Pyaar Ke Side Effects Review

It is the business between Mars and Venus. All over again. But the verdict is that it's a rather enjoyable one. In debutante director Saket Chaudhry's `Pyaar Ke Side Effects' you shall come across a tame Mallika Sherawat actually complaining to Rahul Bose about Sophie's Cleavage show, "I can't pull that off." Must say that's a good one. Best form of humour is on one's own self. And it seems Mallika has learnt to take herself lightly. Finally. PKSE is a romantic comedy between a commitment phobic man and a career woman who realizes that after courtship of three years she has finally found the right man for herself.  

Sid (Rahul Bose) is a DJ who is in a relationship with Trisha (Mallika Sherawat). They've been going around for a long time and are the best of friends. Everything was going hunky dory till Trisha proposes marriage to Sid during a critical moment in a cricket match. Sid had seen his parent's marriage crumble and was uncomfortable with the whole idea. His hyper sister Shalini (Tarana Raja) and hilarious roommate Nanoo (Ranvir Shourie) add to his woes-and-confusions. Sid is ready for the `M' word but the next big deal is Trisha's Papa (Sharath Saxena), straight out of `Meet The Parents' with his many concerns for her dear daughter. And then there's item girl Tanya aka Baby Doll Volume 3 (Sophie Chaudhry) who tries clawing her tentacles on Sid, much to the dismay of Trisha.  

The search-for-the-engagement ring, the type of furniture for the house, and the eternal nok-jhok between the sensibilities of men and women has been presented in an interestingly funny way. Catering to the Multiplex crowd with its share of tomfoolery in English, `PKSE' has the best chance amongst all the releases this week of emerging with some semblance of success this week. It may not be great cinema but it is definitely watchable although first half's humorous panache is lacking in the second half. 

Rahul Bose plays Sid to perfection. This actor is improving with every outing. He is like old wine that is getting better with time. His comic timing, dialogue delivery and the many dilemmas have been detailed in a competent manner. I must say that his pairing with Mallika is just about perfect. In fact they look excellent together and compliment each other perfectly.

Mallika Sherawat shall be taken seriously as an actress after PKSE. Alright she does have an underwater kissing scene in the film but she has migrated from her dare bare skin show girl image with this one. She shows sparks of a genuinely good actress who can hold her own. She is good both in the comic as well as the emotional scenes.

There is a fabulous ensemble cast in the film that lifts it as well. Ranvir Shourie's Nanoo is a revelation for its sheer humorous repartees. Must say here's an actor, who needs to be given bigger better roles. Tarana as Rahul's sister essays her role well. This Radio Jockey in real life should play more roles on big screen. Suchitra Pillai and Aamir Bashir do justice to their characters as well.

Music by Pritam is young-n-trendy. Keeping track with the feel of the movie, it caters to the Pub-hopping-crowd. `Jaane Kya' and `Pyaar Karke' are the standout numbers. Cinematography by Manoj Soni is lit with colours of exuberance. Finally, it's time for the writer-director Saket Chaudhry who has done well for himself with PKSE. Considering it's his first film, he has done a decent job of telling an unpretentious story. If you won't go in search of great cinema, you shall walk out refreshed and energized. It's a one time watch. A Date Flick that will coax you into having a cozy lunch or dinner with that someone-you-love later. That's quite a feat anyway for any film. What say!

Pyaar Ke Side Effects: Worth-Pampering-Your-Date 

Rating: 0 / 5.0