The institution of marriage is a subject of interest amongst most Bollywood directors. Whether it’s the topic of infidelity, the groundwork of marriage or even a love story, which ultimately lands up in a complicated marriage, it’s all been executed and transformed on the big screen. When debutant director Prem Soni decided to get into direction, he knew immediately romance was going to be the genre he wanted to tackle. Soni went on to tell BollySpice in an exclusive interview, “It’s about relationships in today’s world; marriage in today’s world. It’s really difficult to have a happy marriage-but Main Aur Mrs Khanna talks about the positive sides of marriage and not the negative.” The newbie director managed to bag the likes of Salman Khan and Kareena Kapoor to play leading parts in the film. Sohail Khan, who took on second fiddle and decided to produce the film too, swiftly joined them. If that wasn’t enough, the film promised some great sights in Australia, special appearances from prominent celebs and great music. The promos aired to a spectacularly hot Kareena Kapoor followed by a younger looking Salman Khan and then the popular “non-item number” by the ‘Happening’ Preity Zinta. Expectations? Sky-high. Competition? Fierce – the film released on the biggest day of the year, Diwali only to be joined by Blue and All The Best. Is Main Aur Mrs. Khanna a repeat watch? Read on to find out.
Okay to clarify who plays who, Kareena Kapoor is Mrs. Khanna (DUH!) while Main is Salman Khan and then later on Sohail Khan. Raina, (Kareena Kapoor) is a middle-class girl who works to make her living meets the very charming Samir (Salman Khan) and lives happily ever after. Wrong. When Samir’s job is put on the line and he realizes that his career can only be saved by moving to Singapore, he asks his wife to move back home to India to his family. She quickly declines and stays back in Melbourne. She then meets Akash (Sohail Khan) who helps her get a job and a new home. The duo slowly develops a friendship, which Akash realizes is love, or in his mind at least. It is then when her husband returns ready to take his wife back with him to Singapore that trouble strikes. Raina must now leave her life, her friends and possibly the man she loves.
Honestly, Main Aur Mrs. Khanna doesn’t work for far too many reasons. The script has massive loopholes, which create nothing but chaos in the film. As a writer, Soni does nothing but an average job but as a director, he does manage to create some oomph. Questions regarding the realness of the film are many: how does Raina go from a girl who works in the airport to a mansion owner in a matter of scenes? How on earth is she dressed head to toe in Chanel followed by Jimmy Choo’s? That said, there are some realistic moments in the film where married couples would surely be able to empathize. The added special appearances by Govinda, Deepika Padukone, Dino Morea and Preity Zinta do nothing for the script and in fact seem as though they are were forced into the film; totally not needed from the director or in the plot.
Performancewise, all the actors try their best to add to a half-baked film. Salman Khan looks va-va-vroom but that doesn’t help his character simply because the role of Samir is so bland. Ditto for Kareena Kapoor; the lady looks like a million bucks but doesn’t work as Raina. They are the only reason to watch this otherwise rather dull film. Sohail Khan doesn’t help his career with this role-he should really reconsider going back into direction and production; acting is not his forte. The supporting cast is apt.
So what works for Main Aur Mrs. Khanna? The great locales that have been filmed beautifully, the interesting chemistry between Salman and Kareena and the top-notch music from Sajid-Wajid. Beyond that, this film and marriage is doomed which is extremely disappointing since the promos and nonstop publicity promised so much more. If you’re looking for something bright and dazzling to watch this Diwali, Main Aur Mrs. Khanna is better to be avoided.
