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By Taran Adarsh, November 16, 2002 - 13:51 IST
Lal Dadlaney and Kishor Dadlaney’s KEHTAA HAI DIL BAAR BAAR, directed by Rahul Dholakia, is based on the English flick MEET THE PARENTS (Robert De Niro, Ben Stiller).
Roger Patel (Paresh Rawal) is a successful Indian American who has migrated from Gujarat to Edison, New Jersey. A shrewd hotel owner, he has changed a lot with times, adopting the language and mannerisms of the West, while preserving his rich Indian values and Gujarati traditions.
A loving and possessive father of two beautiful daughters (Kim Sharma and Toral Mehta), Roger Patel is the perfect family man. His greatest concern is finding the right match for his daughters. The ever-cautious Roger Patel insists on a son-in-law who is a 3P - ‘a Professional Patel owning a Property’. This, he believes, is the tried and tested formula for a happy marriage.
Sunder (Jimmy Shergill) is an enterprising youth who runs a mobile restaurant in New York. A man of small dreams, Sunder falls in love with Ritu (Kim Sharma). On the other hand, Ritu is least interested in Sunder.
After a roller coaster process in the heart of Manhattan, he eventually manages to woo her, something Roger Patel had neither imagined nor anticipated. All hell breaks loose when Roger Patel meets the boy and discovers that he is totally opposite to what he wanted. Sunder is a cook, a Punjabi and without any property. The 3Ps that were Roger Patel’s yardstick are completely missing.
Though Roger Patel claims that he is always right, at heart he is democratic and someone who can be easily convinced, if his ego is pampered. The family uses this trump card and invites Sunder for a seven-day stay over at their luxurious mansion in New Jersey.
In his eagerness to win Roger Patel over, Sunder keeps goofing up, and Roger Patel snaps at him at every opportunity. Thus begins a cat and mouse game where each one tries to get the better of the other, leading to a hilarious confrontation between the two men. The family tries to balance the impossible…
To start with, the love story is as old as the hills. It is anything but novel for the Indian audiences, who have witnessed
the boy-meets-girl-and-parental-opposition bit umpteen times in the past. Unfortunately, even the screenplay relies too heavily on the punches that have been witnessed earlier, as a result that the love story gets cumbersome after a point. There's not one scene that remains with the viewer after the show has ended.
The story hardly moves in the initial reels, but does get interesting at the interval point. You expect an exciting second half, but your expectations turn sour since the second half is as lifeless as the first part. Neither does the love story succeed in holding your attention, nor are the light moments interesting and enjoyable.
The writers seem to have borrowed from the tried and tested stuff, which explains why the narrative does not hold your attention as the drama unfolds. Even the direction leaves a lot to be desired. The story telling is far from convincing.
The music is fairly good, but it lacks a hit number to mesmerise the audience. Barring the title track, the remaining songs pass muster. Even the dialogues, the mainstay of a light entertainer, lack witty lines in this case. Cinematography is alright.
Jimmy Shergill tries hard, but falls flat. He does not impress at all. Kim Sharma is passable. Paresh Rawal does a decent job, but this performance is anything but memorable. Johny Lever is wasted.
On the whole, KEHTAA HAI DIL BAAR BAAR is a weak fare in all respects. Business-wise, the dull period will further add to its woes.
 
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