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| Edited By: Udita Jhunjhunwal |Source: |Updated: Nov 19, 2013, 11:17 PM IST
Ugly Aur Pagli
Cast: Mallika Sherawat, Ranvir Shorey
Director: Sachin Kamlakar Khot
Rating: **
The Pagli protagonist of Sachin Kamlakar Khot's film loves her tequila shots and pints of beer. She also revels in writing B grade futuristic film scripts.
She's aggressive, high-pitched, neurotic and nursing a broken heart. Ugly, also known as Kabir (Ranvir Shorey), is a flailing engineering student. A mama's boy who was dressed as a girl when he was a baby (enough reason to confuse any man), Kabir's life turns turtle when he meets a drunk Pagli (Mallika Sherawat).
From here on, the film is about how Pagli's histrionics, spontaneity and unpredictability change Kabir's life till he falls madly in love with her. It's completely incomprehensible why this somewhat geeky, spineless character dances to the tune of a manipulative college girl who disrespects him, not to mention slaps him 99 times and constantly passes out drunk. I guess the answer to this question might lie in the original of this film, the Korean My Sassy Girl.
The opening credits are in poor taste as is the background refrain 'What you gonna do ugly' but worse than these are the references to the film industry including a gag about 'Yashram Films' where the producer prefers to watch the DVD of the film to be copied, rather than read the script. This is rich coming from the writers, director and makers who have copied My Sassy Girl. And, don't miss the DVD of Woody Allen's Match Point lying on Yashram's producer's desk (allegedly the 'inspiration' for Anurag Basu's Kites).
Unoriginal and contrived humour aside, the film is held together by the lead actors. Mallika Sherawat is surprisingly watchable, if only she had not been pitched at the same level throughout. While her comedic scenes are engaging, she really needs to work on her emotional scenes.
Ranvir Shorey continues to cement his standing as a reliable actor, though he does appear uncomfortable with his persistent gawkiness. The mothers of the characters played by Bharti Achrekar and Sushmita Mukherjee deliver the funniest moments.
The film is technically efficient, barring the force-fitted songs, and there are charming, even amusing scenes. But the dialogues are not crisp enough and the love story too implausible to hook the viewer. And really, who would put up with nine slaps, leave alone 99, from a disrespecting drunk?
