Mere Brother Ki Dulhan - Review

Rom-coms like Mere Brother Ki Dulhan make you wonder what "love" really is. It doesn't really give you any deep understanding of the concept in general or even in terms of the characters. In fact, the way characters fall in and out of love in Mere Brother Ki Dulhan, it is clear that the film doesn't want us to take it or any of its characters seriously. The basic idea is to have fun, other things, like logic, etc can wait for another film. And so you go with the writer's definition of what love is - spending some good fun time together.

Thankfully, the "fun" part is enjoyable. And it is only because of Katrina Kaif. It's like she just cut herself loose. You can sense all the stiff body language, awkwardness and self-consciousness in her films so far, when you see how freely she's breathing here. This freedom also is helped by the fact that there are no serious moments in the film, even when her character is in pretty much deep sh!t. So, that saves her from having to emote anything other than a cheerful face. Within that though, she aces her comic timing.

The rest of the cast, including Imran Khan, look like mere pawns that are necessary to create context for her to be jubilant. Even so, while Imran Khan goes about the motions of being awed by the stunning Katrina Kaif, Ali Zafar progressively kills bits of interest you can have in his character, with every time that he opens his mouth. The accent, the mannerisms, the body language are all annoyingly over-the-top.

Also, the story is structured such that it revolves around Katrina Kaif's character Dimple. Her free spirit attracts everyone around her to her. Sure, the dialogue is witty and there are enough laughs in there for one and all, but anyone who has seen the trailer, or even heard the title of the film, knows how the film is going to end. And that is exactly why, we won't get involved in the story. We don't invest too much attention on the story because we know by hook or crook, the inevitable is going to happen.

I won't say the writers haven't tried to make the "how they get there" part interesting. They try and even succeed a bit in the earlier parts of the film. But as the film progresses, the situation gets more and more ridiculous. And you begin to feel the climax is being postponed unnecessarily.

Other fillers like songs break in abruptly, but the music and especially the lyrics are entertaining. Also, the picturization - that is the dances and colors used for costumes/art work make the screen look vibrant and full of energy.

I didn't think a day would come when I'd say that the only thing going for a film is Katrina Kaif. Take her out and the film collapses because the material is weak. Mere Brother Ki Dulhan starts with asking me to believe that an outgoing, flirtatious guy is convincing his brother to look for a wife for him and has in it everything from social pressure by families to gullible parents who are being played around by their children. They try to use wit in weird situations the characters get themselves into; they succeed partially, but it is difficult to overlook the overall disregard to sense or rather overt respect for nonsense.