Since I found Ranbir Kapoor’s Wake Up Sid to be truly wonderful, I had some hope that Ajab Prem Ki… will atleast be decent. Also, it was directed by Raj Kumar Santoshi whose previous claim to comical fame was Andaz Apna Apna way back in 1994.
Alas, I was so wrong. With time, there is erosion of talent for Santoshi. Not only has he lost his comical touch, he is nowhere in the top five directors of Bollywood. After Barsaat (1995), most of his action thrillers have been flops or have done just about average business like Khakee and The Legend of Bhagat Singh. Pity that when he tried to change the genre to be more successful, he falls head first.
So what doesn’t work for APKGK? Well, everything. If you still continue to watch the film, it’s only because of Ranbir. Even the presence of Katrina doesn’t seem to work because their chemistry is nothing to drool about. The laughs are few and far between. The dialogues only make you cry. The story is pointless and is least engaging. The songs are as lack lustre. The result is a boring film that is best avoided. Go to watch Jail instead. Atleast, it is directed by hat-trick hit filmmaker Madhur Bhandarkar (remember Page 3, Corporate, Traffic Signal, Fashion, Chandni Bar?).
Ho. Hum.