Movie Review: Gori Tere Pyaar Mein

Starring - Imran Khan, Kareena Kapoor and Shraddha Kapoor Directed by Punit Malhotra Rating - * * 1/2 While the promotions for Gori Tere Pyaar Mein were on, Kareena declared that she’s not gunning for an Oscar with this movie. Then director Punit Malhotra told us this film is not exactly what he would call a big one. After watching the movie yesterday, we quite understood what both of them exactly meant. On one hand, the movie doesn't have the opulence and the visual grandiose that a Sanjay Leela Bhansali movie would promise nor does it have a novel script like a Raju Hirani movie. But what the heck! Gori Tere Pyaar Mein still entertains you to a good measure. The movie is a light-hearted and clean family rom-com that one can definitely watch with your special someone in tow. Imran Khan (Sriram Venkat) is a lazy South Indian architect who is hopelessly in love with Kareena Kapoor (Diya), a social worker. However an unfortunate episode puts an end to their relationship. Imran is then introduced to a South Indian girl Shraddha Kapoor (Vasudha) by his parents for marriage. Imran is immediately attracted to the lovely looking Shraddha and agrees to the proposal. But Shraddha discreetly tells Imran that she is in love with someone else whom she is scared to introduce to her ultra conservative South Indian parents. She begs Imran to back off but Imran instead throws the gauntlet back at Shraddha asking her to instead be brave enough to tell her parents. Shraddha fails to do so and ultimately gets engaged to Imran. While preparations for their wedding are in full swing, Shraddha makes a last-ditch effort to change Imran’s mind and calls him for a private meeting where Imran ends up narrating his and Kareena’s love story to Shraddha. In the process, Imran realises that his heart still beats for Kareena. Unfortunately things have reached a point no-return for both Imran and Shraddha that marriage now looks inevitable. Both reluctantly enter the marriage mandap and sit at the altar. Fortunately while the holy incantations are on, a Tamil wedding tradition called Kashi Yatra comes to Imran’s rescue. As per this age-old tradition, after the holy bath the groom pretends to go to Kashi, leaving all the worldly pleasures behind. He is stopped by the bride's father and is persuaded to accept the responsibility of his daughter. Imran now dressed in a white mundu (lungi) taking advantage of this tradition scoots away to safety leaving his family embarrassed but Shraddha delighted. The movie then moves into its second half where Imran has to overcome the ardous task of finding Kareena and wooing her back. Kareena, by now has left worldly pleasures and immersed herself in the noble cause of helping the poor denizens of a remote village in Gujarat construct a bridge that will connect their village to the city. Imran joins Kareena in her cause and puts his architectural qualifications to good use. Together they raise a plan to build the bridge. But their efforts are thwarted by a corrupt collector (Anupam Kher) who obstinately creates impediments in their way. Finally it’s up to Imran to fight the corrupt collector and build a bridge so that he can woo his lady love and take her back home. Gori Tere Pyaar Mein is essentially old wine in new bottle. There is nothing new to caw about in the movie though we quite liked the way it was treated. The way Imran and Kareena’s love story pans out in a flashback mode makes for a good watch. The second half is a bit drab as compared to the first one leaving you with some ennui of boredom but thankfully not to a great extent. Performance wise Imran has done a decent job though this movie will do no good in furthering his floundering graph. And for all the brouhaha that was created about Imran-Kareena’s chemistry, we didn’t find anything highly drool worthy at all about the pair in this movie unlike Ek Main Aur Ek Tuu. On the contrary, Imran and Shraddha’s pairing did look convincing though there was no romance involved. Food for thought for future directors, perhaps. However, the true show showstopper of the movie is Kareena, in all respects. Though not a stellar role of her career, Kareena still manages to bewitch your senses with her radiating beauty and effortless acting in the movie. Final word. Gori Tere Pyaar Mein is one of those one-time watch movies. It will definitely make you feel good and will not leave a sour taste in your mouth. But yes, there are no take-aways from the movie and nor is there any chance of you remembering it once you have left the movie-hall.