'Katti Batti' review: '500 Days of Summer' and 'Kal Ho Naa Ho' hangover kills a well-intentioned film

Film: Katti Batti

Director: Nikhil Advani

Cast: Kangana Ranaut, Imran Khan, Vivaan Bhaten

Rating:  ** (Two stars)

What's it about: 
Katti Batti deals with the aftermath of a bad break up. Bad because, our protagonist Maddy (Imran Khan) struggles to accept the fact that he's been dumped by his quirky and eccentric girlfriend Payal (Kangana Ranaut). The film erratically yoyo's between the present and past, giving us glimpses of what lead up to the break up. We witness the whole courtship period, falling in love and then that big moment leading up to Maddy realising Payal isn't going to be a part of his life. The first half is breezy and easy on the senses, with a few well crafted humorous scenes between Maddy, his best friend and situations leading up to wooing Payal. The story takes a serious turn post interval leading up to a situation where Payal has not only moved on, but is ready to get married to a guy who is her ex-boyfriend's sworn enemy. Does Maddy give up and succumb to destiny's verdict on his love life, or does he take matter into his hands and decide to fight for Payal's love till the very end? 

What's hot: 
The film has a fresh set up and works primarily because of the lead pair - Imran and Kangana's unconventional chemistry. Like chalk and cheese, these two manage to get us interested in Maddy and Payal's make up and break ups. The first half has moments which anyone who's ever been in a relationship can relate to. Imran's Maddy is interesting, never boring or nagging us with his relentless pursuit of winning over Payal's attention. Even when he does,he still manages to keep us hooked on despite the sometimes dodgy writing. Payal and Maddy's chemistry is a lot like Ross and Rachel from Friends. She's into him, yet not into him, while he just can't get over her, despite fooling himself and pretending to move on. Kangana manages to impress with her easy confidence and charm as the unpredictable object of Imran's affection. But the film belongs to Imran who delivers one of his most believable performances. Completely familiar with the genre and at ease with his character, he makes Maddy interesting. The Lip 2 Lip song is a brave effort in technique and looks great on the big screen. 

What's not:
Nikhil Advani sort of checks off every possible cliche in his must have list. A best friend who turns cracks the wise one liners, a sexy seductress of a co-worker, gay jokes, heart broken lovers who champion for the underdog, and an extended climax that looks borrowed from his own film - Kal Ho Na Ho. What we watch in Katti Batti are rehashed, rewritten moments from Hollywood (500 Days of Summer, Sweet November, Chasing Amy) and a few Bollywood films. The humour or the lack of it is a big flaw in the film. Most of the LOL moments fall flat because of the poor writing and execution. A Devdas parody between Imran and Kangana starts off on a promising note, losing steam half way only to turn into an utterly disappointing gag towards the end. Advani keeps us guessing or at least attempts to make us wonder why Payal dumped Maddy in the first place. We are entitled to a smarter and more evolved reasoning, but the climax gives us a WTF moment that we sort of expected, yet feared wouldn't come true. Kangana's performance is uneven and a lot of that has to do again with the way her character is conceived. We like the mad Payal in the first half, but she soon becomes a watered down version of herself making us wish the actress had sort of had a creative intervention. The parallel plot about a band of heart broken losers turning cheer leaders for Maddy aggravates the situation and tests our quickly depleting patience. 

What to do: 
Katti Batti has a promising start, but a weak script and some run of the mill moments kills the chances of it turning into something worth your time and money.