 "Ajab
Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani is in all honesty ghazab ki terrible. That
too with a capital T. With a plot line that has been tumbled so
often in the Bollywood machine that even they have lost count, the
film offers nothing new, except perhaps the latent chemistry between
the leading actors who are the current chocolate hero and heroine
in tinsel town. In a nutshell, Prem (Ranbir Kapoor) is a good for
nothing typical do-gooder who falls for Jenny (Katrina Kaif). The
twist (if one can call it that) in the tale occurs when it is revealed
that Jenny is in love with someone else (Upen Patel) and Prem attempts
to being those two together. How does it end? I don't think it even
needs to be spelt out.
From a rather tortoise paced start to a relatively action packed
climax, the film is nothing to write home about. This is Santoshi's
attempt at humour and one that sadly falls flat. Someone as respectable
and reputed as Santoshi should do what he does best: make message
oriented films. This isn't another Andaz Apna Apna, sadly. Poor
direction is further exacerbated by a script full of potholes. The
one-liners and jibes are annoyingly stale and the comic sequences
totally off. Attempts to bring some depth into the characters by
say, showing that both Prem and Jenny stammer, is just ludicrous,
particularly since its inclusion in the tale seems too abrupt.
Katrina, it has been sadly confirmed, cannot act; Ranbir on the
other hand still seems stuck in some realm of Wake Up Sid (only
here Prem doesn't have half the brain that Sid did). Other characters
too, such as the cringe worthy Upen Patel and his corrupt political
father seem to be hastily concocted to propel the story further.
Interestingly though, Salman Khan makes an appearance as himself
in the movie, and the dialogues in that scene are far superior that
anything uttered throughout the film. Ingeniously utilising the
Salman-Katrina hide and seek relationship, the scene plays on the
latent but simmering tensions between the two, particularly hitting
when Salman pointedly utters "tu aisa introduce karwa raha
hai jaisay meri girlfriend ko apni bata raha hai". But also
rather annoyingly this space is used to assuage the egos of all
those involved in a dialogue where Jenny is told that she could
possibly be transformed into 'Style Queen Katrina Kaif'.
The musical score is yet another sore. Most songs are pointless
and just included to adhere to the unspoken law that Bollywood movies
must have song sequences. Even Atif Aslam's soulful melody couldn't
save this one. The romantic ballad seems really out of place, shot
perhaps at the Coliseum in Rome; it just doesn't gel well in a light
hearted story with simple frame set in Goa.
Simply put, Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani is a puerile, predictable
and pointless film. Save yourself from an aneurism and avoid it!
– Hani Taha Salim
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