I believe Bollywood has given me unrealistic expectations from Desi men. Where on earth are the men who will follow you to Punjab and win over your family before asking for your hand – Shah Rukh Khan in Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge or the ones who will love you unconditionally and yet hand you over to the man you think you love – Shahid Kapoor in Jab We Met. As women, we watch these films and others, only to believe that one day we will find our soul mates, our Life Partners. And that is exactly what Rumi Jaffrey is talking about in his latest offering which is based on the world’s oldest institution: marriage. We have the funny men of the industry all partaking in his romantic comedy, Govinda, Fardeen Khan and Tusshar Kapoor who have been joined by Genelia D’Souza and Prachi Desai. Each of the characters in the film is said to be “identifiable” and each brings a sense of realism to the film. Shot primarily in South Africa, this one promised to be a cute and fun comedy filled with light-hearted moments. Does Rumi Jaffrey hit the jackpot and manage to provide some competition to the very Kameena Kaminey? You’re about to find out!
As the film opens, we are introduced to three close friends: Jeet Oberoi (Govinda), Karan Malhotra (Fardeen Khan) and Bhavesh Patel (Tusshar Kapoor). Jeet is the divorce lawyer who never misses a business moment and has ambushed the idea of love while Karan is more than in love with his ladylove Sanjana (Genelia D’Souza). And then there’s Bhavesh who insists on taking the arranged marriage route and eagerly waits for his parents to pick the right girl while he takes notes from the ultra cool Karan. Finally Bhavesh’s wish is granted when his parents take him to Gujarat to find a bride; he meets the modern Prachi (Prachi Desai). The duo take the plunge encouraging Karan and Sanjana to do so too. When the couples return they quickly get back into the daily routine of marriage and then are hit by one situation after another. Unable to sort out their issues, they turn to Jeet who cheer on the couples to take on a divorce and rid themselves of their wives. What happens next is not only hilarious but thought provoking as well.
Life Partner is ultra sweet and that is the bottom line. If you’re looking for a film to sit back and relax on a Sunday afternoon, this is your best bet. The dialogues written by the director Rumi Jaffrey are spontaneous and humorous – especially the ones that Govinda juts out in his own style. The director has captured South Africa beautifully and incorporated the beautiful landscapes correctly into the film. As a director, he scores with a film that works because marriage is such a popular idea and topic to debate; especially now because of the “quick divorce” schemes that seem to be making the rounds. However, the climax is a real big “blah” to the otherwise funny film. Clearly Rumi was trying a tad bit too hard, which was really not required and instead should have kept his steady momentum going.
Acting wise, all the actors have come out with performances they could easily be proud of. Govinda is his funny-self as the lawyer who has the most amazing one-liners and expressions to match it. No one else could have pulled off the part of Jeet like Govinda and he fits into a tailor-made role like magic. Another head-turner is Fardeen Khan. The actor has really evolved. Not only does he look so-so good but has totally played the part of the ambitious husband. Tusshar Kapoor as the typical Gujarati boy who doesn’t take a step without mummy and papa’s permission is clean and charming. Genelia D’Souza is hilarious and some times over the top. Prachi Desai is a good find although she did look a bit uncomfortable with Tusshar in a few scenes. Anupam Kher is apt.
Life Partner is watchable simply because it’s a funny film with lots of light moments. Unfortunately, it does have some solid competition with Kaminey and hasn’t been publicized as much as it could have been which would have helped the film gain more curiosity. Love it or hate it, you will laugh at it – for all the good punch lines and cute clich
