Harry Baweja had a profound vision; to make a love story. Sounds ordinary, doesn’t it? Not quite. He didn’t want to make just any love story; his vision included the future which naturally required oodles of money. Most importantly, this film would serve as a launch pad for his son Harman Baweja. So he got to work–researching, studying, designing and writing. Getting this sort of movie onto the silver screen was quite a task, but he has pulled it off. Finally this July 4th, it released with huge hopes and expectations attached to it. The question is, did his vision translate onto screen in the dream-lke manner he intended to create? Read on to find out whether Baweja Films and Adlabs successfully create this magnum opus titled Love Story 2050.
Alright, firstly I have to speak on the VFX elements of this film. Like, really? Is there any frame where something isn’t related to ‘special effects’? The problem is that it’s as if the producers literally forced them in, where they were not required, just to spend money and boost the budget of the film. Sure, at some point it’s nice to see the flying cars, the metallic robots, the hi-fi accessories, and ‘futuristic’ costumes; but after a while you feel like literally yelling at the producers to stop trying so hard! I mean, come on, there’s only so much silver a person can take in one day. And then there’s the annoying sounds like “Zoooom, Zigashhh” and all that. You’d really wish that if someone were to make a futuristic film (which they probably won’t after this debacle), then at least give the whole amateur sounds effects a rest. If it was more realistic, your ears might not suffer so much, but that’s the problem–it’s not. Unfortunately, neither is the script at most times.
Speaking of the script, I kind of forgot if there was one. So Karan (Harman Baweja) is a guy who lives life on his own terms and Sana (Priyanka Chopra) is a girl who lives by the rules. Naturally, opposites attract and the two fall in love. Meanwhile, Karan’s uncle Dr. Yatinder Khanna (Boman Irani) has finally created a time machine that he has been working on for some time. Sana wants to travel to the future, so Karan uses the time machine to take her. But as they land in Mumbai (Note: This scene is actually very good and deserves applause!) and see how rapidly it has advanced, they are completely mesmerized. As time progresses (pun intended!), Karan and Sana are separated from each other and this forms the plot.
Agreed, the first half of the film is actually bearable. The songs are good, Harman and Priyanka are good. In fact, on the acting front, there’s no denying that Harman Baweja is a natural. But the kid needs to attend some vocal and verbal classes because the delivery of his dialogue is extremely amateur throughout the movie. I’m not saying there isn’t potential (in fact, he’ll give a lot of competition to fellow newcomers like Ranbir, Imran and Neil) but the potential needs to be tapped fast! Priyanka Chopra on the other hand was great playing both Sana and Zyesha. Her transformation from the more calm, laid-back role of Sana to the eccentric and jubilant Zysha was very well done and she pulled it off amazingly. Still, LS2050 cannot be called her best performance because there’s a ‘zing’ required that she lacks.
But as a full picture, the movie is average mainly because of its meaningless script. Basically, the script sucks. The songs (Anu Malik) are also very average and are the ‘been-there-heard-that’ type. However, Harman’s dancing skills are to be greatly appreciated during the peppy ‘Milo Na Milo’ and ‘Sach Kehna’. Other than decent performances, nice special effects (though too much!) and good dancing, the film really has nothing going for it. But yes, it is an interesting concept (for Bollywood at least) and Harry Baweja has dared to do something different. If only he got it right! For those planning on seeing it, I hope you have some back-up plans for the evening because this film is going to do one helluva good job at sabotaging your night out.
The promising part is that Harman has the potential to reach great heights if he brushes up on his speech and ties up a few loose ends. For Priyanka, you have to admire her for taking a risk but unfortunately this will hardly be a career milestone. Without much further ado, Love Story 2050 is a terrible downer. And so the expectations come crashing down…!
