Toh Baat Pakki Review

What is it all about?

Toh baat pakki (its clear) that even a slight recall of the nostalgia called Basu Chatterjee still fills the air with freshness and media shy or angry..whatever Aditya's `DDLJ' will remain as bollywood's `Amar Prem' Katha (means story in English). But bhau (brother in marathi) amcha manoos Kedar Sharma helmed `Toh Baat Pakki' for the Tauranis turns out to be a gadar (tremendous) miscalculations where the promising helmer in marathi starts with Basuda's sweet musical romancer Chitchor (Amol Palekar, Vijendra Ghatge, Zarina Wahab ( SRK's mother in MNIK for new comers) then does a Raj from DDLj..of course naam sab ne suna hai and ends up with (falling short of space as the bollywood list of romancers rightly threatens to appear on the `wanted' list). Writer Pramod Sharma gets inspired from Basuda's `Chitchor' and uses the element of a family concern for the marriage of their daughter and when they see a potential partner in a guest then they arrange situations so that they come closer. In `Toh Baat Pakki' it's the elder sister planning the whole move. Yes u do feel the smell , aura of a small town and the cinema of the 80's where things like finding a suitable bride for your daughter/sister was more heroic then fighting with super natural powers and saving the world etc.

The Story..of course

Rajeshwari (Tabu), married to Vinay (Ayub Khan), dreams of getting her sister Nisha (Yuvika Choudhary) married to the most suitable boy within their Saxena community. Also, Rajeshwari is against the dowry system.

Rajeshwari finds a good Saxena boy studying engineering and has prospects of a promising future. Rahul (Sharman Joshi) is a good proposition for her sister and she even gets him to move into her house as a paying guest.

However, when Rajeshwari learns that Rahul is not interested in marriage, she smartly devices a plan to bring her sister and make them get to know each other. She's confident that once he meets Nisha, there is no turning away. They fall in love. Rajeshwari is happy. Marriage is fixed.

Things take a turn when Yuvraaj (Vatsal Sheth) lands up at Rajeshwari's house. Yuvraaj is also a Saxena. He has a good job and is waiting to move into his house. Rajeshwari can't believe her luck. This is a better prospect. The story takes a turn when Rajeshwari tries to set up Nisha with Yuvraaj.

What to look out for?

Tabu after `Cheeni Kum' comes up with more sweetness charm and brilliance in her portray of the concerning but dominating in the end didi which is a crossover between Rekha in Khoobsoorat and Sridevi in her hubby's `Judaai' (film we mean silly).

Some romantic moments between Sharman (comes up with another strong one after `3 Idiots') and new comer Uvika Chaudhary who has a cute and charming face. Vatsal comes up with a sincere effort.

What not?

But the problem is though `Toh Baat Pakki' knocks on the nostalgia door which opens slightly with a smile but then immediately shuts it. The movie faces difficulty in sustaining any kind of comic or dramatic momentum after the surya graham thingie say about 15- 20 minutes from the start. Why Uvika doesn't speak up when she is being handed over to another person? The writer and the helmer forget to ask the girl to act. The second half turns into an aggressive Raj from DDLJ where Sharman tries various boring tricks to stop the marriage of Vatsal (fine) and Uvika. Resulting in a real endurance contest for all the viewers. Of course, Tabu tries to hold but the helmer and the writer doesn't have enough `cute' buttons as required for a perfect romantic dress for your evening. On top of that, music is a huge disappointment considering the fact that the movie comes from a production house which is also a music company.

Rating: **