Director: Shakun Batra
Cast: Kareena Kapoor, Imran Khan
Cast: Kareena Kapoor, Imran Khan
Verdict: Above average
Rating: 3.5/5
In a smart conversational excerpt from the film, the hero downplays himself as an ordinary guy who doesn't excel in any particular domain. But the heroine finds uniqueness in his commonplace conduct since he never overindulges into anything. She tags him with the paradox - 'perfectly average'. That precisely defines the film as well. It's perfect in whatever it offers. But what it offers is quite average in volume.
Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu is a rom-com about two diagonally opposite individuals. The boy leads a bland and boring life. The girl is blabbermouth and full of life. Their paths cross. And as expected, opposites attract. So what's new?
Rahul (Imran Khan) could never come out of the shadow of his parents who tried molding him in their customized templates. A random encounter with Riana (Kareena Kapoor) leads to a few drinks and they wake up next morning to realize they got married in their drunken stupor. Annulling their accidental wedlock would take a few days.
Meanwhile Riana loses her rented apartment and checks-in with Rahul. The uptight Rahul loosens up in Riana's company and starts 'living life'. Cupid strikes Rahul over a Kuch Kuch Hota Hai song. Further they fly to India where Riana expectedly introduces Rahul to her extended joint family - the only variation being they are Christian folks over the perpetual Punjabi prototypes. What follows includes misunderstandings, separations and reunions...
Let the accidental marriage idea not mislead you. Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu is nowhere in the zone of Hollywood flicks like What Happens in Vegas (2008) or The Proposal (2009). The accidental marriage theme is employed more as a gimmick and doesn't contribute anything to the story. In fact the makers take the convenient route and entirely do away with the actual marriage scene from the narrative. Also the lead pair chooses to stay together and is never compelled by any legal obligations.
The writing by Ayesha Devitre and Shakun Batra is a case of too much screenplay without much story. The overall tone of the film is refreshingly lighthearted and the chemistry between Kareena and Imran is conversational over corporeal. But somewhere the story seems too shallow after a point with no tangible plot-point conflicts and the screenplay tries to fill that void with birthday parties, New Year celebrations, school revisits and such similar elements that remain external to the central plot.
Nevertheless you find solace in the film's subdued sense of humour and subtle temperament. The subtlety is not per se but largely because the story is devoid of any theatrical twists. And the residual dramatic sequences are handled with utmost sensitivity by director Shakun Batra, like Imran's climactic outburst at the dinner table. The dialogues comprise more of carefree and casual conversations over dramatically designed punches and go smoothly with the natural flow of scenes. There's an intentional aberration in the end to set the film in a league of its own but could disappoint the ones viewing the film as a Valentine special.
Kareena Kapoor is beautiful in both her looks and acts. Despite playing the chirpy-outgoing girl, she never goes overboard and is absolutely adorable. Playing the high-strung guy with deadpan expressions comes naturally to Imran Khan. He comes up with a fairly decent act. Their chemistry is informal and affable. Ratna Pathak Shah as the elite fashion-fanatic mother is too good. Boman Irani as the business-minded father is restrained in his role. Sonia Mehra (after some disastrous films) comes across as desirable in her one-scene cameo. Ram Kapoor gets no scope. The actor playing Kareena's father is funny and a fresh deviation from the regular father figures of Bollywood.
Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu is the kind of film you don't mind watching. But then again, you don't miss anything imaginative if you skip this.
Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu is a rom-com about two diagonally opposite individuals. The boy leads a bland and boring life. The girl is blabbermouth and full of life. Their paths cross. And as expected, opposites attract. So what's new?
Rahul (Imran Khan) could never come out of the shadow of his parents who tried molding him in their customized templates. A random encounter with Riana (Kareena Kapoor) leads to a few drinks and they wake up next morning to realize they got married in their drunken stupor. Annulling their accidental wedlock would take a few days.
Meanwhile Riana loses her rented apartment and checks-in with Rahul. The uptight Rahul loosens up in Riana's company and starts 'living life'. Cupid strikes Rahul over a Kuch Kuch Hota Hai song. Further they fly to India where Riana expectedly introduces Rahul to her extended joint family - the only variation being they are Christian folks over the perpetual Punjabi prototypes. What follows includes misunderstandings, separations and reunions...
Let the accidental marriage idea not mislead you. Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu is nowhere in the zone of Hollywood flicks like What Happens in Vegas (2008) or The Proposal (2009). The accidental marriage theme is employed more as a gimmick and doesn't contribute anything to the story. In fact the makers take the convenient route and entirely do away with the actual marriage scene from the narrative. Also the lead pair chooses to stay together and is never compelled by any legal obligations.
The writing by Ayesha Devitre and Shakun Batra is a case of too much screenplay without much story. The overall tone of the film is refreshingly lighthearted and the chemistry between Kareena and Imran is conversational over corporeal. But somewhere the story seems too shallow after a point with no tangible plot-point conflicts and the screenplay tries to fill that void with birthday parties, New Year celebrations, school revisits and such similar elements that remain external to the central plot.
Nevertheless you find solace in the film's subdued sense of humour and subtle temperament. The subtlety is not per se but largely because the story is devoid of any theatrical twists. And the residual dramatic sequences are handled with utmost sensitivity by director Shakun Batra, like Imran's climactic outburst at the dinner table. The dialogues comprise more of carefree and casual conversations over dramatically designed punches and go smoothly with the natural flow of scenes. There's an intentional aberration in the end to set the film in a league of its own but could disappoint the ones viewing the film as a Valentine special.
Kareena Kapoor is beautiful in both her looks and acts. Despite playing the chirpy-outgoing girl, she never goes overboard and is absolutely adorable. Playing the high-strung guy with deadpan expressions comes naturally to Imran Khan. He comes up with a fairly decent act. Their chemistry is informal and affable. Ratna Pathak Shah as the elite fashion-fanatic mother is too good. Boman Irani as the business-minded father is restrained in his role. Sonia Mehra (after some disastrous films) comes across as desirable in her one-scene cameo. Ram Kapoor gets no scope. The actor playing Kareena's father is funny and a fresh deviation from the regular father figures of Bollywood.
Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu is the kind of film you don't mind watching. But then again, you don't miss anything imaginative if you skip this.
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