Review: A lot of 'Break Ke Baad' is too good to be true

Film: Break Ke Baad (U)

Director: Danish Aslam

Cast: Imran Khan, Deepika Padukone, Shahana Goswami, Yudhisthir Das, Sharmila Tagore, Lillette Dubey

Rating: **

 

After a string of relationship movies like Jaane Tu... Ya Jaane Na and I Hate Luv Storys, Imran Khan is back doing what he does best: playing the delectable lover boy.

 

If you don’t fall in the 20-30 age bracket, the events unfolding in front of your eyes on the screen might leave you asking: ‘what the hell is happening here?’

 

Clearly aimed at the urban youth, Break Ke Baad tries to make space for itself among the string of recent relationship movies like Wake Up Sid, Love Aaj Kal, and Aisha. The terror of predictability looms large, however, jeopardising the filmmaker's effort to ‘break’ even.

 

The only novel factor, of a ‘break’ (and not break-up) in a relationship, dries up the moment it is introduced. The plot hardly moves, even when Aaliya (Padukone) and Abhay (Khan) go back and forth between Australia and India.

 

The childhood friends are visibly in love, but from what we see Abhay is always at the receiving end. So when temperamental, aspiring actress Aaliya decides to move to Australia to study further, Abhay cannot seem to get over the ‘let’s take a break’ proposition.

 

For a major part of the film, we are made to feel sorry for Abhay for being such a nice boyfriend to a, in the words of Bua (Dubey), chudail of a girlfriend. An insecure Abhay follows Aaliya to Australia, only to find his true calling in the phoren land with the help of Nadia (Goswami).

 

We all know what is going to happen in the end. We also know it’s too good to be true. We only wish a lot many of us were as lucky. A typical rubber-band idea it is.

 

Director Danish Aslam said in a recent interview, “All the love stories in Bollywood are similar. What people remember are strong characters and that’s what I kept in mind while making Break Ke Baad.” If only he had realised that nothing can rescue a static story and shoddy script.

 

Some dialogues are playfully refreshing, most of them emanating from Dubey’s mouth. She blames remakes of Devdas for the failure of the youth to handle unsuccessful relationships. The music by Vishal-Shekhar is upbeat and young.

 

Individually, Padukone and Khan seem to be at ease playing characters of their time and age, but the chemistry is not sizzling enough. Khan looks adorable and acts well, while Padukone’s impulsiveness brings a raw energy to the screen. Tagore and Goswami are wasted but Das’s ‘tharki’ act is hilarious.

 

Watch this 'timepass' rom-com with a little comedy for that much-needed weekend ‘break’.