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By Taran Adarsh, May 30, 2008 - 12:00 IST
The reason why a majority of films go unnoticed is courtesy the weak storyline first. The other factors come later. HASTEY HASTEY - FOLLOW YOUR HEART also suffers for this reason. The story idea, credited to one Rohit Batra, is so tacky, so banal, so obsolete, so lifeless that you break into a big yawn 10 minutes into the film. Seriously, you actually pinch yourself. Are you watching a film produced in 2008? Clearly, the writer is the villain here.
Let's look at the plusses first. The first-time producers have left no stone unturned to give the film an upscale look. Sure, a number of films have been filmed in the U.S., but very few have done justice to the panoramic locales that U.S. has to offer. Also, Anu Malik's music is quite catchy. You hum a few lines when the songs unfold on screen. Plus, there's Rajpal Yadav in a triple role. Fine, the jokes are corny, but you cannot help but break into a laugh at times.
But the problem is that the writer messes things up completely. And the writers [screenplay: Gavender Agrawal and Ritesh Pandey; scenario, dialogues: Bholu Khan] don't do much to salvage the situation. The screenplay is as listless as the concept. Sad, a good opportunity is lost!
Neel [Jimmy Sheirgill], a student at Columbia University, is in love with Maya [Nisha Rawal]. Sunny [Rajpal Yadav] is Neel's room-mate and also his buddy. Neel accepts a career opportunity that requires him to go to India to set up a call centre business. Much against Maya's wishes, Neel travels to India with Sunny.
Tanvi [Monishka Gupta] is a young executive who goes out of her way to help Neel and his team in India. She is instantly attracted to Neel and tries her best to win his heart. But Neel rejects Tanvi. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned and Tanvi succeeds in making life miserable for Neel. How Neel comes out of it is the remainder of this misadventure.
Director Toony tries to pack in ample entertaining moments in this 2 + hour film. The love story [at the start] is monotonous, the turning point in the tale [the scam] is the weakest link of the enterprise and the love story [towards the penultimate reels] is never-ending; it goes on and on and on. You are exasperated by then.
The scam part is so childishly treated that you don't believe it. What really happens and how it eventually gets solved makes you feel that the writers don't even know the basics of putting a story together. Even the climax is too weak. The lead pair desperately hunts for each other in New York. They keep running from pillar to post till they [suddenly] meet in the end. Hey, aren't we living in an era of cell phones and Internet?
Given the sub-standard writing, director Toony tries his best to salvage the show. He has executed the comic scenes [Rajpal Yadav] well. Otherwise too, a few moments are interestingly handled. Anu Malik's musical score is pleasant. The title track is the best of the lot. Damodar Naidu's cinematography is topnotch.
As always, Jimmy Sheirgill pitches in a sincere performance. The two ladies -- Nisha Rawal and Monishka -- are non-actors, but the cleavage show might appeal to the hoi polloi. Rajpal Yadav is excellent. Jawed Sheikh is wasted. Ditto for Manoj Joshi. And what did Shakti Kapoor see in this role? Upasana Singh is getting typecast.
On the whole, HASTEY HASTEY - FOLLOW YOUR HEART is a poor show. At the box-office, the weak merits coupled with the climax of the IPL cricket matches will make it an also-ran!
 
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