Starring: Kareena Kapoor, Imran Khan
Directed by Punit D. Malhotra
Rating: **
Gori Tere Pyaar Mein strikes a hugely wrong note by trying to be self-righteous at a time when sanctimony is under attack. What’s more, it does so in a facile, predictable and boring manner.
In this love story in the times of NGOs, the woman is older, wiser, responsible. Boy is still trying to grow. In other words, yet another variation of Wake Up Sid. Add to it the north-south divide/coming together made fashionable by Chennai Express. And you get a tired, time-worn film which doesn’t come alive even for a minute despite the starry presence of Kareena Kapoor and Imran Khan.
Kareena goes through all the cliches of an activist type—makes a documentary on sex workers, feeds dogs, supports orphanages—all mechanically, seeming utterly disinterested in her role and the film. Her equation with Imran lacks fizz and sparkle. Imran himself seems to be trying too hard all the time to achieve nothing. There is an effort to throw in popular song and dance numbers, like Chingum chabaake and Toonh, but they don’t seem to work either.
The second half shifts to Gujarat, which is fast becoming the new favourite destination of Bollywood. And a bridge gets built in an eminently fake ‘remote’ village. Quite like how electricity was generated in Swades. But that film had some heart and sincerity. GTPM is plain pointless. It does not inspire any strong feelings from the audience, just leaves them feeling utterly dull.
