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Pyar Ke Side Effects review
Pyaar Ke Side
Effects
Review :
"Pyaar Ke...", a sassy battle
of the sexes
By Subhash K. Jha, Indo-Asian News Service
Rating: * *
1 /2
Film: "Pyaar Ke Side
Effects"; Starring: Rahul Bose, Mallika Sherawat, Ranveer Shorey;
Director: Saket Chaudhary;
Once in a while, a film makes you smile. Not because of what it
strives to be. But for its sheer sassiness and temerity.
Going into the new-age movie mantra of urban relationships, "Pyaar
Ke Side Effects" (PKSE) comes up with a winsome twosome who love
some, lose some...and emerge from the battle of the sexes healed
and....quite wholesome!
Sid, that's Rahul Bose, meets Trisha aka Mallika Sherawat, in
extremely trying circumstances. She's trying to escape an
undesirable marriage (to a stuffed shirt played by Jas Arora).
Sid is trying...just trying. Being a DJ at 30 is like being a
teenager at 40.
A bit bewildering yet constantly engaging in its blizzard of
bacchanalia thanks to dialogue writer Victor Acharya for words
that ring true and still sound like catch lines on the bumper
sticker of sports car. "PKSE" is possibly that one Hindi
romantic comedy, which could equal Hollywood's
'Harry-meets-Sally' formula portraying the
man-sharp-woman-sharper gender skirmish.
Debutant director Saket Chaudhary sees the battle of the sexes
entirely from the male viewpoint. Whether it's Sid with Trisha,
or Sid's brother-in-law (Aamir Bashir) struggling to keep his
moody wife from swooping down on him at the smallest pretext,
this slick flick knows the rope-trick of keeping relationships
afloat in today's times of stress and competitiveness.
Some of the sequences, designed to elicit laughter, get there
bang-on. It's been a while since a romantic liaison got you
giggling, and not just because the repartees are so sassy but
because the love pair is so endearing in their state of despair.
Check out the fluster and bluster of Sid's first love-making
sequence when she leaves him in a state of cute coitus
interruptus...or that hilarious narration by Sid's
brother-in-law where the poor guy tells Sid about his spousal
fight the night before.
Like Sujoy Ghosh's "Jhankar Beats", a film to which "PKSE" bears
a moody resemblance, the narrative weaves in and out of suburban
mores without getting judgemental about the people who move in
and out of relationships, not knowing why they got into it or
out of it.
Sid's encounter with his fiancée's tyrannical father (Sharat
Saxena) may outwardly remind you of "Meet The Parents". But seen
within the larger picture, Saket Choudhary has scripted an urban
legend that is slave to no ready reference point.
The narrative is manoeuvred by a vivacious impulse, navigating
the destiny of the central couple's affair through a series of
funny and intelligent encounters.
Finally the effectuality of the romantic comedy depends on the
chemistry between the lead pair. The tried-and-tested Rahul Bose
re-invents his considerable comic talents to play a man more
cornered than conned by love. Sid would rather watch a cricket
match than discuss love with his girlfriend. But shhhhh!
Rahul Bose is delectably in tune with his character's
befuddlement, often capturing the game-show spirit of the
man-woman battle with an intuitive insouciance.
Mallika is a delightful surprise. Fully clothed (thank god!),
she's a temptress and a virgin, a tease and an ingénue all at
once. Where was this side of the actress hidden so far?
The supporting cast, especially Ranveer Shorey, adds
considerably to the fluid charm of the central romance.
Manoj Soni's camera lets the lovers be on Omang Kumar's ritzy
but credible sets. Editor Hemal Kothari cuts into the guffaws
with a tongue-in-cheek flourish. Specially effective is Rahul's
constant talking into the camera, a Brechtian device recently
used by Akshaye Khanna in "Aap Ki Khatir". Has Bollywood
rediscovered Brecht?
Or are we reading too much into the psycho-babble of a man who
needs to share his fears about the fair sex with us? .
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