Director: Neeraj Pandey
Cast: Ajay Devgn, Tabu, Shantanu Maheshwari, Saiee Manjrekar, Jimmy Sheirgill
Where to watch: In theatres near you
Rating: 1.5 stars
On the face of it, director Neeraj Pandey's 'Auron Mein Kahan Dum Tha' looks to be a mature love story that seemingly reiterates the significance of giving love the much-needed second chance, especially when it has gone past its prime. All hopes are dashed when the maker gets confused about placing the tale in any proverbial slot (read: genre).
Pandey who has given us some delightfully enjoyable cinematic treats such as 'A Wednesday', 'Baby' and 'Special 26' to mention a few, gets it horribly wrong this time around, in terms of dishing out a narrative which is neither convincing nor engaging. Somehow 'Auron Mein Kahan Dum Tha' remains stuck in the late 80s, in a bad way. The tropes, the motifs and the subtexts are so archaic that they would give a seasoned formulaic filmmaker a run for his money!
Mind you, it's not the predictability of the plot that makes this one a dull watch, but the sheer style of narration is yawn-inducing! So much that you refuse to buy the fact that this is a Neeraj Pandey endeavour. Mounted as a love story with a twist, the film ends up being a predictable tale from the word go. Two young lovers separated by a tragic incident reunite after years is the premise of this sluggish tale.
The film traverses time zones. So, you have Shantanu Maheshwari (Krishna) and Saiee Manjrekar (Vasudha) madly in love with each other. Pandey creates a backdrop of the city of dreams, Mumbai, and how the lovebirds dare to envisage spending a lifetime together. The fairytale romance comes crashing down as one incident changes the course of events dramatically (exactly that, much filmy drama without logic and certainly without weighing legal consequences!)
Years later, Krishna and Vasudha happen to meet for the final and the largely-unaddressed goodbye. Ajay and Tabu's romance is now unspoken, full of gravitas and thehraav. You feel sorry for the veteran actors who could have delivered so much had they been offered right material to do justice to their craft, honed over the years.
The film unfolds in blotchy patches and the proceedings remain convenient without much conviction. The otherwise geeky looking Krishna gets into the 'Aata majhi satakali' mode every time he removes his glasses. In one scene, right at the start of the film, he confronts a seven footer man-mountain twice the width of Devgn. Our hero drags the hunk by pinching his ear and slaps him so hard that leads to scars and deep gashes across his face. In another instance, Devgn bends another bully backward and quickly elbows him out only to see the baddie rolling on the ground writhing in pain. Needless to add, scenes such as these are as half-baked as they are unintentionally funny.
As the narrative unfolds, we witness sequences hopping even in terms of genre placement/establishment -- from romance to drama to thriller, the background score only accentuates the dramatic shifts in order to keep up with the switch.
As for the performances, Saiee and Shantanu switch from being vibrant to vulnerable with ease. Tabu and Ajay Devgn are a treat to watch as they convey so much by doing less, especially when they share the screen. Jimmy Sheirgill doesn't have much to perform thanks to the limited (read: unimaginative) material at his disposal.
Manoj Muntashir's lyrics are poignant and heart-achingly beautiful, signifying the loss of love. Perhaps the only element of the film worth discussing and cherishing.
All in all, 'Auron Mein Kahan Dum Tha' remains archaic and outdated, the staleness of which fails to reprise the charm of the old school romance and the beauty of the love that once was. The pain of the tragedy and eventually the lingering happiness about love as indeed its eternal existence in the hearts of those involved, could have been portrayed with more maturity -- much like the restrained performances of the film's cast!
