9. Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic
Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic will no doubt achieve historical significance as the movie that showed the absolute pits to which the Yash Raj studio had sank before the old man returned to restore its fortunes. It also provided a wake-up call to Saif Ai Khan who was beginning to get ideas above his station (mind you, I’m not sure you can get much above the station of being a young Nawab) – but the one you have to feel really sorry for is Rani Mukerji. This is a woman who can act. This is a woman who had a glowing career. This is the woman who made the mistake of being sucked into the Black Hole of Aditya Chopra’s ego. The film has all the magic of a plate of mashed potato. Where it’s meant to be sweet, it turns out sickly. Where poignant, it is posed. Where heartwarming, heartbreaking. I have friends who have made it their life’s ambition to track down every surviving print of the movie and to burn them on a giant bonfire outside Yash Raj Studios. Quite frankly, I’d rather watch a Julie Andrews season on the box than have to sit through this goo again.
With an overall investment of 40cr, the box office takings of 35cr make this a borderline flop financially – although it will probably break into profit on DVD sales and downloads.
