satyamedh_nandedkar

“Perfectly Average”… These are the words that Kareena’s Rihana uses to compliment Imran’s Rahul. And in more ways than one, they are so apt for the film they have been used in. That is what Dharma Productions’ latest offering ‘Ek Main aur Ekk tu’ is. It does not have excess of anything. Maybe, Shakun Batra, the director stuck to the maxim,
The plot is simple. Or maybe, plot is the wrong word. Narrative it is. The narrative is free flowing. Rahul is the robotic, remote-controlled by his parents, battery operated type. The colour of his tie, his hair style and even the number of times he must chew his food… everything is governed by rules. He meets a carefree, live-in-the-moment Rihana. As is the norm, they are poles apart; as different as chalk is from cheese. He has lost a job, she has been dumped. After gulping down barrels of alcohol, the inebriated duo ends up married, by mistake of course. Annulment is the obvious step. But since we love to be in the zone of clichés, a homeless and penniless Kareena lands up at his doorstep. The two bond big time. And invariably, Cupid strikes him while he is listening to a Kuch Kuch Hota Hai song. But cupid this time does not strike her. The end emerges as a clean winner.
When Karan and Imran touted EMAET as the metropolitan Jab We Met, one wondered. One wondered was JWM that old to be made again? True, the first half is a polished version of the Imtiaz Ali film. Every frame is a déjà-vu experience. It is the second half, and the end more so that set EMAET apart. Finally, Indian cinema has become brave. Difficult to pitch to an audience brought up on a staple diet of DDLJ, KKHH, DTPH that the leads do not come together and willingly so. No heartburn, no marrying someone else. Kudos to the end, this was well on its way to become another ‘let-go-by’ romcom.
Dialogues are a treat. They are short and lively. The dialogues do not cry their lungs out to give you food for thought. Plain conversations and very, very believable. A very sweet narrative!!
Music, like the narrative is breezy. Aahatein and Gubbare are like that cool zephyr. They softly caress you, tickle you. No forced item song thankfully.
Kareena is back. Finally. From being an arm candy in 100 crore idiosyncrasies to being the soul of a feel-good film. She is feisty, livewire and very spontaneous. She looks like a million bucks. Imran is tailor made for the role. However, the two are not somehow convincing as a couple, they share a very good conversational chemistry though. Cute they look! No one can carry a high society, snooty snob as well as Ratna Pathak Shah. Maya Sarabhai!!! We love you.
Debutante Shakun Batra, take a bow for handling that climax so well. Risky, but all the brownie points for handling it so skillfully. Crisp editing, great locales and that feel good factor! Only flaw… it looks superficial at times.
For a long, long time we had not a film that just is… a film not trying to be Ketchup brand saying all the time “Its Different!!”… but a film that just is. This was no ‘Bodyguard’ boasting of being the most idiotic or a vendetta vehicle ‘Agneepath’ , a cerebral and emotional ‘Guzaarish’, a love epic ‘Veer Zaara’ and not even a too, too practical and Modern ‘Love Aaj Kal’. EMAET is true to its content. Perfectly average. ‘Na kam na zyada’. No nursing a heartbreak for a century, no love song in the Alps, no torrid dialogues. Just crackling conversations. Devoid of any excesses.
You might see similarities with many other films, still EMAET stands out!