14-Feb-2012 - Movie Review: ‘Ek Main aur Ekk Tu,’ Bollywood Romcom Set in Las Vegas

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The setup is predictable. Imran Khan plays Rahul, an architect so uptight that he irons his socks. Kareena Kapoor is Riana, a free-spirited hairstylist. Both are from Mumbai but trying to make it in Las Vegas. One night Rahul drinks shot after shot to prove to Riana that he’s not a stiff. This being Vegas, they wake up the next day married. On order: an annulment. The first-time director Shakun Batra, who also had a hand in the script, doesn’t pile on subplots. (The movie is an audience friendly 1 hour 50 minutes.) He also doesn’t overdo the mismatch comedy of: I hate you, I hate you, I love you. Rahul and Riana become friends and allies, not Monster Beats Studio by Dr Dre Graffiti Headphones White squabbling enemies, and the film, which ends with the annulment, leaves open what happens next. (Smart money’s on true love of course.) The minor characters here can be cartoonish (two thumbs down for Rahul’s succubus ex-girlfriend), but Ms. Kapoor and especially Mr. Khan avoid that fate. And they help make Las Vegas go down a bit more easily. Bollywood loves to go abroad, setting stories in modern, Western cities where the characters interact only with other Indians. Monster Beats Studio by Dr Dre High Definition Headphone Golden “Ek Main“ aur Ekk Tu” (“One Me and One You”) hews to formula. The slick montages of Rahul and Riana on the town are part travelogue, part glossy advertisement for life in a mall. They don’t quite square with a movie that satirizes Rahul’s awful arriviste parents whose sleek home in Mumbai, where the film lands in the second half, might as well be Las Vegas. But the well-worn, ramshackle Mumbai apartment where Riana’s family lives, radiates chaotic well-being. It’s a relief to spend some time there. Ek Main aur Ekk Tu Opened on Friday nationwide. Directed by Shakun Batra; written by Ayesha Devitre and Mr. Batra; director of photography, David Mac Donald; edited by Asif Ali Shaikh; music by Amit Trivedi; production design by Shashank Tere; costumes by Manish Malhotra and Shiraz Siddique; produced by Hiroo Yash Johar, Karan Johar and Ronnie Screwvala; released by UTV Motion Pictures and Dharma Productions. In Hindi, with English subtitles. Running time: 1 hour 50 minutes. This film is not rated. WITH: Imran Khan (Rahul Kapoor), Kareena Kapoor (Riana Braganza), Boman Irani (Rahul’s father) Monster Beats Studio by Dr Dre San Francisco 49ers Headphone Black and Ratna Pathak Shah (Rahul’s mother).

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