Starring: Priyanka Chopra, Uday Chopra, Anupam Kher
Directed by Jugal Hansraj
Rating: *
Pyaar Impossible
A Hollywood rom-com acting as a desi prem kahani. A bad Hollywood rom-com that won’t catch your interest even on Sunday afternoon TV.
T
here’s little else to say about Pyaar Impossible other than the most obvious: Priyanka Chopra looks good, not size zero good, but a fit and athletic good. And she is growing more confident and fetching on screen with every passing film. But that does little to redeem the character she plays, a single, divorced mom who wears dresses shorter than those of her 6-year-old daughter and eats Haagen Dazs (or is it Ben and Jerry?) ice creams straight off the tub. Like they do in those Hollywood films and serials. This turns out to be the single biggest problem with Pyaar Impossible. Strictly speaking, it’s a Hollywood rom-com acting as a desi prem kahani. And it’s a bad Hollywood rom-com that won’t catch your interest even on Sunday afternoon TV.
This could well be the reason for the film’s disconnect with the audience. The characters, their attitude and behaviour seem alien, the situations appear unreal and the emotions feel synthetic. I was struck by the collective murmur of disapproval in a scene where the father-son duo of Anupam Kher and Uday Chopra wakes up from the bed to head straight for the bowl of milk and cornflakes on the dining table. “But they haven’t brushed their teeth,” said the aghast people around me. If a Hugh Grant was doing this, it’s OK, but an Indian hero seems to go through a different set of morning rituals in their collective imagination.
Not only does the film feel foreign, it’s utterly predictable as well. You know how the story of the beauty (Priyanka) and the geek (Uday) will pan out right from the first frame. The geek loves the beauty from a distance in their college days and she isn’t even aware of his existence. Their paths cross again years later in Singapore (yet another film after De Dana Dan that’s an overlong promo for Singapore Tourism Board) and this time he manages to win her over despite another suitor—smarter but wicked—prowling around. There are no surprises, nothing remotely new or fresh. Uday is nondescript and dull. Priyanka as the mom alters the face of Mother India radically, a mother who is more a Barbie doll. My pet peeve is the precocious daughter, an overgrown, overly mature film kid who deserves a good scolding.
High Fives
Bollywood
1. 3 Idiots
2. Avatar (dubbed)
3. Pyaar Impossible
4. Dulha Mil Gaya
5. 2012 (dubbed)
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Hollywood
1. Avatar
2. Sherlock Holmes
3. Alvin and the Chipmunks
4. Daybreakers
5. It’s Complicated
Pop
1. Bad Romance (Lady Gaga)
2. Replay (Iyaz)
3. Tik Tok (Ke $ha)
4. Fireflies (Owl City)
5. Sexy Chick (David Guetta featuring Akon)
Courtesy: Film Information
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