This is a tough one. While Main Prem Ki Diwani Hoon does have some problems, and I can see why some people would hate at least some aspects of it, for me, the film ended up working--I was completely wrapped up in the story by the climax, getting appropriately annoyed with some characters, crying at other moments, etc. If that's the case, the film can't merit too low of a score. The film did one of its "jobs"--namely, it transported me to another world, so to speak, where I care what happens to characters.
The story is centered on Sanjana (Kareena Kapoor). She's from a family I'd call wealthy, based on their home and such, but her mom thinks they're not so well off. Sanjana has just finished undergraduate school, it seems (this point was not so clear to me, but it could have been a translation problem in the subtitles), and for the graduation celebration at the school, she and her friends perform a song asserting their modernity, independence and their conscious break from the tradition of arranged marriages. Naturally, Sanjana's mom has a different idea, and so does Sanjana's married sister, Roopa (Tanaaz Currim), who is living in New York. Roopa calls to say that she has the perfect suitor for Sanjana--Prem, a very successful, wealthy business acquaintance. He's going to be coming to India. Roopa has arranged for him to stay with her family, with the goal of arranging a marriage between Sanjana and Prem. Of course Sanjana balks at this, and she's initially ill mannered and sarcastic towards Prem. But will Prem grow on her? Making things even more interesting, there's a big twist about halfway through the film.
Like a number of other recent Bollywood films, Main Prem Ki Diwani Hoon begins, at least, by self-consciously trying to seem very modern. The first song, "Papa Ki Pari", has a kind of Disneyfied MTV style--Sanjana and her four best friends are on stage in relatively skimpy clothing, something like a cross between an Indian Spice Girls and five Hilary Duffs. There are flashing lights, lots of affected attitudes, Sanjana is posing with a guitar, there are graffiti backdrops, dancing cheerleaders, and so on. Unlike most American school-oriented films, everyone loves each other in this opening scene. Teachers dressed like nuns are in the audience grooving to the music, holding signs that they love the students. Students are holding signs that they love the teachers. The parents act very moderately "shocked" by some of the things they're hearing and seeing on stage, but just for a moment, then they're back to smiling and being proud.
Taking something of a left turn, director Sooraj R. Barjatya mixes the typical Bollywood romance-comedy mode, which is rooted in realist inclinations, with a kind of bizarre cartoonishness once the setting changes to Sanjana's house. Sanjana has an almost purely CGI parrot who squawks commentary by reciting movie titles. She has a dog whose head is occasionally drawn over in a Saturday morning cartoon style. The interior of the house was constructed in a studio, and in some scenes, it looks like there was supposed to be exterior scenery composited into the windows, but it wasn't completed, so it's just left as bluescreen. This mood lasts up until Prem first appears. Hrithik Roshan plays Prem manically but comedically over-the-top. At this stage, Main Prem Ki Diwani Hoon feels more like a crazy sitcom--the overall mood isn't that different from the early sitcom segment of Natural Born Killers (1994), although there's obviously less of an evil undertone here.
This is probably the point where a lot of people decide that they really hate Main Prem Ki Diwani Hoon. We know that a lot of people hate CGI. A lot of people hate departures from realism, whether conscious or not, and so on. I didn't hate the film at this point, but I was having problems adjusting to it. Especially given the mood change that follows, it seems, as it does in too many Bollywood films, that perhaps Barjatya didn't know exactly what mode he was shooting for at first. From MTVish glam-party to surreal, absurdist sitcom to Bollywood comedy-romance is quite a shift in gears. But I like both surrealist and absurdist stuff, so the sitcom section didn't bother me--I even admired the insanity of putting the crude and corny CGI and animation in the film. It was just too weird not to like.
And after that point, I began being drawn into the film more and more. It doesn't hurt that from the beginning Main Prem Ki Diwani Hoon is full of beautiful people, including the women, and especially including Kapoor. It also doesn't hurt that Barjatya fills his exterior shots with breathtaking scenery (filmed in New Zealand and Mauritius). After the sitcom stuff, there's an extended sequence that's part travelogue, part "extreme sports" promo. This whole section is beautifully shot, beautifully edited, and the sports are beautifully choreographed. On a purely visual level, Main Prem Ki Diwani Hoon is often worthy of a 10.
The love story kept getting more interesting from that point forward, as well, and the film also remains humorous for most of its length. By the time the twist arrives, I was completely into the film. Yes, the performances remained almost consistently over-the-top, but as the film always has a cartoonish undercurrent, it worked for me. And although some people might find comic relief-man Johnny Lever annoying, he makes me laugh.
Finally, I loved the songs. Since this is a Bollywood musical, that's important. Composer Anu Malik smartly abandons clichéd Bhangra rhythms and gives us something much more sophisticated rhythmically, harmonically and melodically that manages to both be very modern and retain its traditional elements while being catchy at the same time.
