September 09, 2011
Cast: Imran Khan, Katrina Kaif, Ali Zafar, Parikshit Sahni, Kanwaljeet Singh
Director: Ali Abbas Zafar
Despite its over-familiar premise, Mere Brother Ki Dulhan packs a light tone and some easy laughs, before the weight from all its clichés causes it to topple over like a house of cards.
Kush (played by Imran Khan) is an assistant director in Bollywood films, whose London-based brother Luv (played by Tere Bin Laden’s Ali Zafar) assigns him the job of finding him a suitable bride when he breaks up with his long-term girlfriend. With his mother by his side, Kush visits the homes of a half-dozen prospective brides – each a worse stereotype than the last – before they zero in on Katrina Kaif’s character Dimple, the seemingly perfect daughter of a Delhi diplomat.
Kush, who had met Dimple five years ago while in college, remembers her as the rebellious rocker who was taken away by the cops when she staged an impromptu concert for thousands. Still a free-spirited livewire, Dimple is looking to settle down now, and Kush and his family thinks she’ll be perfect for Luv.
Directed by first-timer Ali Abbas Zafar, Mere Brother Ki Dulhan starts off breezily, with enough comic moments to keep you engaged. There’s an amusing scene in which Dimple subjects Luv to a Koffee With Karan-style rapidfire interview on Skype, and another sequence in which she distracts Kush while riding pillion on his scooter. But it’s when the film introduces its conflict at intermission point that everything begins to go downhill.
The tiring and predictable second half is basically a string of elaborate set-ups to call off the wedding. Given that it’s a Yash Raj Films’ production, you shouldn’t be surprised by all the self-referencing to previous in-house hits. Say hello also to every wedding-movie cliché — like best friends and mentally challenged siblings who help the hero win his girl, extended families who bond over jalebis and bhaang, and the jealous ex who shows up just in time to stake her claim.
Mere Brother Ki Dulhan is redeemed to a large extent by the charismatic presence of Katrina Kaif, who is easily the star of this show. Offering an uninhibited and winning performance as the mad but endearing Dimple, she makes you forget many of the film’s flaws. Imran Khan brings that boyish charm to his part, playing your next-door nice-guy with unmistakable sincerity; he makes Kush a hero to root for. Now if only they could muster up some sizzling chemistry! Ali Zafar, on the other hand, hams it up like there’s no tomorrow, and fails on account of trying too hard.
The film doesn’t always work because it relies too heavily on silly stereotypes and clichés, and because you can see exactly where it’s going from the moment you settle into your seat. I’m going with two out of five for director Ali Abbas Zafar’s Mere Brother Ki Dulhan. Aside from a few enjoyable moments, this film recycles so much that you’ve already seen before.
(This review first aired on CNN-IBN)
Grow up man ,,, just watched the movie , its better then 2 star,,
Comment by ankur — September 10, 2011 @ 1:22 am
What a douch Bag title…should’ve watched Savita Bhabi instead.
Comment by Mangesh Narawade — September 10, 2011 @ 2:08 am
Aru u mad rajeev is there any film this guy likes u r like akshay obesed with the thought of being an oscar winning critic
Comment by Kabir — September 10, 2011 @ 4:19 am
I mean akshay khanna character from tees maar my advise to u is lock urself up and watch contagian the whole week
Comment by Kabir — September 10, 2011 @ 4:20 am
Grow up man ,,, just watched the movie , its worse than 2 star,,
Comment by AJ Phoenix — September 10, 2011 @ 8:00 am
looks like rajeev masand’s aptitude for rating the movies is become 1 out of 5. loved the movie abbas.. keep up the good work.
Comment by Sukwindar S G — September 10, 2011 @ 8:31 am
Bang on Rajeev!!….1st half was enjoyable but towards the end they dragged it unnecessarily 🙁
Comment by Rohit Gupta — September 10, 2011 @ 10:09 am
anukar, completely agree with you man…
watched this film with my wife last night and we both found the experience refreshing by the end of movie. it is good one time watch and definitely don’t deserve a 2 star, I would rate it 3 star.
Comment by anurag — September 10, 2011 @ 10:29 am
This is the forst time I will disagree Ali zafar was gr8 in the movie. Katrina has improved but looks so emotionless like she not feeling it .As for Imran same old cool acting movies.However, I liked it. I was scared it might have tht stupid emotion scenes .Glad it didnot . I wld give it 3 compared to other superhit Like body guard..hated it though love salman.
