modulation, and all the loveliness in the world cant excuse that. Her parents got her the face and the body, but the acting bit has to be her. She could of course, grow into being Aishwariya, and work with directors who give her fewer dialogues and more poses- which she would do very well at. Honestly. I was not being catty there.
   
2. At some level, I have a little blame to place at the director, Puneet's door. It seems a bit complacent that having pretty stars and a snappy script would guarantee success. Maybe some thought should have gone to casting (See Con #1), and maybe coaching the actors to ensure that the end product works. All the self-aware cockiness of the script fails when one of the leads fails to execute, and that cant be just the actor's bad.

Conclusion: A movie to be seen only with pleasant company- alone, it would be simply a sad fail.