Movie: Khoobsurat
Director: Shashanka Gosh
Cast: Fawad Khan, Sonam Kapoor, Kirron Kher, Amir Raza Hussain and Ratna Shah Pathak
Genre: Romantic Comedy
Khoobsurat of the 1980’s had Rekha in the lead role and she went on to win not only the hearts of every household but also the Film fare for the best actress in 981. Rekha’s character Manju is a full of life and fun loving girl who on entering the prim and proper Gupta household, stirs up a commotion by trying to change their way of life. Now, fast forward two decades; replace Manju with Milli and the Guptas with the royal Rajputana family of Rajasthan and there you have Khoobsurat of 2014. Of course you don’t have high hopes with a remake (of sorts) but then you see Walt Disney’s banner and you pray for a magical Indian fairytale. Well sorry to burst your bubble, it is not. Director Shashanka Gosh’s Khoobsurat, loosely based on the 1980’ movie of the same name and Princess Diaries, not only fails to deliver on its promises but also bores you to death.
Dr. Milli Chakravarty (Sonam Kapoor) is a well known physiotherapist who has been called upon the Royal Family of Rajasthan to treat their wheelchair bound king. Milli’s over enthusiastic loud mother Manju (Kiron Kher) encourages her to take up the job, after all who knows, she might fall in love with the Prince. Rani sa Nirmala Devi (Ratna Pathak) governs the Rathore household with an iron fist where her word is the last word and discipline is of utmost importance. Her handsome son (Iam swooning!) Kunwar Vikram Singh Rathore (Fawad Khan) is lost in his business and works day in day out. Now once Milli enters the household, she is clearly the odd one out. With her jazzy clothes, casual attitude, atrocious table manners she is the misfit and is definitely not a favourite with Rani sa and Kunwar sa. But her dedication (lol!) to treat Raja Shekhar Singh Rathore (Amir Raza Hussain) brings about a change in their attitude towards her.
When I first saw the trailer of Khoobsurat, I thought to myself that maybe finally Sonam has landed herself a role that justifies her over acting, just like Jab We Met did for Kareena Kapoor. Unfortunately for her, it doesn’t. If before I wasn’t critical of her acting skills, I sure am now. She is annoying, irritating and so out of place with her acting that it stops being funny. She does not come across as lively or spirited as her character is supposed to be; on the contrary Sonam’s character Milli ends up being downright stupid. Kirron Kher, if you are reading this, I think it’s time for you to explore roles other than being a loud, match-making Punjabi mother (please, pretty please?!). It’s like you signed up for a lifetime supply of Punju mommy roles (uurrggh..). Ratna pathak Shah is decent in her role as a Queen but as we know what an amazing actor she is, decent isn’t good enough for us. The plotline is depressingly predictable and has been stretched to last two and a half hours somehow. The only time in the whole movie where you will, in all probability, chuckle (still not laugh), is the last 5 minutes of the movie.
Now the only reason why Khoobsurat will be remembered down the line is Fawad Khan. A popular Pakistani actor, Khoobsurat is Fawad Khan’s baby step into Bollywood. He fit right into the role of a young prince charming torn between his royal upbringing and his attraction for a girl who is a perfect misfit into his family. If you weren’t charmed by him already, he will have you going gaga over him now. He is definitely the latest heartthrob of Bollywood and thankfully, it’s not just his good looks, he is also a brilliant actor with a very promising career.
So guys if you were to take my word, I would say a big no for this movie. And if you are still going just for Fawad Khan, trust me it’s a complete waste of your time as Sonam hogs more screen space than him. I think this week, its best to stay at home and watch Rekha’s Khoobsurat again and reminiscence the good old times.
My Verdict: **
