REVIEW: Break Ke Baad (2)

BREAK THAT MOULD!

No matter how rebellious and head-strong a girl may appear at the beginning of a Hindi film, you can bet your last rupee, not only will she be married and pregnant in the last reel, she'll also have understood the foolhardiness of being self-absorbed and ambitious. So much for progress and novelty. Basically, the new Bollywood romcom offers nothing but variations of The Taming of The Shrew, where an impetuous girl is brought to her knees (in this case literally, when she asks the man to forgive her folly and marry her). Which isn't to say that the girl's character itself isn't problematic. 

The other feature that's becoming a staple is the filmmaker's obsession with Bollywood cliches. References to hits from the '80s and '90s (but almost inevitably dominated by Karan Johar's brand of candy-floss cinema) and invocation of popular themes, dialogue and situations, is turning this genre into one big predictable act. Debutant Danish Aslam's Break Ke Baad, co-written by Renuka Kunzru, evokes memories of a handful of films, notably Love Aaj Kal, a much better handling of the subject of close friends-turned-lovers taking a break from each other before realising the true value of their relationship. At least Imtiaz Ali has the gift of storytelling and creating flesh-and-blood characters with real feelings.  

In this case, from the start, we know that Aaliya (Deepika Padukone), who is first spotted with a cigar in her hand talking off marriage and rituals and motherhood, will have her own big Delhi wedding at some point, and a baby to boot. Abhay (Imran Khan), her childhood friend and sweetheart, is boring, to put it mildly -- he's dull, unsure of what he wants to do with his life, over-cautious and protective. But the film really isn't about his issues. It's about hers. So her relationship with her actress mother (Sharmila Tagore) is tenuous, there's talk of an estranged father whose selfishness the daughter is suggested to have inherited, and her desire to go abroad and study, a wedge in the relationship that Abhay uses to define his life.

Aaliya gets to tell the man a few home truths before she leaves. And up to this point, the film works all right -- except for Abhay's sagely persona. In the second half, when you'd think the break would be used by either party to revisit their own life goals and lead to a better understanding of each other and the relationship, the screenplay derails completely. The narrative brings in other characters to fill the void and in this case, the brother-sister duo of lecherous Cyrus (Yudishthir Urs) and grumpy Nadia (Shahana Goswami with serious wardrobe issues) can't keep the boat afloat. 

Meanwhile, Abhay, who's never done anything impulsive in his entire life, takes a flight to Australia (where Aaliya is studying and living as a PG in a dreamy beach-front cottage owned by the aforementioned duo. Really!) to win back his girl. In the process he finds himself -- as quickly and painlessly as people usually arrive at their calling in Hindi cinema. And in a reversal of the Dil Chahta Hai formula, she gate-crashes at his wedding. Sigh!

Do yourself a favour. Take a break from this one.