Film Review- Katti Batti

 

Sloppy Sentiments

Film: Katti Batti

Cast: Imran Khan, Kangana Ranaut

Directed by: Nikhil Advani

Duration: 2 hrs 20 mins

Rating: * *

Katti Batti is one of those aspiring rom- coms with a dash of sentimentality thrown in – effectively it is more of a slap than a dash, as the screenplay nosedives towards self destruction. What starts off breezily ends up huffing and puffing as it approaches the finishing line.

The film aims at mixing all the ingredients of a successful Bollywood film with some ‘modernity’ thrown in – there is comedy, romance, drama, songs, dance and the lead pair who have a live-in relationship. For this formula to work, all these components have to be in the right measure and more importantly, there has to be cohesive story line to bring it together.  Sadly, that doesn’t happen in this case.

Inspired by the Joseph Gordon Levitt-starred 500 Days of Summer, its starts off with a certain zing when we are introduced to Maddy (Imran) and Payal (Kangana) who are living together. Their story is told in a non linear fashion as it keeps cutting between the past and the present as the plot reveals itself in piece meal. This device works well in thrillers and this is not Pulp Fiction or Memento, it’s a plain Jane romantic film. 

They met in college, it was love at first sight for him and instantly he knew that this is the girl whom he would marry. On the other hand, she is not keen on a serious relation, ‘timepass’ is what she is looking for.  Any average Joe would have jumped at that opportunity but the characters here are a bit odd to say the least.

And there are quite a few of them. Maddy’s sister must be one of the most depressing sisters to have around. His rather hip colleague takes his hand and puts it on her ample bosom to see how her heart is beating and the boss (Bugs Bhargava) keeps on yelling as if he has discovered ants in his pants.  

Towards the end, he meets a pet shop owner who has a rock band and let’s not even get into how the band was christened. Or how Maddy takes a leak in a rather expensive toilet kept in a showroom. 

The finale is meant to get you all and sentimental and sappy with a twist thrown in but you also realize you have been taken for a ride this far, because it is all too contrived. The screenplay relies more on creating a few comic scenes even if they are not particularly relevant to the story, for example the whole episode about Maddy’s parents visiting him at the college hostel. 

Shankar Ehsaan Loy’s music is pleasant on the ears but they are all inserted on a cue in the film. 

Imraan Khan is sincere while Kangana makes the best of whatever she has on hand. Even an actress of her caliber cannot lift sagging film.

Published in The Navhind Times on 20th Sept. 2015
www.twitter.com/sachinchatte