Review: From Sydney With Love has many plot holes

Film: From Sydney With Love (U)
Director: Prateek Chakravorty
Cast: Bidita Bag, Sharad Malhotra, Karan Sagoo
Rating: **

Writer, director, actor Prateek Chakravorty is a big man with a bigger responsibility. He happens to be the grandson veteran filmmaker Pramod Chakravorty (Tumse Achcha Kaun Hai, Love In Tokyo among others) and shoulders the onus of reviving their home banner Pramod Films after 50 years. Very ably, he dons many hats as he presents From Sydney With Love, a tale of aspirations, love and friendships.

Dreamer with steely resolve, Megha Banerjee (Bidita Bag), bags a scholarship to the University of New South Wales. On her first day at university she bumps into Raj (Chakravorty), a portly and clumsy senior, who doesn't cast the impression he'd like on Megha. She then meets rich spoilt brat Sohail (Karan Sagoo) and charming Rohit (Sharad Malhotra), who she falls in love with eventually. One party after another, followed by sight-seeing outings more or less take up much of their time in Sydney. Of course, Megha keeps reminding us with how much difficulty she's made it to Sydney.

Chakravorty's intentions hover in every frame. He wants his audience to have fun at this "famcom" (family comedy). And so we're subjected to farts, butt cracks, an extremely pointless rugby game and most of all, wait for it, an entire first half. The second half could easily be a film in itself, no trace of the fun they had in Sydney, whatsoever. The twists are many and the attempt to keep the interest alive is desperate. The dialogue is juvenile, yet not repulsive for a first-timer. Cinematographer Piyush Shah captures Sydney beautifully. The film could have been set just anywhere and it would make no difference. The music is peppy but too many songs spoil the mood, popping up one after another, tirelessly.

Plot hole after plot hole makes its presence felt and after a point you give up. A senior studies in the same class as a new student. The background of no one (except Sohail) is mentioned and yet these students have enough money to shuttle between parties, outings and very unbelievably travel from Australia to India and back with so much as a wince. Rohit even gives a beggar a 500 rupee note in a Bengal town! Can students afford that?

Television actor Sharad Malhotra's act salvages borderline hamming by the other cast, all desperate to make it large. Bag and Sagoo are passable. Chakravorty treads the thin line between acting and overacting, a probable result of having a finger in too many pies.

As a writer, his focus is on characters, they're either black or white. He relies on physical aspects like wardrobe and overall demeanor to separate them from each other, never exploring intrinsic traits (except for Raj's). No doubt, he cast himself as Raj, a quintessentially good guy at the receiving end always.

Chakravorty loses the plot every now and then. May be Sydney was too overwhelming. Let's wait and watch what he's capable of churning out of Pramod Films in years to come. For now, waiting for the television premiere of From Sydney With Love won't be much of a loss.