Khoobsurat (19 Sep 2014)

Cast: Sonam Kapoor, Fawad Afzal Khan, Ratna Pathak Shah, Kirron Kher, Aamir Raza Hussain, Aditi Rao Hydari

Director: Shashanka Ghosh   Writer: D.N. Mukherjee (original story), Indira Bisht (screenplay), Juhi Chaturvedi (dialogue)   Music: Sneha Khanwalkar

Producer: Anil Kapoor Film Company, Walt Disney Pictures   Distributor: UTV Motion Pictures

Running Time: 130 minutes

‘Khoobsurat’ is the remake of ‘Khubsoorat’ (1980), a family drama, well directed by Hrishikesh Mukherjee and very ably enacted by Rekha.

Both these movies have some superfluous similarities – the name (with ‘u’ and ‘oo’ being swapped), the leading ladies Rekha and Sonam being the real life fashionistas, and hard core disciplinarian role essayed by Dina Pathak in the original and her daughter Ratna Pathak Shah in the remake.

The original ‘Khubsoorat’ was the celebration of emergence of free spirited but downright loyal and homely lass of modern India who attempted to break through the strict and stifling family codes of the old world with her smile and chirp intact. It was a real world scenario and the masses very well identified with both the situation and the solution. Whereas the remake ‘Khoobsurat’ shows a gawky but urban working woman unable to merge in with the codes of the royals, but still managing to achieve success in her task at hand with her enthusiasm intact. It is a kind of dream world scenario and the masses will identify with the bits and pieces of the same.

Dr. Milli Chakravarty (Sonam Kapoor) is a visiting physiotherapist at the mansion of the Rathores, one of the Rajasthan royals. Along with a train of staff, the mansion occupies the wheel chair bound family head aka Milli’s patient (Aamir Raza Hussain), his boisterous, business savvy and disciplinarian wife, Nirmala Devi (Ratna Pathak Shah), his handsome and workaholic son Vikram (Fawad Afzal Khan) and his underage daughter (read seventeen) who nurses secret acting aspirations. Milli is gawky and free spirited, wears unmatched outfits, eats with hand and noise, stumbles every now and then, and video chats for all her big and small problems with her equally eccentric mother Manju (Kirron Kher), whom is refers as ‘Manju’ only! Everyone is courteous and patient with her. But she is trapped in a hostile environment – where her patient shows no wish or effort in getting well, Nirmala Devi’s disdain towards her presence is quite apparent and the handsome son thinks of her as ‘aafat’ (problem). As expected, Milli finds her way around the place, reignites the passion for life in her patient and also manages to flutter Vikram’s heart.

This is the first Disney Bollywood flick and it has total Disney world feel - larger than life setting, beautiful people, gentle comic approach and no real villain. But the movie also lacks well researched characterization and depth. The protagonist’s wardrobe is color fanatic, so much so that, by the time the movie ends, you actually cannot differentiate one color from the other! With father and sister being the co-producers (Anil Kapoor and Rhea Kapoor), Sonam Kapoor is handled with utmost respect by the hero as well as the chanced upon villains!

Sonam Kapoor has given an OTT (over the top) performance. It’s quite in your face. But still its somewhere better than her other flicks. Fawad Afzal Khan is a famous Pakistani singer and TV & movie actor. This is his Bollywood debut. With his chiseled good looks and baritone voice, he very well suits the character and has performed well. One looks forward to see his performance driven flick. Ratna Pathak Shah looks immaculate like ever. You expect her to be the lady with the iron fist. But she comes across as the one with strong head but broken will. And you get confused because you cannot really understand if it’s successful enactment of a complex character or stepping away from the character. Kirron Kher has become a pro in playing a OTT Punjabi mother. Still, she could have adorned a little less of the countless oxide jewelries. Aditi Rao Hyadari plays a cameo (Vikram’s girlfriend) and looks very royal. The director Shashanka Ghosh is known for well directing small budget eccentric flicks. You miss the expected eccentricity here. Music is OK. ‘Engine ki ceeti’ track is good and catchy.

All in all, it’s a simple flick, best to be seen with tinted glasses and not much logic. Last but not the least, when Milli comes to confront her patient in the garden, her earrings magically change.