Comment by yahsu — September 10, 2011 @ 12:30 pm
I just watched the film..i accept that the film was way too predictable..Dont deserve more than two stars, but the only star of the show was ali zafar..He acted brilliantly…His comic timing was perfect …Katrina kaif is there in the film , only to look glamorous and to do loads of overacting..Her hindi sucks bigtime..Shame on her that despite being in bolllywood for more than half a decade she cant speak hindi properly…Even akon’s hindi is better than her..But the biggest letdown of the movie is imran khan..He doesnt knows acting at all..Expressionless aarakshan candidate of bollywood..
Comment by Shadab — September 10, 2011 @ 1:15 pm
Thank you thank you Sir for your review
I never watch Imran Khan, Katrina Kaif
Comment by priyabrata — September 10, 2011 @ 4:49 pm
i wonder what u see in this that u give 2 stars.
worst movie bad performance (Except Ali zafar)
Comment by Aman Rathi — September 10, 2011 @ 6:28 pm
i guess you compare bollywood movies with hollywood movie… taste of indian audience is different and they will continue to like Dabanggs and Bodyguards.
Comment by a_critic — September 10, 2011 @ 7:14 pm
Hey Man I LIke Katrina…N 1st Half Is Nice But 2nd half is Lil-bit Long…3star,,,its my view…ur view is 2stars…
Comment by Karan — September 10, 2011 @ 8:05 pm
Thats right. The first part is ok but the 2nd one is far streched. Katrina & Imran really sucks. Yasraj just lost their reputation after making these worst movies. I goes with 1.5 for this movie, please stay away from it.
Comment by Johnny — September 10, 2011 @ 8:48 pm
I am an ardent fan of Rajeev’s reviews and i believe he writes for the educated Indian which, apart from engaging entertainment, expects some sort of intelligence from the movie-maker. We are tired of same old stories, with a few new sub-plots here and there, produced over and over with new faces and ‘phoren’ locations. Its high time people start expecting some sense from the 2 hours for which they pay 80-200 bucks.
If you don’t like Rajeev’s views because you think he doesn’t write for the common man, well you always have a string of other websites to refer to. And i don’t think reviews matter to the average movie-goer as they seem to like whatever crap is dished out to them.
Comment by Jayant — September 10, 2011 @ 10:00 pm
i think dis is d worst movie of all tym……i dunno hw ppl are tolerating dis movie….there is nothing in dis movie….i hate imran and katrina’s chemistry….as well as katrina kaif;’s overacting…she is behaving lyk a teenage gal…i hate her….infact she is not even luking rocking in dis movie….the role which she{katrina] has played in dis movie isnt suited to her…she entertain us wid her loads of overacting..{rajeev masand}u hv done a gr8 job dat u hv given 2 stars to dis movie .bt i dont think so it deserves 2 stars 1star is enuf for dis movie BUT i dunno y u hv GIVEN 2 stars to bodyguard m still saying u hv not watched it properly bodyguard deserves 5 stars i think u hv sum problem wid salman dats y hv given 2 stars to bodyguard.dere r so many reasons to watch bodyguard comedy,action romance,fantastic music and the most imp reason is salman …bt for MBKD no reasons….and i dont think so ppl shud watch dis{mbkd} movie jst bcoz of kat ..the only gud thing abt dis movie is ali zafar he acted very well….he is d only reason to watch dis….i lyk zafar dats y m saying dis…otherwise dis movie is crap………
Comment by neelam — September 11, 2011 @ 12:54 am
Thanks Rajeev for saving me from another bollywised movie
Comment by Kunal — September 11, 2011 @ 8:53 am
Do you only like intellectual films, Mr. Masand? Agreed bodyguard deserved hardly 1 star.
But this was a good time pass movie, was meant to be funny n fun, n it was. Enjoyd it n recommend it to others looking for paisa vasool entertainment. 3 stars from me.
Comment by Gv — September 11, 2011 @ 2:52 pm
Was going to go to watch the movie on Friday. But due to unavailability of tickets, the plan had to be cancelled. After seeing that critics haven’t rated the movie highly, I am glad that I gave it a miss.
Comment by Chetan — September 11, 2011 @ 4:33 pm
This is the first time I’m disagreeing with Masand’s views…
I thought Ali Zafar was the only saving grace of the film.
Katrina Kaif just can’t act…hindi or no hindi…
as for imran he’s getting way too predictable in his roles and has no more than 5 expressions on his face…
but your rating of the movie is bang on..
