‘Baar Baar Dekho’ is a Refreshing Story With a Slightly Flawed Execution

The release of the film’s Bollywood “banger” number, "Kala Chashma," rocketed "Baar Baar Dekho" to many must-see lists.

[Photo Credit: Facebook/BaarBaarDekho]

A movie involving time and math, but not time travel. A tale of romance that’s not traditional. A story that’s refreshing out of the ordinary. These are some of the phrases and descriptions the team behind the new film “Baar Baar Dekho” have used to describe their Bollywood sure-to-be blockbuster. While all of these statements are true, they’re also somehow equally false. “Baar Baar Dekho” is, in fact, a film of contradictions. Despite its mysterious marketing and more than a few flaws, it still features an endearing and touching message.

Directed by first-timer Nitya Mehra, “Baar Baar Dekho” has been a highly anticipated film for months, not just because of the first-time pairing of leads Sidharth Malhotra and Katrina Kaif and not just because its producers include bigwigs Karan Johar, Ritesh Sidhwani,and Farhan Akhtar. The release of the film’s Bollywood “banger” number, “Kala Chashma,” rocketed “Baar Baar Dekho” to many must-see lists.

The film follows couple Jai Varma and Diya Kapoor. The two lovebirds have known and loved each other since childhood, and it’s quickly established that it would be a surprise to no one if they got married. Scratch that. It would be a surprise to no one except Jai. Jai and Diya are extremely different people: Diya likes to plan for the couple’s future while still enjoying the moment. Jai’s whole life is all about numbers, so he prides himself on logical thinking and hopes for a long, successful career in mathematics. Jai wants a future with Diya, he clearly loves this girl but he has put marriage and children so far in the back of his mind that when Diya asks him to marry her, he’s taken aback and immediately goes into a spiel about how more than 21% of marriages in India end in divorce.

Ultimately, Jai realizes that a marriage is what Diya wants and he agrees to it, but his discomfort and disappointment in following this new life plan is obvious from the moment the wedding duties begin. He doesn’t enjoy himself during any of the festivities, he is generally in a sour mood and even the sight of Diya doesn’t help things. In fact, Diya’s plans to have the couple move into an apartment her father helps buy for them makes things worse. Jai complains to Diya that his life plans are being swallowed up by hers and that he doesn’t know what he wants in their relationship any longer.

After a long night and a bottle of champagne, Jai wakes up to realize he has been transported to 10 days later and finds himself on his honeymoon with Diya, having already gotten married. From that point on, every time Jai goes to sleep he wakes up in a new point in his future with Diya; 10 days becomes 2 years, and so on. Without spoiling too much of the plot, Jai is able to see the greatest ups and lowest downs in his future, and it slowly makes him realize what is really important in life.

[Photo Credit: Facebook/BaarBaarDekho]

For those of us who have some knowledge about literature or the American and British film industries, “Baar Baar Dekho’s” story will clearly show signs of similarity to many different films over the last several years. For one, the entire story has a slight “Christmas Carol” feel to it, with Scrooge (or in this case, Jai) going forward in time to realize what he has lost in life and how he needs to change in order to make sure this future does not occur. The more obvious similarities point to Jennifer Garner-starring “13 Going On 30” or recent films like 2013’s “About Time,” though that film actually does incorporate the idea of time travel in a more direct sense. Long story short, the idea of the story is a universal one, do not take for granted the joys you have in our life. Stop and appreciate what you have. Even during the film’s biggest stumbles, this message is clear and true, and that should be applauded.

So what works and what fails? For one, the chemistry between Malhotra and Kaif is realistic and grounded, even when their performances are not. It’s a relatively agreed upon fact that neither Kaif nor Malhotra can really be deemed fantastic actors based on their previous work, but what they have both excelled at through the years is being able to find some kind of connection with their co-leads. Their characters are unfortunately illogical for their acting abilities, but when the two share the screen in a loving or tender moment, their chemistry is magic.

The side characters from Ram Kapoor as Diya’s father and Sarika as Jai’s mother, to Sayani Gupta as Jai’s close friend Chitra, all excel as pushing the film forward, though their storylines do feel a little too secondary and even slightly unnecessary at times. This is no fault of their own, but rather issues in the script that don’t allow all of these plots to properly fit into the puzzle of Jai and Diya’s life and potential future together.

A standout in the film is definitely the music. While all of India, and every global Bollywood fan, can attest to the “Kala Chashma” phenomenon, the film’s entire soundtrack is worth a listen. From the fun and upbeat wedding song “Nachde Ne Saare” to the beautifully sweet “Kho Gaye Hum Kahan,” and the heartbreaking “Teri Khair Mangdi,” “Baar Baar Dekho’s” music directors Amaal Mallick, Jasleen Royal, Baadshah, Arko, and Bilal Saeed have hit a homerun and have elevated the film at moments when it desperately needed to be saved from itself.

And the film definitely has some stumbles that required saving. For one, the idea of Sidharth Malhotra as a mathematician is unlikely, to put it kindly. Films are all about suspending one’s disbelief, but giving an actor like Sidharth Malhotra this kind of character trait is unreasonable. Perhaps that’s why the film barely touches on the idea of math, relegating it to one or two scenes where Jai goes to work as a math professor at Cambridge, or when he uses math to realize how far he’s gone into the future, and how far his next trip might take him. The film is also about 30-45 minutes too long, a more concise script with one less flashforward could have benefited the film greatly.

“Baar Baar Dekho” is far from a perfect film. But to say that its flaws make it a bad film is also unfair. The entertaining and touching moments do make up for most of its faults. And for someone willing to just enjoy a film about doing just that, enjoying what one has in their life, it’s pretty much the best possible film choice to make.