Film: Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani

Release date: 6 November 2009 (UK)

Music composed by: Pritam Chakraborty, Salim–Sulaiman

Producers: Ramesh Taurani, Ronnie Screwvala

Review by Dr Usman Latif Khawaja

The film stars Ranbir Kapoor and Katrina Kaif in the lead roles.

An absurdist, stupendous Santoshi stupor in a slapstick nightmare

True to its ludicrous title, the storyline is shrouded in mystery, or it vanishes from the screen as the jumbled images sequester in ill-conceived sequences, while it is obvious the reason for conceiving this miscarriage in cinema is that Salman Khan agreed to a 3-minute special appearance because his dummy girlfriend co-stars in this shop of comic horrors with the worst actor and star son on the Indian screen.

This is slapstick at the lowest level possible, which makes Singh Is Kinng look like a classic, with a loophole in every sequence, a mal-salubrious product of a one-time great director, Santoshi, who made bona fide classics like Andaz Apna Apna, Khakee and Lajja.

The confusion is apparent in the opening, as Ranbir Kapoor, the miserable lead, appears in a Charlie Chaplin mode and falls head-first into a pond on a bicycle, only to emerge with a frog croaking on his head.

This is the hallmark of the pathetic comedy that follows, and Kapoor apes everyone from Raj Kapoor to his eminent uncle Shammi in a subverted sixties party sequence, which is a cross between nostalgia and Elvis Presley too.

The non-existent plot centres on a HAPPY CLUB, with six buffoons headed by Kapoor, who play practical pranks like abducting young women for ransom as a joke.

Kapoor is the worst star son ever, who has no looks, needs elocution lessons and a reincarnation to become a star, which only God can oblige in his blessing.

The starkly sullen profile and vacuous dialogue diction, accompanied by blank expressions, make him an apt competitor for Bachchan Junior, but he is definitely better tha...