Comment by Manthan Ginoya — September 12, 2011 @ 12:41 am
Katrina was so charming in this film and has improved majorly!
The film really worked for me BUT what happened in the last hour?!?
Once Ali Zafar’s ex is back on the scene, the film runs outa steam!
Disappointed with the last hour, man.
The boys were good, but Ali Zafar deserved a better script.
Overall, the music really compliments (overshadows?) the film and it’s worth checking out for Katrina, who puts in her best effort after Namaste London.
I agree with Mr. Masand!
Comment by Steve — September 12, 2011 @ 6:59 am
Must watch at least once…. Good and time pass.
But yes 2 star is ok, not more than that….
Comment by Hitesh — September 12, 2011 @ 5:07 pm
i agree with Jayant… i had a tough time finding a person who really critics a movie in bollywood. it was like all the critics wanted to do was please the producers/actors/directors. any stupid movie you read about has a 3 / 4 stars for noo good reason. i stumbled upon Rajeevs reviews and trust him now for the update on movies 🙂
ofcourse like any other individual sometimes i disagree but mostly he hits the spot.
thank you Masand for being different from the lot 😀
PS – particularly loved how he had reviewed the Himesh reshmiyas movie and how he compared his voice to that of a donkeys 😛 hahaha
Comment by hehahe — September 12, 2011 @ 6:12 pm
Why are they even making movies with fake actors like Katrina Kaif and Salman Khan in it. More shamefully, people are gathering in huge numbers to watch these fares of idiocity. I remember how the reviewer of a famous website was very harshly condemned by the users because he was strong against Bodyguard. The demise of sensible hindi cinema might be near!
Comment by Rohit — September 13, 2011 @ 1:16 am
Normally i love your reviews…and i agree on that..but i think ali zafar was the soul of the film..in all those scenes where he was there, it was fun..otherwise movie was bland..
Comment by Mansoor — September 13, 2011 @ 9:24 pm
what a movie it was awsome to watch katrina in this avtar she has taken the status of queen of the bombay filmdome and that actually happened after the release of the movie ‘new york’ which also happens to be another yash raj production and this time around the movie is about her and that’s the truth.Katrina has achieved that status in noughties which sri devi had in 80’s and let’s hope that it continues in teenies!!! Really now a days stories are written keeping katrina in mind which is evident from that accent that she possesses in the movie labeled as britsh but it wasn’t brit at all,it was boardingschool american accent but the indians can buy anything and this leads to the subliminal advertisements of india’s best selling beer and cigarette openly shown in the movie but i don’t have anything to complain as they have also done a subliminal ad of my name also which i like the most.Trust me rajiv my name is not at all popular in north india,may be this could help and no one will miss spell it as shobit instead of shobhit.vo that irks me the most.
Comment by shobhit — September 14, 2011 @ 4:17 am
Katrina kaif is sooooo expressionless, her “acting” is mechanical without feeling the scene at all!! i think rajeev has a crush on her thats why he keeps he keeps praising her for her wooden performances…
Comment by pia — September 16, 2011 @ 4:37 am
oh come on man.
Katrina Kaif -charismatic?????we all know she cant act, neither can imran
and this movie sucks big time.
same old wine in a new bottle
Comment by piya — September 17, 2011 @ 1:13 pm
movie should be more comedy and shorter i shoud give it 2.5 stars
Comment by vasani rushi — September 19, 2011 @ 11:21 am
I think 2 star is more than enough. Predictable story line ,acting was worse. Good thing is ali zafar acting and song.
Except songs it deserves 1*.
Comment by roushan — September 20, 2011 @ 10:34 am
Miserable is the word. If you want to waste ur time & money, go watch this movie.
Rajeev keep doing the good work by providing ur review, so we know which movie to watch.
Katrina I think its time u go back to UK & do a barbie doll statue performance. I am sure u will get good praises.
Comment by Sachin Sikri — September 22, 2011 @ 3:35 pm
i think this movie is a good timepass to watch only at home because its not a great movie to watch in threaters you are going to waste all your money
When you dont have anything at home and you are totally bored this movie will keep you relaxed, you cant just say the movie is bad, its a very good laughter piece, do you remember the scene when katrina kidnaps imraan from home to a far place that was so funny, her acting and comedies were very good
i will go with 3 out of 5, just an emty like movie
Comment by Sachin Naik — December 18, 2011 @ 6:07 pm