'Teree Sang' is no 'Juno'

Firstly, let’s be clear, this isn’t a remake of Juno. The only similarity is teenage pregnancy, but besides that Teree Sang is not a patch on the independent American hit film.

Mahi, 15, and Kuku, 17, get drunk on champagne on a camping trip; share a tent and a kiss. She asks him ‘Tum kissi ladki key saat soye ho’ and before you can say Moet Chandon, she has a bun in the oven. The parents — one set rich and neglecting (hers), the other poor but good humoured and supportive (his) — oppose the pregnancy.

Unwilling to abort the child, Mahi and Kuku elope and engage in an elaborate play of house-house as the cushions in her tummy go from small and square to large and round.
Sheena Shahabadi as Mahi is too giggly. Her attempt to play a teenager is just plain annoying. Ruslaan Mumtaz as Kuku has moments of innocent appeal. Responsibility for this must be shared with the director who should have guided them better. The other characters are stereotyped, though Rajat Kapoor adds some zing as Mahi’s arrogant, disinterested father.

The highpoint of the film comes in the final court case when the judge (Anupam Kher) delivers a mature sentence. But it’s a case of too little too late. A relevant social comment lost in poor performances and weak script.