Movie review 'Lekar Hum Deewana Dil': Offers mediocre entertainment

Here’s another Bollywood romantic comedy that borrows its name from an iconic Hindi song, Lekar Hum Deewana Dil from Yaadon Ki Baraat, a family drama that very poignantly explored love lost and found. Unfortunately, in Lekar Hum Deewana Dil the movie, the characters are so lost hamming away; we forget they’re supposed to be in love.

Dino (Armaan Jain) is your usual happy-go-lucky-I-am-so-cool-I-will-be-an-idiot-20-year-old, who shares great camaraderie with college friend Karishma (Deeksha Sheth), a soon-to-become sacrificial lamb for Shetty honour. To escape Karishma’s impending forced marriage, the two elope, thinking life would be a bed of roses and countless bottles of beer.

From Mumbai to Goa to Nagpur to Raipur, the couple experience adventures of a different kind. When they run out of cash, and land in dangerous territory ruled by the Naxals (an utterly unnecessary twist, just like the tasteless Mawwali Qawwali item song), the true colours are on full display. Like you didn’t have enough of squabbling lovers in the first half, the second half just goes downhill.

Despite all their attempts to make you like them, you don’t feel for the youngsters. Unlike in films like Love Aaj Kal, Jab We Met, Rockstar, Highway, Jaane Tu…Ya Jaane Na (all of which LHDD borrows heavily from), where the characters and performances stayed with you, LHDD offers mediocre entertainment.

You could still consider sitting through the film if Armaan quietly went to a corner and introspected on how his dialogue delivery actually takes away the life from a potentially funny scene. It’s almost like every scene was written to be a PR exercise for Armaan: he loves his friend to the point of sharing his own lover with him; he plays cupid for his shy and obedient older brother, he even rescues a puppy because it’s cool.

Deeksha, who has acted in a number of Telugu films, makes a lukewarm Bollywood debut too. She’s good as long as she has to play the vulnerable one, but fails to impress in emotionally charged scenes.

There are a number of subsidiary characters, none of who do well enough to write home about. The lead character is a singer and for A.R. Rahman to be associated with the original score, you expect the music and songs to be great, but that remains undistinguished too.

Director Arif Ali is the brother of Imtiaz Ali and borrows shamelessly from the latter’s travel- romance dramas. It would take several films with a distinct style for Arif to shake off the comparisons, because Imtiaz has built the reputation of making some of the best love stories in Bollywood.

In short, LHDD is Love Aaj Kal, Jab photographer Met Rockstar, and set out on a Highway, landing in a Cocktail of sorts. Watch it only if you’ve exhausted all other movie options this week.