Film: LoveYatri
Cast: Ayush Sharma, Warina Hussain, Ronit Roy, Ram Kapoor, Arbaaz Khan, Sohail Khan
Director: Abhiraj Minawala
Rating: * *
This Salman Khan produced nepotistic exercise in filmmaking – a showpiece for his younger sister Arpita’s husband Ayush Sharma, is set in Gujarat during the colourful celebration of Navratri.
As expected (if you’ve watched the promos) romance blossoms between Sushrut (Ayush), a poor Vadodara based ‘Garba’ dance teacher and rich NRI, Michelle (Warina) and then fate plays its cards forcing Susu (and that’s supposed to be a cool abbreviation) to travel all the way to the UK to win back his love. Ronit Roy as the girl’s father looks down rudely on the young upstart wanting to be his ‘Damaad’ while Ram Kapoor as Susu’s uncle plays the Bollywood romance card to sniggering affect.
A done to death story for Bollywood, this clichéd romance turns on the melodrama to insufferable and keeps throwing up the silliness to unpalatable. There’s nothing new or entertaining here other than the colourful evocation of festive spirits. ‘Chogada,’ ‘Dholida,’ and a few other Tanishk Bagchi compositions with nimble-footed dance choreography from Vaibhavi Merchant, have the necessary rhythm and flair to keep them reverberating in the collective conscience.
Pretty boy Ayush doesn’t have the presence or the craft to come good here while Warina Hussain looks on balefully as the wallflower she is meant to be. The slack tempo, ungainful syrupy tone, and indulgently sweetened narrative flourishes leave you entirely distended. Abhiraj Minawala’s debut directorial feature has little to recommend it- other than the throbbing beat of the Navratra drums!