Dulha Mil Gaya - Movie Review

The recipe is simple and uncomplicated...
Take MY FAIR LADY.
Add DULHAN WAHI JO PIYA MAN BHAAYE.
Spray NASEEB APNA APNA.
Sprinkle DILWALE DULHANIA LE JAYENGE and RAB NE BANA DI JODI.
Hey presto, DULHA MIL GAYA is ready to serve.

In fact, MY FAIR LADY has been a hot favourite of Bollywood. Recall MAN PASAND [Dev Anand, Tina Munim] or HUM TERE AASHIQ HAIN [Jeetendra, Hema Malini]. Similarly, a number of storytellers have rehashed Rajshri's all-time hit DULHAN WAHI JO PIYA MAN BHAAYE [Prem Krishen, Rameshwari] in various avtaars, over the years.

DULHA MIL GAYA is a mix of the above-named films. Like they say in filmi lingo, it's old wine in new bottle. So what? How different can a love story be, since this genre has been done to death in Bollywood? Point noted, but the narrative ought to be engaging if it has to strike a chord and that's where DULHA MIL GAYA falters.

Merely assembling A-listers and filming the movie at panoramic locations isn't enough. The film ought to have meat and that's missing here.

Let me elaborate. Debutante director Mudassar Aziz, who has also penned the script, borrows from the past, going for the tried-and-tested stuff, but the narrative, already low on fuel, comes to a grinding halt by the time it reaches its finale.

Donsai [Fardeen Khan], a young commitment-phobic debonair, is petrified with terms like marriage and long-term relationships. Samarpreet [Ishita Sharma] is a quintessential Punjabi girl, for whom relationships are to be cherished.

Shimmer [Sushmita Sen] is a diva from the world of glamour for whom love and relationships aren't important in life as independence and success are. Pawan Raj Gandhi/PRG [Shah Rukh Khan] is a suave multi-millionaire whose heart still remains larger than his bank balance and for whom winning love is the only victory there is.

When paths cross for these four characters, they not only land up influencing each other with their outlook on relationships, but also get influenced themselves and learn a whole new meaning of the term.

Something that got ignited with D.D.L.J. continues to shimmer to this date. Our stories continue to travel from firangi land to the fields of Punjab. DULHA MIL GAYA too does that [initially], before MY FAIR LADY and RAB NE BANA DI JODI take over.

To give the credit where it's due, DULHA MIL GAYA has some interesting moments, but the problem is they are few and far between. One expects things to perk up when SRK's character is introduced [in the post-interval portions], but your hopes go crashing as nothing worthy of note occurs.

The writing has gaping flaws, which are difficult to absorb after a point. The girl travels all the way from Punjab to Trinidad and Tobago, but not once do her concerned parents call to enquire how she is. Strangely, even the girl doesn't feel the need to inform them. If that's not enough, Sushmita takes upon herself to tame Fardeen, giving you the impression that she thinks from her heart. But when it comes to her relationship with Shah Rukh, she behaves in a rather odd manner. SRK, on the other hand, seems completely besotted by her, even though she never reciprocates his feelings. Hence, her somersault in the end - just because Ishita has given her some bhashan - doesn't look convincing.

Mudassar Aziz's direction is a shade better than his writing. And that's not saying much. Given the fact that newer stories are being attempted in these fast-changing times and in view of the fact that he had some of the best talents on board, Mudassar should've seized the opportunity and told a refreshingly different and absorbing tale. But he doesn't. Sure, a few sequences are clever and smart, but that's not enough.

The music is of a mixed variety. 'Akela Dil' is groovy, while the title track is strictly okay. Cinematography is appealing.

Sushmita excels in a role that demands her to be hoity-toity. She enacts her part effortlessly. One wishes to see her more often on the big screen! Fardeen does a good job, especially towards the end when he's about to confess something vital to Ishita. Ishita delivers a sincere performance. It's a pity that a superstar like Shah Rukh is terribly wasted in an inconsequential role. It may not go down well with his fans.

Mohit Chadha has screen presence, but gets no scope. Johny Lever is wasted. Ditto for Tara Sharma. Suchitra Pillai and Howard Rosemeyer are passable. Parikshit Sahni, Bina Kak and Viveck Vaswani are as usual.

On the whole, DULHA MIL GAYA doesn't work!

Sushmita wants to make people laugh

That’s why she put on nine kilos for Do Knot Disturb

Not many know that Sushmita Sen was asked to put on 14 kg for her character in the movie.

