18 September,2015 06:41 PM IST | | Shubha Shetty Saha
There are genuine heartfelt stories and then there are stories convoluted to an extent, because the filmmaker thinks will make it work. Unfortunately, Nikhil Advani-directed Katti Batti falls into the latter category
Katti Batti
'Katti Batti'
Director: Nikhil Advani
Cast: Kangana Ranaut, Imran Khan
Rating:
There are genuine heartfelt stories and then there are stories convoluted to an extent, because the filmmaker thinks will make it work. Unfortunately, Katti Batti falls into the latter category.
Imran Khan and Kangana Ranaut in a still from 'Katti Batti'
It seems like Nikhil Advani was too taken in by the brilliance of a seed of story concept (Anshul Singhal) that he had no time to look into the necessary details. It really is frustrating to watch a fairly decent story being narrated by just skimming the surface and shockingly leaving out the little details that make them whole.
Madhav (Imran Khan) is madly in love with commitment phobic Payal. After five years of living in together, one day Payal walks out on him, leaving him distraught and suicide prone. While his friends and family are worried for him and rally around him, Madhav aka Maddy goes around desperately looking for the girl he's lost. Their love story is narrated as we go to and fro with flashbacks and present time. The story begins with a lot of promise, but along the way loses its path, purpose and our interest.
In fact, you get glimpses of what this film could have been, frothy and effervescent, in parts of Kangana's character, Payal, a few scenes and one song sequence. But sadly, that's about it. In a world where only a man is accepted to be running away from commitment, Payal is contemporary. She is open about casual relationships and is honest enough to admit that she won't commit until she checks out the other dudes around. In a refreshing role reversal of kinds, it is the man who's pining after the woman, while the woman goes about doing what suits her best.
However, Sadly the film seemed to have a severe commitment phobia too. At one point it talks about man vs woman issues, then goes on and on about unrequited love and then suddenly serves a tearjerker, thus making us as helpless and exasperated as Maddy.
Imran Khan is sincere. Kangana has by now proved that she's a brilliant actress, but here she seems to be faltering a bit as if she is desperately looking for a firm footing in terms of a convincing character. And then she shines in the last ten minutes of the film, yet again leaving us in no doubt about what she is capable of. In fact, the last ten odd minutes of the film keeps you hooked to the screen. But obviously that is not enough at all.
