There are a few actresses who have a crazy-addictive screen presence. The minute they appear onscreen, you just cannot take your eyes off them; you immediately identify with their joys and problems. These actresses are always beautiful but in a more unique way than your typical heroine. The ever-improving Katrina Kaif is one such actress with her ethereal beauty and charming screen persona. Happy-to-be-here Deepika Padukone, with her sunshine smile and skyscraper legs, is another.
Sonam Kapoor, daughter of Anil Kapoor, is a new entry to this elite group of women. She kind of looks like a bird with her long neck, beak-like nose and arms the size of an eagle's wings. But it works for her as she is simply stunning. Luckily for everyone, she is decidedly the most talented actress in this club even if her career is only three films long.
Her newest film is I Hate Luv Storys (IHLS) a tongue-in-cheek romantic comedy starring another star kid, Imran Khan, nephew (or cousin?) to Aamir Khan. He is best known for the 2008 sleeper hit Jaane Tu...Ya Jaane Naa The film is written/directed by debutant Punit Malhotra with music by Vishal-Shekhar.
Jay Dhingra (Imran Khan), who pretentiously goes by "J", is an assistant director to one of Bollywood's most respected directors, Veer (Sameer Soni), famous for making hardcore romantic pictures (which also score big at the box office). J, however, hates love stories and openly mocks Bollywood's many cliches. When art director Simran (Sonam Kapoor) is hired for Veer's next film, she and J instantly clash. For Simran is a hardcore believer in love and romance, actually living her perfect love story. She's engaged to her childhood sweetheart, the perfect and perfectly named Raj (Sameer Dattani). Unless you've been living under a rock all this time, you know pretty much what's going to happen: hate, friendship, love, rejection, heartbreak, union.
You may think this film is another movie about how awesome love is (we've all seen Dil Chahta Hai), but I think this film is actually a celebration of (Bollywood) cinema and what it means to us, just like the underrated Salaam-e-Ishq. Simran has an almost Tarantino-esque love for the cinematic experience and she understands the power it holds over the viewing public. And the film takes an interesting turn when J starts living through the very Bollywood cliches he had lampooned earlier. For example, a romantically rejected J is shown wearing red which recalls the pre-intermission scene in Kal Ho Naa Ho in which a tragically heartbroken and red-clad Preity Zinta clings to a chain-link fence as if holding on for dear life. For these characters, Bollywood isn't just their job but it is also their life.
No one is promising that J and Simran are realistic people. They live at a larger than life scale. They are also very much aware of the tropes of the romantic-comedy genre even as they are experiencing them. This gives the film a surreal, other-worldly feel that can be (but shouldn't be) mistaken for the exploitation of plot devices we've seen a hundred times before. If that's how you see the film, then you've clearly missed its intention to be a loving/respectful parody of the Bollywood Romance.
Getting back to Sonam Kapoor--the beautiful and traditional love song "Bahaara" allows Simran to float around in all her glorious girlishness as she enjoys her full-blown crush. There is a certain visual pleasure one gets from seeing a woman on-screen who is totally bonkers-in-love. She coyly but radiantly smiles to herself in stolen moments. Her skin glows like a thousand suns. Her cheeks are reddened by the thrilling embarrassment of a secret love. Unfortunately, Simran has to share the song with the heroine of the movie-within-the-movie, which is obnoxious because the other "actress" is not as pretty/amazing as Ms. Kapoor.
But such a musical sequence would have been lame if it weren't for Sonam Kapoor, who delivers a full-bodied, thoughtful and graceful performance. She has a deadpan comic timing and yet her dramatic scenes are laden with humility and slight humiliation. It's a beautiful performance that I'm afraid will get overlooked come awards season due to the film's rom-com status.
Her co-star, Imran Khan, is a little tough to review. It's not that he's a Harman Baweja-style bad actor. He hits all the right notes, lands his jokes quite well and is solid in the dramatic scenes. But there is something he just isn't contributing to his character. I think the problem is that because J is so obnoxiously pretentious, it's hard to relate to him (unlike the honest/earnest Simran). The film's title (with the misspelled "luv" and "storys") is symbolic of his need to always be super-cool--that's where his mocking of Bollywood comes from. Or maybe Imran Khan is just blown away by his leading lady.
Supporting cast is fine. Sameer Dattani stands out as the boringly perfect Raj. I like the little details director Punit Malhotra added to showcase the lifeless romance between Simran and Raj (like the fact that they are always wearing the same color--not just complimenting outfits). Ketki Dave also scores as Simran's mother while Sameer Soni is quite good as the director. The film's soundtrack is perfect. Seriously, download the 5 main songs.
The film's one flaw is that sometimes the filmy references seem more like product placement than an earnest attempt to show Bollywood's influence on life. It works when the characters talk about films with actual cultural impact (DDLJ, K3G, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, Dil Chahta Hai, Hum Tum, etc). But having J say the phrases "rab ne bana di jodi" and "tujh mein rab dikhta hai" in the same scene seems a little sketchy. Also, the background music literally lifts music from past films which is just a mistake. I think the problem is that writer/director Punit Malhotra is just too inexperienced to understand the (slight) difference between parody and unoriginality.
Other than that, this film is a must-watch. Even if you're not a fan of it thematically, you will appreciate Sonam Kapoor's performance, her rocking chemistry with Imran Khan as well as the melodious soundtrack. IHLS is hilarious and heartfelt; and it's both a merciless satire and a loving tribute to the glorious tradition of Bollywood romance.
I Hate Luv Storys rates an 8.5/10.
