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Of Udipi waiters and media princesses

Priyanka Bhattacharya

If wishes were horses, beggars would ride. No, let's rephrase that... if wishes came true, then Udipi restaurant waiters would marry media princesses! At least, that is what Kundan Shah would have us believe.

After a six year hiatus, the Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron director has returned with two back-to-back releases. Even before the audience had time to digest Kya Kehna, his next movie Hum To Mohobbat Karega has hit the marquee.

If nothing else, Kundan Shah must definitely be lauded for his very creative plots. So we have a rehashed version of India's Most Wanted, with the lissome Geeta Kapoor (Karishma Kapoor) as the seeker of truth. This lady is on an unending quest for news, her lovely nose sniffing for a scoop everywhere and, if need arise, singing and dancing to get it.

But can there be a Hindi film that does not angle for romance? So we have Raju Bhatnagar (Bobby Deol), a waiter at an Udipi hotel owned by best friend-cum-roommate, Kutti (Johny Lever), falling in love with her. Bobby looks so good, he almost tempts me to make dosas my staple diet.

To come back to the story, though, Geeta is hot on the trail of a big counterfeit currency note scandal. An unexpected murder brings her to Raju's doorsteps in search of some valuable clues. The lovelorn Raju, looking to impress, confesses to witnessing it. This, of course, makes him high priority on Geeta's list.

Raju is thrust in front of the camera, live, where he stammers out a make-believe ID of the murderer. Call it luck, but Raju's bang-on-target description shocks mafia dons Dalip Tahil and Shakti Kapoor.

Adding to the confusion are a loony inspector (Sadashiv Amrapurkar) with a loonier sidekick (Vijay Kashyap). Added to the potpourri are a long lost brother, vows of vengeance and the third angle to the love triangle.

Bobby Deol is rather wooden in the first scene, but improves by the minute. He dances as gracefully as Karisma, who, of course, is her usual gorgeous self. She even manages the funny parts very well, even though the emotional moments were a little far-fetched. Amrapurkar executes his small role with ease and aplomb, unlike Tahil and Kapoor who only tend to irritate.

What could have helped this movie was a strong hand at the edit table. Instead, Hum... meanders in various directions, the emotional scenes drag on and on till you want to actually get up and leave. At points, though, the film's pace was actually racy and funny. Lever, in a limited dose, added to the humour.

Only two of the songs are worth writing home about, the rest just get on your nerves. Had it not been for the constant interruption by songs, especially during crucial scenes, the film would have had a shot at success.