Dil Jo Bhi Kahey Review

Launch of a new star. A mushy love story. A conflict between families. A delightful entertainer.

These were some of the expectations that one had from the movie 'Dil Jo Bhi Kahey' that was released this Friday. Does the movie meet all the expectations? Well, not to an extent as one would have liked!

Written, produced and directed by Romesh Sharma, DJBK is the launch pad of his son Karan Sharma who is paired opposite yet another debutant Annabelle Wallace, a British girl. The movie begins on an interesting [though often seen] note with introduction of Jai [Karan Sharma], who is studying Hotel Management in Stockholm, Sweden. He is a jovial person who loves hanging around with friends and enjoys life to the fullest without trying to be ultra cool or a smashing dude. In one of the chance meetings in a music store, he and his friend Gaurav [Manuj Gulati] come across Sophie [Annabelle Wallace]. A couple of smile-on-your-face sequences later, they both fall in love.

Jai and Sophie start dreaming about living life together when reality. Sophie's father Norman Besson [Malcolm Doddard] still lives in the days of colonial rule and treats Indians as nothing more than slaves. Meanwhile Jai's mother Sandhya [Revathi], a traditional woman originating from Chappra, Bihar too believes that Indian and Western culture won't gel in a long run. In this conflict of cultures, it is Jai's father Shekhar [Amitabh Bachchan] who is his only hope. Inspite of the differences between the two families, he gives them a go-ahead to secretly get married in a church.

Shocked Sandhya gets a heart attack, Jai decides to forego his beloved for his mother, Sophie never comes to know about the reason of Jai's flip while the loop is closed with Sandhya finding a 'susheel-sundar-samajhdaar-paramparaik bahu' Gayatri [Bhoomika Chawla], a doctor for her son.

For a change, a hero is not on crossroads here. Troubled from his mother's condition, he surrenders and promptly gets engaged to Gayatri. This is when Gaurav enters the scene and tried to unite the two love birds together. But is it too late by then........?

There have been hundreds of love stories in the past, especially when a fresh face is being launched. Either it's a rich boy-poor girl story or a 'do khaandanon ki dushmani' saga or 'hero falling in love with villain's daughter' drama. But rarely has any movie being made that had cultural difference between West and the East as a backdrop. On these grounds, DJBK is a novel attempt. Rather than making a Western girl a mere prop, the story has Annabelle as an integral part of the movie. There is no nudity or no titillation that would make her appearance for mere glamour quotient. Karan's character too doesn't aim at being an ultra-modern dude fused with rich-Indian-culture a la Chopra-Johar hero.

These are some of the factors that catch your attention and in fact the first few reels go at a lively pace with an occasional chuckle or two. Though there is a nice built of drama in the reels to follow, surprisingly things do not turn as dramatic as anticipated. Karan returns to Mauritius and things turn a bit stagnant, especially in the father-son number 'Mere Munna' that seems to be forced. Things turn a bit interesting with Amitabh and Malcolm confrontation but a couple of scenes later, the young couple is back at being cozy on a beach.

Movie continues on a sedate pace with flicker of hope of some twists and turns, but still nothing exciting happens. One could understand the meek submission of Karan to his mother's wishes but how come Revathy doesn't even give a thought around her son's sad condition? Just happy with having found a new bride for her, she is in her own world altogether! There is a promise of some interesting moments when Karan and Annabelle are brought face to