Aap Ki Khatir (Drama)

Cast: Akshay Khanna, Priyanka Chopra, Suneil Shetty, Amisha Patel, Dino Morea, Anupam Kher

Direction: Dharmesh Darshan

Showing at Jai Nepal

Kathmandu :

We’ve have revelled live-in relationships and we’ve extolled extra-marital affairs. So, don’t you think it’s time we swear by some partner swapping parties?

Calm down, for Bollywood still revels in the thakela tale of stale and puzzled characters, who still call in for their papa’s counsel if it gets tough to track the perfect Casanova. So what we get in Aap Ke Khatir is a frothy and frisky tale of a brainless buxom Annu (Priyanka Chopra) who’s on a relentless chase to win back her prince charming, which turns out to be a little more expensive than just her greenbacks.

Aap Ke Khatir begins on a knee-jerk note, as Annu hires Aman (Akshay Khanna) and offers the preliminary tips on how to behave as an impeccable beau to befuddle her ex. And you almost enjoy the chemistry between the characters as they board a plane from Lokhandwala to London on a dual project: the first includes attending Annu’s sister Sirani’s (Amisha Patel) wedding, and the other of course to invoke envy in the heart of the heartless heart-stealer. But the only demon that wakes up is the Cupid within the fixer himself, and is smitten over by the charms of the svelte seductress.

Now, the problem brews only after the post intermission when other facets of the yet unraveled plot unfold, with the director trying too hard to recreate the deceased drama that literally dates back decades. In fact, the ramblings begin to show soon after Sirani enters and though we get to see the whimpering actress in yet another avatar, there’s very little that doesn’t resemble the previous one.

But the real disappointment is the plot itself, that lacks novelty and the lacklustre string of cast that only goes on to prolong the bunkum barrage.

If the flick works at all, it’s only because of pretty Priyanka who perks up even the most pathetic scenes just with her sheer presence.

And of course, Akshay Khanna deserves some credit, as with the little makeover he not only does he manage to look charming but also has learnt to get his lines right.

One word of advice to Himmeish Reshmmiya — there’s more to music than just the nasal twang.