"I was asked to put on 14 kg but I told Vashuji and David 'I don't think it'll be easy for me to lose that much; so let's not attempt putting it on'," she said.

"Finally I put on nine kilos, but then I had a month and a half to lose it, as I had to go back and shoot for Dulha Mil Gaya after that," she added.

Losing the extra flab wasn't an easy task for Sushmita, who now sports a toned frame.

"It was definitely a difficult task, as it required a lot of discipline. I had to stick to two-hourly eating and had to manage a workout regime. I had a very good trainer, Mupur Shikhare, and a wonderful dietician, Pooja Makhija; so these guys handled it for me and I was back on track," she said.

"I enjoy doing comedy and David Dhawan is the one who brought me into it with Biwi No.1. So every time I want to laugh and make people laugh, it is with him. He is always there for me so I end up being the same," Sushmita told IANS.

"The thing is that since he and Vashu Bhagnani (producer) both gave me Biwi No.1, I have pretty much gone with his gut instinct. When he asks me for a film, I just do it. We usually don't get down into the role or anything," she said.

The 33-year-old has earlier given three laugh-riots with Dhawan - Biwi No.1 (1999), Kyo Kii...Main Jhuth Nahin Bolta (2001) and Maine Pyaar Kyun Kiya (2005).

Do Knot Disturb, a co-production by BIG Pictures and Vashu Bhagnani, is a comedy on marriage and also stars comic hero Govinda, Lara Dutta, Riteish Deshmukh and Ranvir Shorey.

Sushmita was excited about not only working with Dhawan and Bhagnani but also teaming up again with Govinda, in Do Knot Disturb, which releases on October 2.

"Whenever I get to work with this family of three, I just say 'let's do it now'. Working with them is a fantastic experience. We have formed such a relationship that there is a comfort level and I know David as a director so well that I know exactly what he wants," the actress said.

"So there is no work stress. He works in great detail...you know your scene, his style of shooting...He shoots the film at a certain pace," she explained.

"Vashu-ji, on the other hand, is a fantastic producer. He doesn't leave any stone unturned to make or promote his films. And it's just a lovely chemistry working with Govinda," she said.

So what character does she play in the comedy on marriage?

"I play Chichi's (as Govinda is fondly called) wife yet again (after Kyo Kii... Main Jhuth Nahin Bolta) but this is a very 21st Century wife and has her own takes on marriage and infidelity."

Shah Rukh starrer Dulha Mil Gaya to release on 18th September

It's confirmed. Dulha Mil Gaya would be releasing all over on 18th September. This would give the film a four day extended weekend since the festival of Eid falls on Monday, 21st September. Producer Viveck Vaswani is certainly heaving a sigh of relief as for the first time ever; he goes on record with the exact date of release.

"I had always maintained that it is producer's prerogative to announce the date of his film's release. Over last so many months, there were so many out there announcing the film's arrival on my behalf. It was annoying initially but later it just started amusing me. There were so many different dates floating around even when I had never gone on record to talk about the exact date", says Viveck who is still not resting after the completion of a hectic final schedule of Dulha Mil Gaya.

He goes on to add, "So now let me state on record that 18th September is the day when my film arrives. I can assure that it's going to be one BIG festival movie. Dulha Mil Gaya is about celebration and the release timelines for the movie should further aid that."

Directed by first timer Muddassar Aziz, the film was 95% complete till a few months back and was held up for completion since Shah Rukh Khan couldn't shoot for a 'qawalli' sequence. Battling a shoulder injury, Shah Rukh finally managed to complete the film's shoot by working non-stop for three days earlier this week.

"Correction - it wasn't three days but three days and three nights. Even though he was in acute pain throughout and I suggested that we reschedule the shoot, he said that 'let's finish the shoot; it's already too late'. What more can one say about the commitment of a man like this", says Viveck with admiration in his tone.

With the shooting of the 'qawalli' track, Dulha Mil Gaya is now 100% ready w.r.t. principal shooting.

Smiles Viveck, "In any case we had already begun work on post production in parallel so there hasn't been waste of time, resource or energy. The film's dubbing too is 50% complete. Sushmita should be having her dub soon though for Fardeen, I will hold on for a while till he starts feeling a little more composed after his father's demise. As for Shah Rukh, he is dubbing for the movie next week. So yes, I can claim that the team of Dulha Mil Gaya is up there with the progress of the film."