Beginning with an honest confession, many would agree to the fact that this was one particular film which everyone was expecting to be a pretty bad remake of the famous Hrishikesh Mukherjee-Rekha classic having the same title (with different spellings) released in 1980.
But surprisingly that is not the case since the film is not at all a straight remake of the 80s path breaking film from any angle. And the major argument behind this declaration is that Hrishi Da’s script was actually about a young energetic girl entering into the house of her newly-wed elder sister and dealing with her strict mother-in-law running the house with her own self-dictated discipline. Whereas the present 2014 official version is about a physiotherapy doctor visiting her client’s royal mansion in Rajasthan, looked after by a strict mother and her young son, instead of her old disabled husband.
So where the original was about the in-laws and the new big family where an elder sister has been married in, the latter is about a completely stranger family and that too of only 4 members, without any traditional values to be taken care of other than the professional ethics of a doctor. And any person living in India can easily understand that how difficult and different a script becomes when you are talking about the elder sister’s in-laws confronted by the younger sister visiting the house for a few days in comparison of a doctor staying in her patient’s mansion taking it as a professional assignment.
Hence clearing all doubts, Hrishi Da’s unforgettable gem KHUBSOORAT stays untouched excelling in its own distinctive theme talking about family values in a highly appreciable manner. And Shashank Ghosh’s current venture just revolves around the same basic plot but doesn’t copy any of the original film sequences as it is, despite being an official version.
Moving over the remake status, the film begins interestingly with the elegant Fawad Khan and the hyper and ever-smiling (overdoing it mostly) Sonam Kapoor as the (too) young physiotherapy doctor. It keeps moving at a good pace with an all likable feel before the interval and has only two avoidable, filmy sequences to put you off in its initial half. The first one is the below average and cheap song sequence of “Engine Ki Seeti” and the other is a ridiculous kidnapping scene which contributes just nothing. Still the overall enjoyable mood and few light comic moments manage to keep you engrossed and one forgets these pretty weak, silly insertions as it moves further.
Post interval the only factor which goes against the movie is that even if you haven’t seen the original, you still exactly know what’s going to happen next as far as the story line is concerned. But again this demerit of an all predictable progression gets smartly covered by two fine performances by Fawad Khan and Aamir Raza Hussain superbly along with few immensely likable, innovative songs composed well. Also the film gets a great support from its final 20 minutes which do have a killer scene between Fawad and Kirron Kher. And therefore what you take back home while moving out of the theater is a smile with ‘no complaints’ kind of feel despite having watched an all predictable film right from the word go.
Speaking specifically this is not a Sonam Kapoor film like the original was a Rekha movie all the way. The new age version is more of a collective effort with some very important contributions coming from Fawad Khan, Aamir Raza Hussain, Kiron Kher and above all the intelligent, innovative background score which keeps the energy flowing. Few enjoyable sequences and entertaining dialogues offered at regular intervals lift up the film repeatedly and the two songs, “Naina” and “Jo Main Aisa Jaanti” (by Sneha) build up the mood in a beautiful manner. Plus whenever Sonam’s ringtone says “Maa Ka Phone Aaya” it does make you laugh effortlessly. And here I am not talking about any of those commercial, deliberate tracks wrongly promoted on the channels instead of the other well-made songs in its soundtrack.
In the performance section, Sonam leads from the front as per the script but not as per the impact on the viewers. No doubt she is much better, bright and energetic from all her previous films, still her act largely remains dependent upon the supporting cast till the climax unlike the original. Also she strangely vanishes from the screen for a good amount of time towards the end, though everyone keeps talking about her as the center of attraction. Fawad Khan in his debut movie excels in the same way as he does in his serials. The boy certainly has a special controlled charm in his stylized performance that helps the film big time including the comedy sequences, especially in the climax.
Ratna Pathak Shah suffers due to a confusingly written character and is no-where close to her mother doing the same role in the Hrishi da classic. Aamir Raza Hussain adds a lot to the overall impact of the film despite being limited to a wheel chair throughout. Kirron Kher, playing the Punjabi mother once again seems to be a bit loud at the beginning and I personally didn’t like Sonam calling her by name with a “Tu-Tadaak” kind of approach in the film’s opening moments. However the balancing scene in the end explained the importance of that particular approach quite entertainingly and I got my answer from the writers. Further capturing the outdoors and the big mansions as a part of the script, the DOP does its job skillfully and so does the supporting cast in a reasonable manner as required.
Summing up, this first presentation of Disney does have a routine, predictable script having few major drops too. However its young and lively feel, accompanied by some crisp editing, good performances and an innovative background score cover up its minuses well and result in a fairly enjoyable, clean family entertainer respectfully living up to the reputation earned by its title. So you can easily give it a preference over the other releases this Friday as per my opinion.
Rating : 3 / 5 (with a special mention of its inventive background score and few good tracks)
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Khoobsurat Review By Bobby Sing, Khoobsoorat Review By Bobby Sing, Khubsoorat Review at by Bobby Sing, Official Remake of Rekha film of 1980, Bobby Sing Bollywood Reviews, New Bollywood Movies Reviews, New Bollywood Movies Released, New Hindi Films Reviews, New Hindi Movies Reviews, New Hindi Movies Released, New Bollywood Reviews, Bobby Talks Cinema Review, Reviews By Bobby Sing, New Hindi Films Reviews at bobbytalkscinema.com
