Here is another hackneyed storyline injected with uninspired direction for the sake of introducing new, well-connected — but not necessarily proficient — talent.
Haal-e-Dil
Director: Anil Devgan
Cast: Nakuul Mehta, Amita Pathak, Adhyayan Suman
Verdict: *
Here is another hackneyed storyline injected with uninspired direction for the sake of introducing new, well-connected — but not necessarily proficient — talent.
A trio of awkward newcomers is conducted by old fashioned direction in a story driven by characters that display no depth or nuances and whose dilemmas and motivations fail to connect with, or gain the sympathy of the audience.
Do not be mistaken, this trio is not embroiled in a love triangle. Sanjana (Amita Pathak) and Rohit (Adhyayan Suman), childhood sweethearts, are committed to loving each other till death do them part. But Sanjana’s life gets a bit derailed when she finds herself seated next to musician and magician Shekhar (Nakuul Mehta) on a train ride to Simla. And then Haal-e-Dil turns into Jab We Met as Shekhar and Sanjana are left off their train, get into a cab, chase the train, encounter asinine dacoits, and finally make it to their destination. Through the adventures, Sanjana has to tolerate a verbal diarrhea suffering co-passenger Shekhar, a supremely juvenile character who Sanjana is almost forced to fall in love with. Also there is no evident reason for Shekhar to be single-mindedly in love with Sanjana. Add to this stew Sanjana’s college sweetheart Rohit who shows as much maturity as a two-year-old.
A revelation in the second half would have been the best place to end the film and leave the resulting relationship between Sanjana and Shekhar a matter of speculation. But, like Shekhar, this film also does not seem to know when to stop. Replete with clichés, and weak writing, one of the classic line of the film goes something like ‘if talking a lot made people fall in love, then all call centre employees would be falling in love all the time’. Hello?
Why is it that anyone with a film industry connection thinks they have the talent, ability and spark to make it as an actor or actress? It clearly helps to have a producer daddy if you have aspirations of being an actress or movie star and Amita Pathak finds her homemade launch-pad through papa producer Kumar Mangat. Adhyayan Suman, for anyone who has missed the news, is Shekhar Suman’s son. But connections are not enough guys. These newcomers need to be delivered some brutal advice from their near and dear connected ones before they make themselves vulnerable to critics and paying audiences.
uditaj@gmail.com
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