Kuch Naa Kaho - Softdrink anyone?

I missed the first pre-opening-credits scene in Kuch Naa Kaho. In fact only after watching the film the third time or so I realised that the "How to send money via Western Union" commercial/tutorial video that I always fast-forwarded was part of the movie! Aare Yaar, Rohan. Couldn´t you have just asked your dad to re-issue Sholay for some weeks in India and you might have been able to work with a bigger budget?









The product placement in this one is terrible. There is no Western Union after the first scene but the countless non-subtle Cola ads that come up during the course are even worse. Its so sad to watch its actually funny again.
But that doesn´t diminish the fact that Kuch Naa Kaho is a real sweet movie. It has a lot of weaknesses but there is also a lot of stuff that makes up for it.

The story is simple. But with a twist.

Raj (AB 2.0) is quite happy with the way his life is running. Living in New York. Full service at Hotel Mom.









So he is not too happy when he is lured to India to attend his cousins wedding, full knowing that his uncle will leave no stone unturned to find him a proper bride while he is there. And even as he is able to avert the initial attempts, he still finds himself meeting prospective bridematerial being chaperoned by Namrata (Aish) a fashion designer working for his uncle, whom he had a rather unfortunate, but nonetheless funny, first encounter with.









Well this is, in parts, a rather formulaic Bollywood love story so it comes as no surprise that Raj falls head over heals in love with his beautiful chaperone. And it is also not astonishing that Namrata has a secret that prevents her from giving in to the feelings she has for him in return.

So now, skip the next part if you don´t want to know what follows as there are some major spoilers lurking just around the corner.

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It turns out that Namrata is a) married, b) has a 7 year old son and c) her husband deserted her on the day her son was born. So not quite the perfect onset for ek naya rishta. But after the initial shock wears off Raj is all the more set on getting her and the son (whom he met earlier and hit it off with instantly) And after sliding down a very very trashy theme park-waterslide standing in for a rain initiated tumble down a hill, she finally relents.









So all´s well. Oh please. Concentrate. Guess who shows up after seven years the day Namrata is supposed to meet her to-be mother in law. Duh. Arbaaz Khan. Well, the husband. Telling her in typical old-school bollywood style, that he is back. He left with another woman to make lots of money. She ditched him and now he´s back for good and "wife, you forgive me, right? Ok. Now where can I put my stuff?"

Not that Namrata is happy about this turn of events (here the storyline starts to differ from older more conservative fare) but she eventually gives in. Until the bastard finds out that his wife intented to get married to Raj. And throws a public tantrum at the wedding reception of Rajs cousin. That is the one drop too much. Namrata gives the stupid bloke a nice speech about not caring about stupid society laws. And. Well, and confesses her love for Raj publicly. Much to the delight of her son, Raj and her new in-laws. And now really all´s well that ends well. As Arbaaz moves his butt out of the way.









Hah. Whenever I see the scene where Arbaaz confesses brags about his whereabouts in the last seven years I so want to trade places with Aish. And forget all about Gandhigiri and just kick his [self imposed censorship due to extreme measures]. And wouldn´t I just feel great about it.

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So the story is alright. Its just the execution that needs some working on. Ash could shed about an inch of makeup and still the rain would roll of her face like water from a new car. Then its just not cool when you get irritated by huge cola banners in highly emotional scenes. And the background score sometimes reminds me of elevator music. But.









But. The songs are great. The song visualisation is great. I´m so in love with the choreography of "Baat Meri Suniye To Zara". The opening credits (as seen in the first Bluffmaster! cinema scene) There are some really funny scenes with AB 2.0.
The one about Michael "Michael ladka hai". The way he frightens off the prospective brides. And the making off. Cool stuff.