"Love is sacrifice."
Hello everyone!
I generally have no problems getting up in the middle of the night and heading into work, but truth be told it IS nice to be back on afternoon shifts for a little while. I have to admit as much!
That said, with afternoon shifts and my schedule evening out a bit (for now ...), it's back to the drawing board, baby, and with it, my review posts.
Tonight's movie of choice is a return to old school Bollywood and, yes, you should have seen it coming, that I'll be going back that is.
Because I love Bollywood movies. I tend to enjoy some of their campiness and silliness, and their stories usually bring a lot of laughter, general happy feelings, and a sense of amusement as well as contentment in the end.
So buckle up, because we're headed back to the start of the 2000s, and that includes layered tops, velvet denim, and Mujhse Dosti Karoge!
Three best friends, Raj, Pooja and Tina, are separated when Raj's family moves to London so that his father can pursue his business dreams in the techie world (which will later land him on a pretty affluent list, mind), and Raj asks Tina to write to him while he's gone.
Tina promises to do so using Pooja's computer, but in the end, she's too bored sitting still and even reading the 'dreary' emails Raj sends, so Pooja writes back to him in her name instead. This goes on for years until Raj tells her they're coming back to visit, and the two agree they'll know one another immediately and don't need to exchange photos.
Now, Pooja's panicking a little, and begs Tina to pretend it was her all along. Tina, who's grown up into a vivacious (and flirtatious) young woman, says ugh FINE, but of course, as soon as Raj actually pops up, she's like HUBBA, HUBBA.
Naturally, Raj does not, in fact, recognize that Pooja's the one who's been writing him emails, because he's a guy and he's blinded by Tina's beauty (despite the fact Pooja's also gorgeous). He is, however, very happy to be back with both the girls. Pooja, seeing that her two friends are falling for each other, buries her own feelings for Raj deep, deep down - because, yes, she's fallen for him in the 10+ years of writing back and forth.
But the longer they spend time together, the more Raj is convinced something has to be off, because Tina in person isn't the Tina from his emails, despite the fact Pooja keeps trying to convince him she is.
The families then decide that Raj and Tina should marry, while Pooja rejects a marriage proposal straight out of London. When Raj returns because, well, he has to go back to work (the company doesn't just do things on its own, after all, and he's following in his father's footsteps), she follows him for an interview of her own, and he's delighted to have someone there straight from home.
Until, that is, they go to church, and she accidentally starts humming the song he wrote for "Tina".
DUN DUN DUN!
The guy finally figures out - what others have casually mentioned around him, that he seems to be talking about one girl, but meaning another - that it's been POOJA all this time, and hey, he loves her!
I'm not even kidding, he goes from left to right in the space of a moment, but the two of them do decide to go back to India and tell their parents what's what; Raj even has his family bracelets resized for Pooja. But upon arrival, they learn Tina's father has passed away unexpectedly, and she's now left all alone in the world, so Pooja's parents promise to stand in for all the rites for her marriage to Raj.
Pooja convinces Raj they can't break their friend's heart now, no matter what, and have to break up so that he can honour his promise, much to his anger and annoyance. So in retaliation, he tells Pooja that, fine, he'll marry Tina, but SHE has to marry someone as well, otherwise he's telling the whole world.
This marks a turning point in the movie, at least for me, because Raj is more than a bit of a bully to Pooja over this, however, she eventually agrees to marry Rohan, the guy who initially proposed to her, so that the double wedding can go ahead and Raj can get off her back and stop tormenting her.
At this point, though, even Tina's clocked in that something's not right, and Rohan already knows that Raj and Pooja love each other, but are willing to let it all go so Tina can be happy: things come to a head on the actual wedding day, when Raj accidentally spills that red pigment over Pooja's head, which every married Indian woman wears, and Tina arrives to reveal the truth.
The three friends embrace each other, warmly welcoming Rohan into them mix, and Rah and POOJA marry instead, with the others looking on happily.
The end!
Filmed after the massive success of K3G, this movie features another collaboration between Hrithik Roshan and Kareena Kapoor, but his first and only with Rani Mukerji. They actually work really well as the three best friends, and overall I genuinely enjoyed the movie ... right up until the point Raj turns into an actual bully to make Pooja as miserable as he is.
Like, MY GUY, it's not HER fault that you're an idiot who didn't figure things out sooner and got yourself into the whole arranged mess!
Overall, though, it's got great songs, fantastic scenery, and while yes, campy in that early 2000s style, it'll make you smile if you've been around as a teenager at that time. It's a huge slice of nostalgia that just keeps on giving!
So I definitely recommend it.
xx
*images and video not mine
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