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| (Mayank Shekhar) The boy, an obsessive, relentless roadside Romeo, having chased the girl from the streets of Mumbai to Mallu-land, finally holds her, jolts her up, pops the winning question: “Kamaal ki chemistry hai hamare beech mein (there’s huge chemistry between us). Can't you see it?" No, she says. He obviously can. That’s a matter between them. Audiences couldn’t care less. We’re beyond midway through the movie: chuck chemistry, all you’re wondering...more |
| (Rajeev Masand) With 'Ekk Deewana Tha' director Gautham Menon takes his third stab at the same story, having directed successful Tamil and Telugu versions previously. This Hindi remake is a disappointing bore of a love story that tests your threshold for pain as it hobbles along indulgently for close to 2 hours and 40 minutes. Prateik Babbar stars as Sachin, a 22-year-old middle-class engineering graduate who dreams of making movies one day. When his family moves into...more |
| (Taran Adarsh) After a month of heavy-duty action [PLAYERS, AGNEEPATH], the spotlight is on romance [EK MAIN AUR EKK TU, EKK DEEWANA THA] in the month of St. Valentine. Besides, films like READY, BODYGUARD and SINGHAM have revitalized the trend of South remakes. Gautham Menon returns to the Bollywood centre stage after a gap [REHNAA HAI TERRE DIL MEIN] with a remake of his films, made in Tamil first and Telugu later. Both, the Tamil version...more |
| (Pratim D. Gupta) Time: 11.40am. Location: Entry door of INOX (Forum) Screen 2. Girl: Ek baar dekh toh loh theek theatre hai ki nahin. Boy: Arrey yeh hi hai, Screen 2. Girl: Film ka naam kya hai? Boy: Kuch Ek Hasina Thi ya kuch. Two-and-a-half hours later, they still might not have got the name right. It’s got an easier title than Gautham Menon’s original Tamil and Telugu versions (Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa and Ye Maaya Chesave) but Ekk Deewana Tha is an extremely misleading title...more |
| (Avijit Ghosh) He sees her for the first time on the street, walking slowly towards him like poetry in motion. She is dressed in a black sari and matching blouse; her pitch-dark hair caressing her body. And in that singular moment, Sachin ( Prateik), a mechanical engineer who wants to make movies, is transformed into a butterfly of uncontrollable desire. He is smitten and finds himself walking on air. But love never comes easy. Especially if the boy belongs to a family of Marathi...more |
| (Blessy Chettiar) The hero is a 22-year-old Konkanastha Brahmin, mechanical engineer-cum-aspiring-filmmaker, but jobless, and always trying to look cute. That’s Sachin. She is 23, a conservative Malayalee Christian, seemingly homely and usually cute. That’s Jessie. Before the reader accuses this reviewer of ageist intentions or religious differentiation, it must be made clear that these are one of the many lame pangas (issues) in their love story, according to the above mentioned protagonists...more |
| (Preeti Arora) A few minutes into Gautham Menon's latest film the leading man (Prateik Babbar) is shown seated in a church, muttering to himself, "Mujhe Jessie Se Hi Kyon Pyaar Hona Tha? (Why did I have to fall in love with Jessie)". The leading lady is at the altar, waiting for her groom. The audience is expected to hold their breaths, as the flashback unfolds. Not the most original beginning for a love story. While there are directors who dig relentlessly for a new theme...more |
| (Karan Anshuman) Sachin (Prateik) is Hindi cinema's hackneyed idea of a 'deewana': Flaky at first, can dance and throw a punch, falls in love at first sight, and acts creepily enough to be deemed a borderline stalker. Why, he says it himself: “Uske front se zyaada uske back ko dekha hai.” Jessi (Amy Jackson) is the girl he stal… woos. Overwhelmingly Malayalee Christian with an overwhelming husky voice (dubbed by someone else?) her frequent change of heart and mind...more |
| (Shubha Shetty-Saha) If last week Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu was all that could go well with a romantic movie, Ekk Deewana Tha is all that could go wrong in the same genre. (By the way, can someone care to explain this newfound fascination with Ekk?) Sachin (Prateik) is a 22-year-old wannabe filmmaker who promptly falls in love with Jessie (Amy Jackson), his landlord's daughter as soon as he spots her. And soon enough he has confessed his love to her. But she's not the one to melt too soon...more |
| (Martin D'Souza) On a Friday morning, a few stray thoughts... All my own work, with due apologies to Busybee. Like for instance, Prateik is wasted in this film. He is a talented actor and making him do the same things he did, just a release ago in MY FRIEND PINTO is not really exploiting his talent. It also means that there was no meat in the script. Why, for instance, is Sachin (Prateik) always sporting a stubble and moving like Pinto. And why does the film not move into second gear...more |
| (Gaurav Malani) This love story gives you the option of two alternate endings to choose from. Irrespective of any standalone version that you choose, you still get the feeling of having watched multiple endings. That's because, what starts as a lighthearted teenage romance matures into a long-drawn-out saga in the second half and every time you assume that the end credits would show up, the film extends itself for another few minutes. The version I watched...more |
| (Trisha Gupta) There’s a nice moment early on in Ekk Deewana Tha that sums up what this film could have been. The aspiring filmmaker hero Sachin has just laid eyes on his upstairs neighbour Jessie, and the bells have already started ringing in his heart. So, of course, he walks into the street and breaks into (an AR Rahman composed) song. He’s in the throes of an appropriately expansive love-song-accompanying gesture when he is interrupted by the arrival of his very Marathi...more |