Movie Review: Ajab Prem ki Ghazab Kahani

'Ajab Prem ki Ghazab Kahani' is like reading an underwhelming comic book, the film is not the howlarious laugh out loud comedy you expect it to be, but there is still a bit of goofy fun to be had.

The film is frustratingly patchy for most of its running time and very unsure of what it wants to be. One minute it is a farce, the next minute it turns into a rom com, and at other times it desperately wants to be a retarded friend of Andaz Apna Apna, before suddenly plunging into serious melodrama. The other problem is that 'Ajab Prem..' is far too long and the second half is so tacky its not even funny. What's more, the film is laden with some boring songs that simply hamper the flow of the film.

The majority of the jokes are obvious and crude. The lazy script substitutes goofy situations for actual gags, much of which falls flat under Rajkumar Santoshi's plodding direction. The story contains all the clichés in Bollywood, including the boy falling for girl, girl in love with a rich muscular dimwit, tiffs with parents, divine intervention etc. But the truism here is deliberate, and you can very well wear your 80s glasses and have some good clean harmless fun. A few celebrity in-jokes are thrown in as well. The downright ROFL moments include the ball room scene where Ranbir uncontrollably dances and quivers, the scene where Ranbir wears a girl's top and struts about the house just as his potential in-laws and fiance walk in, the hilarious 'girl in yellow saree' scene and the side splitting 'knock on the door' scene.

The carnival type background score by Salim Suleiman is more or less fit for the madcap visuals but Pritam's songs are quite annoying. Cinematography by Tirru (who also worked on the mindblowing 'Kanchivaram') is exceptional, the colours are peppy and in particular the imagery in the song 'Tera Hone Laga Hoon' is exquisite. Overall set design is top notch, a whole town complete with houses, a restaurant overlooking a valley, a market, a pretty little bridge has been built for the sake of this film. The locales themselves heighten the comic book feeling of the film.

Ranbir Kapoor is once again superb with his truckloads of panache as well as physical comedy. 'Ajab Prem..' would have been a disaster had anyone else played Ranbir's role, he is completely committed to his role and makes sure the audience is entertained throughout. In fact his Prem is the only believable character in a film pumped with dozens of cartoons. There’s a difference between showmanship and showing off, and Ranbir has most definitely learned that.

Katrina is fine as long as she is smiling, but her comic timing is non existent. The supporting cast apart from Darshan Jariwala does not make any lasting impression. Andaz Apna Apna fans will be pleased as Vijoo Khote reprises his role as Robert, although his inclusion was unnecessary. Upen Patel is pitch perfect as a half wit moron - he was born to play that role. I wonder if he was aware of the fact that Santoshi took full advantage of his obtuse screen presence and ghastly dialogue delivery.

It is surprising that some of the silliness in 'Ajab Prem' actually elicits laughter. Not terribly surprising, however, is that there's not enough of that laughter. 'Ajab Prem..' is strictly for someone looking for a goof-off, and is certainly a better watch than 'Jail' this weekend.