June 22, 2012
Cast: Shahid Kapoor, Priyanka Chopra, Prachi Desai, Vrajesh Hirjee, Neha Sharma
Director: Kunal Kohli
In Teri Meri Kahaani, Shahid Kapoor and Priyanka Chopra play a couple destined to fall in love across lifetimes. There’s just no getting away from each other for these two, who invariably connect in every birth, only for their romance to be repeatedly thwarted.
In 1960 Bombay, struggling musician Govind (Shahid) and film-star Rukhsar (Priyanka) begin a tentative courtship over train journeys and in film studios, unmindful of the fact that there are three people in their relationship. In current-day England, while on a rebound from a fresh break-up, Krish (Shahid, again) meets Radha (Priyanka, again) at Statford-upon-Avon; they spend a fun evening together before heading off to their respective universities where they continue their romance over Facebook, Twitter and instant messaging, until a misunderstanding drives a wedge between the young couple.
Then, rewinding all the way back to a small town in pre-Partition Punjab, Javed (Shahid, yes still him!), a cocky Lothario spends his time bed-hopping between the local women, until he falls for Aradhana (Priyanka, yes she’s back too!), the daughter of a freedom-fighter who finds him too flighty for marriage.
Borrowing its structure – three separate love stories featuring the same actors – from the celebrated Taiwanese hit Three Times, this harmless but dull film from director Kunal Kohli feels longer than its two hour running time because of the predictable nature of its episodic narrative. Kohli relies on period sets and costumes to differentiate each story, but alas, a bouffant here, a pathani there can’t take away the sense of sameness that plagues each chapter because of its consistently flat writing.
To be fair the opening love story, or the sixties romance, has a nice charm to it, despite the tacky chroma backgrounds and CGI sets. The couple’s first meet-cute moment on a Bombay-bound train is particularly enjoyable, and there are other lovely moments too, including Ruksar’s impatience to see Govind, who she assumes has landed up at the studio to see her. Channeling Chaplin in his Tramp-like get-up, Shahid Kapoor offers a winning turn as the lovable guitarist.
You’re unlikely to enjoy the subsequent love stories as much, what with all the overacting from both leads – particularly Priyanka Chopra in the modern-day portion where her American twang suddenly makes an appearance, and Shahid Kapoor in the 1910 episode who puts you off with his smugness. This final chapter, in fact, makes a complete joke of the freedom struggle, weaving corny humor and elaborately choreographed dance numbers into scenes set against the nationalist movement.
Teri Meri Kahaani doesn’t work despite potential in the premise. It feels soulless and superficial, and is unlikely to find many fans.
I’m going with two out of five for director Kunal Kohli’s Teri Meri Kahaani. In one song, Shahid and Priyanka dance inside the Globe Theatre where Shakespeare staged all his plays. Let’s just say the Bard will not be pleased.
(This review first aired on CNN-IBN)
alright; I indeed enjoyed it. Its quite a light-hearted story.. movie made for time pass and it really did. Songs sounds good when you see and listen to them in a cinema hall rather than in your TV set. More than anything; your movie experience depends on with-whom-you-are-watching as well 🙂
Comment by Shashank — June 22, 2012 @ 10:45 pm
Thanks for the review. I have always found your reviews accurate and fit my taste. Another movie to be skipped. another 3 hrs of my life not wasted on a Kunal Kohli flick.
Comment by HP_NYC — June 23, 2012 @ 5:34 am
thnks for this nice review .. well i found u a deep thinker and perfect analyst of movie business. Yet i admired and totally depend on ur specs of vision.
Comment by vinay — June 23, 2012 @ 1:44 pm
Kunal Kohli needs to get a life…. horrible boring flicks !!!
Comment by Jay Jani — June 23, 2012 @ 2:10 pm
Rajeev ur right, Kunal Kohli is very overrated director and his films always very dramatic and poor content wise
Comment by Harsh Kumar` — June 23, 2012 @ 5:14 pm
Even the trailer of this movie was unbearable. It should have been titled Mausam 2 😀
Comment by Aman — June 23, 2012 @ 5:53 pm
thankx for your review
Comment by Devanjan — June 24, 2012 @ 7:19 am
Here again. I knew fo the trailer that the movie is a crap.two overacting lead actors add to it.Kunal kohli, I seriously dont think he has something new to offer.He is a big fan of old melodramatic hindi movies. sure he should move on and stop making movies.
Comment by Gururaj — June 25, 2012 @ 10:36 am
NOT EVEN AN TIME PASS…….
Comment by HARSHAL — June 26, 2012 @ 12:16 pm
I saw the film & felt it was a good time-pass, happy go lucky film but I agree there were flaws in the film, esp. the ending which I felt was abrupt . The film had great potential for something extraordinary which it did’nt live up to. I enjoyed the film for the songs& light hearted romance.
Comment by Siddharth — June 27, 2012 @ 12:44 pm
as said … a blithe effort and indeed the Bard won’t be pleased whether it’s at Royal Shakespeare theatre at Stortford upon Avon(as in this case) or to any single eye being audience to it. Kindly put a word forward for movies like Shangai and GOW to be released as well to overseas audience… it’s a perpetual pain one has to go through explaining there’s more to Indian Cinema then light bulb sequences… I have nothing against these but I won’t mind once sharing a different experience 🙂
Comment by Diljohn Sidhu — June 27, 2012 @ 1:49 pm
Agree with you 100% Rajeev. The movie is only good in the 1960s portion. I particularly liked the 1960s Bombay though some of the sets looked like a re-colourised 1950s Raj Kapoor movie. The contemporary England part of the film was a pain on the nerves and I managed to sit through it with the only promise of returning to 1960s Bombay and was looking forward for the pre-independence story – which again was a big draw on the senses. All in all the movie was only good in the 1960s portion. Kunal Kohli could have actually made a complete movie set in the 1960s Bombay rather than mixing 3 time-lines in one. It again is another big Kunal Kohli disappointment. Kunal Kohli should stick to writing tight scripts like Fanaa.
Comment by S Mohan Kumar — June 27, 2012 @ 2:11 pm