Main Prem Ki Diwani Hoon is no masterpiece, but it's not a disaster, either. Still, exercise caution if you're only looking for realism and you dislike "cheese".
The story is centered on Sanjana (Kareena Kapoor). She's from a family I'd call wealthy, based on their home and such, but her mom thinks they're not so well off. Sanjana has just finished undergraduate school, it seems (this point was not so clear to me, but it could have been a translation problem in the subtitles), and for the graduation celebration at the school, she and her friends perform a song asserting their modernity, independence and their conscious break from the tradition of arranged marriages. Naturally, Sanjana's mom has a different idea, and so does Sanjana's married sister, Roopa (Tanaaz Currim), who is living in New York. Roopa calls to say that she has the perfect suitor for Sanjana--Prem, a very successful, wealthy business acquaintance. He's going to be coming to India. Roopa has arranged for him to stay with her family, with the goal of arranging a marriage between Sanjana and Prem. Of course Sanjana balks at this, and she's initially ill mannered and sarcastic towards Prem. But will Prem grow on her? Making things even more interesting, there's a big twist about halfway through the film.
Like a number of other recent Bollywood films, Main Prem Ki Diwani Hoon begins, at least, by self-consciously trying to seem very modern. The first song, "Papa Ki Pari", has a kind of Disneyfied MTV style--Sanjana and her four best friends are on stage in relatively skimpy clothing, something like a cross between an Indian Spice Girls and five Hilary Duffs. There are flashing lights, lots of affected attitudes, Sanjana is posing with a guitar, there are graffiti backdrops, dancing cheerleaders, and so on. Unlike most American school-oriented films, everyone loves each other in this opening scene. Teachers dressed like nuns are in the audience grooving to the music, holding signs that they love the students. Students are holding signs that they love the teachers. The parents act very moderately "shocked" by some of the things they're hearing and seeing on stage, but just for a moment, then they're back to smiling and being proud.
Taking something of a left turn, director Sooraj R. Barjatya mixes the typical Bollywood romance-comedy mode, which is rooted in realist inclinations, with a kind of bizarre cartoonishness once the setting changes to Sanjana's house. Sanjana has an almost purely CGI parrot who squawks commentary by reciting movie titles. She has a dog whose head is occasionally drawn over in a Saturday morning cartoon style. The interior of the house was constructed in a studio, and in some scenes, it looks like there was supposed to be exterior scenery composited into the windows, but it wasn't completed, so it's just left as bluescreen. This mood lasts up until Prem first appears. Hrithik Roshan plays Prem manically but comedically over-the-top. At this stage, Main Prem Ki Diwani Hoon feels more like a crazy sitcom--the overall mood isn't that different from the early sitcom segment of Natural Born Killers (1994), although there's obviously less of an evil undertone here.
This is probably the point where a lot of people decide that they really hate Main Prem Ki Diwani Hoon. We know that a lot of people hate CGI. A lot of people hate departures from realism, whether conscious or not, and so on. I didn't hate the film at this point, but I was having problems adjusting to it. Especially given the mood change that follows, it seems, as it does in too many Bollywood films, that perhaps Barjatya didn't know exactly what mode he was shooting for at first. From MTVish glam-party to surreal, absurdist sitcom to Bollywood comedy-romance is quite a shift in gears. But I like both surrealist and absurdist stuff, so the sitcom section didn't bother me--I even admired the insanity of putting the crude and corny CGI and animation in the film. It was just too weird not to like.
And after that point, I began being drawn into the film more and more. It doesn't hurt that from the beginning Main Prem Ki Diwani Hoon is full of beautiful people, including the women, and especially including Kapoor. It also doesn't hurt that Barjatya fills his exterior shots with breathtaking scenery (filmed in New Zealand and Mauritius). After the sitcom stuff, there's an extended sequence that's part travelogue, part "extreme sports" promo. This whole section is beautifully shot, beautifully edited, and the sports are beautifully choreographed. On a purely visual level, Main Prem Ki Diwani Hoon is often worthy of a 10.
The love story kept getting more interesting from that point forward, as well, and the film also remains humorous for most of its length. By the time the twist arrives, I was completely into the film. Yes, the performances remained almost consistently over-the-top, but as the film always has a cartoonish undercurrent, it worked for me. And although some people might find comic relief-man Johnny Lever annoying, he makes me laugh.
Finally, I loved the songs. Since this is a Bollywood musical, that's important. Composer Anu Malik smartly abandons clichéd Bhangra rhythms and gives us something much more sophisticated rhythmically, harmonically and melodically that manages to both be very modern and retain its traditional elements while being catchy at the same time.
Main Prem Ki Diwani Hoon is no masterpiece, but it's not a disaster, either. Still, exercise caution if you're only looking for realism and you dislike "cheese".