KEHTAA HAI DIL BAAR BAAR
The Script Has Done the Damage

          Producers: Lal Dadlaney and Kishor Dadlaney
          Director: Rahul Dholakia
          Cast: Paresh Rawal, Jimmy Shergill, Kim Sharma, Jhonny Lever, Neena Kulkarni, Parzan Dastoor

           The Film: One more film about NRIs with desi hang-ups. Where it is different from others is the Gujarati angle. It is focussed more on the Gujaratis settled in the US than other Indians. Dadlaneys, the producers, and director Rahul Dholakia have managed to fill in a lot of Gujarati colour and flavours in the film.

          'Kehtaa Hai Dil Baar' is a fun-filled romantic comedy sourcing its humour from interactions between a whimsical Gujarati businessman Ranchodlal Patel alias the 'Roger Patel' (Paresh Rawal) and a young Punjabi food van owner Sunder Kapoor (Jimmy Shergill). The latter's courtship of Patel's daughter Ritu Patel (Kim Sharma), who is a medical practitioner, lands him in serious trouble. In Patel's eyes he is an undesirable rogue in their lives. Roger Patel warns Ritu to keep off this non-Patel boy, but the lovers dion't heed, as the Bollywood formula goes.

         
            KHDBB has nothing new to offer in terms of story or script. The old theme of poor-boy-meets-rich girl gets somewhat a different treatment, because things are happening in America. As usual under his Western garb and gait, Roger Patel is very much a Gujarati right down to his stomach: he is a Patel with a Gujarati palate, so can't help talking of all the popular cuisine from his dear land in far-away India.

           Since Ritu's mother favours the relationship - usually womenfolk oppose inter-caste or inter-regional marriages. She backs the daughter's moves to convince the parochial-minded head of the family that there is nothing wrong with the young budding businessman who very often comes on the local channel giving interviews about his Indian cookery. Finally, elder Patel agrees to putting Sunder to a 7-day-in-house test to qualify as a suitable groom for his daughter.

           These seven days are filled with mishaps and suspense and make interesting sequences. But everything is light-hearted.

           Paresh Rawal is the backbone of the film. Jimmy Shergill's Sunder Kapoor proves his comic talents. A better performance comes from Kim Sharma, who has portrayed a pucca Americanised Gujarati professional girl, but often lapses into a typical college student from Mumbai.

           KHDBB suffers as an entertainer due to a badly done screen play. Characters appear and disappear without a trace. Johnny Lever plays like a valet to Patel nodding yes or no on every family matter and contributes some of his own touches of humour. One can enjoy the film if one ignores all that is silly in it.