Guldasta

This movie could have been aptly named “Thoda Bakwaas, Thoda Aur Bakwaas”
I give it a very generous 1 out of 5. I sincerely believe it is not possible to have made a more trashy and stupid film than this. See it only if the choice is between the movie and 6 months in jail with Shakti Kapoor.

Nobody, just about nobody acts. Throughout the movie I got this strong sense that the dialogues are forced and actors are pushing them out simply because there is a director standing in front with a cheque in his hand. Rani Mukherjee (who plays an angel) needs to rethink about her acting career. A few more movies like this and she might have to take-up a career as “extras”. All her movies in the recent past seem alike and I cannot recall when she last gave a performance that moved me.
Saif is just about OK, but a shadow of his own self from recent successes like Omkara.

The kids are a complete pain in the ass. Sorry for being so harsh on the little ones. But since the director did not discount the movie ticket because he has kids in it, I see no reason why I should discount a honest feedback. Not one single scene looked natural and the poor younglings made no impact.

And please do not get me started on Rishi Kapoor and Amisha Patel. I feel like breaking some glassware just thinking about the movie.

All of this tells me that the director did not do his homework. When you have not one character whose part is memorable, not one scene which makes you sit up and not one frame that makes you go “Wow!”, there is no one to blame but the director.

Indian cinema is still very incapable of getting children to act natural. Most of the time you have over the top caricatures passing off as children. Darsheel in Tare Zameen Par being an exception. The four kids in the Thoda Pyaar go from one cooked up nonsense scene to another.

And two instances in the movie tell me the director is either a strong supporter of the Communist or an escaped madman. Not that there is any difference between the two. The way the children treat Amisha Patel is nothing but rude and devilish. They torment a woman who goes out of her way to make them comfortable. Her only crime is she is not sophisticated and loves shopping. The other instance is how the kids treat the children of this businessman in LA who is trying to negotiate a take-over by Saif. The American shouts at Saif’s kids and this triggers a very strong reaction from Saif, which in turn makes the kids realise how much he loves them. Yuck!

And then there is the mother of all problems that plagues most of Indian cinema. The director truly believes, you, the viewer, are an idiot who has no brain and thus will make the characters say EVERYTHING he wants the movie to say. No message is given subtly through acts, references, glances, etc. It is like sitting in a classroom for 5 year olds.

Neither is there the defense that this movie is for kids. I refuse to allow the director to hide behind that excuse. Children films demand no less cinematic excellence and acting. The children in this film do real damage to people around them; good people around them. They also lie a lot. They are never reprimanded for their acts. The angel makes a promise to God (to not use magic openly) and then breaks it so many times I lost count. The poolside song sequence is very very sleazy. Where is the innocence and message of goodness one would expect in a Children film? “Makdi” and “Blue Umbrella” are children’s films. This movie is not.

However, Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic is surely a film for many grown up Indians. Specially the ones who cannot count beyond 10.