I remember watching this movie with my parents ages back, in fact a year after it was released. While it never became a box office hit, it certainly ascended to cult status and i can probably understand why. I've only recently gone back to watching these movies now, as a form of exam procrastination (an art which I am readily perfecting).
Before I get into the positives of this movie however, id like to elucidate upon what i thought was a very alarming moral issue within. The movie in a nutshell basically condones stalking and general thuggery to 'get women'. In fact, that is basically what Maddy, the movie's protagonist character, does in order to woo the girl he falls in love with after seeing her dance in the rain from a call booth (an aside - i always find it interesting to watch movies pre-smart-phone and pre mobile accessible technology because it harks back to a time where society was not poisoned with the ills and obsessions that have been created by social media - but i digress).
Maddy spends at least twenty minutes of the film engaging in what would otherwise be known as unlawful stalking behaviour in most common law countries. He takes pictures of the love interest of the movie, Reena (played ably by dia mirza), somehow solicits her number from an otherwise dumb and slightly ridiculous friend, goes to such lengths that he enlists his buddies to cut the telephone line at Reena's own home; and to top it all off, impersonates the man that is supposed to marry his love interest for 'five days' in order to 'have her.' He even hints that he might have 'raped' her if wanted in the closing stages of the film. It is highly unlikely that anyone would NOT consider all or even some of this kind of behaviour morally questionable and stalkerish, and it represents a moral undertone which i frankly dislike. Considering India's much publicised problems with rape, sexual harassment and treatment of women, such a moral undertone condones such behaviour more than anything else (granted, the film was released much before such events in India have entered a global limelight, but this does not mean those problems were not present back then either). Maddy's 'win' at the end of the movie only emphasises that problem.
Nonetheless, despite this questionable undercurrent, the movie in itself is excellent, and it is why it has bought me back to watch it and created a cult following along with it. What strikes me from the movie is the manner in which Menon, the director, treats the screenplay, which is in my opinion flawless. The movies lengthy time is barely noticeable because menon is able to intelligently weave together the initial Maddy- sam conflict throughout the film, ensuring that their conflict is always in the background but not taking up more than required screen time to effectively convey it. Further, the comedic scenes are excellent; R.Madhavan possesses a distinct comedic touch and is ably supported by another outstanding character in the film, Vicky, who's one liners had me sniggering and guffawing quite often. Menon is able to frame each comedic scene and tie to those human, good qualities that Maddy does possess - his unrelenting will, his care for his friends and family and a boyish inflection in his personality. Despite the fact that he stalks Reena, Menon's direction enables the audience to ignore the ridiculousness and instead almost root for Maddy as he, his friends and dad cook up various plans in order to woo the lady. For the most part, the scenes in which Maddy is trying to get to know Reena or is devising plans to have 'the perfect night out' are the best, because Menon paces them well, edits the scenes to elicit the humor (one particular scene, as Maddy is driving a 1970's fiat, he proclaims that 'everything is planned out and nothing can go wrong when I have planned something'; which immediately cuts to Maddy coughing and cursing an overheated car as he unsuccessfully tries to fix the radiator in the bonnet, drew several laughs). Further, Menon conveys Maddy's inner conflict of keeping his facade as 'rajiv from America' and telling Reena the truth in effective ways; he often juxtaposes Maddy's conflict in scenes where he is expressing his feelings to Reena, keeping the audience interested but also worried for the eventuality that will happen if Maddy does not tell the truth. But the greatest success for Menon is how he is able to connect Mumbai to the character of Maddy; mumbai's grime and problems is reflected by Maddy's irresponsible, immature, vulgar, alcoholic side; but on the other hand, mumbai's humor, its points of beauty and its charm is also reflected by Maddy. It is interesting when Reena admonishes Maddy on their first day together, stating that 'im a simple woman, an Indian woman...leave your American-ness alone', effectively implying to Maddy that it is his inner mumbaiwalla charm which she wants, and which she eventually falls in love with. It is this which makes the film such a cult classic because it speaks to the inner Indian in the moviegoer heart, the charm and visceral beauty within each and the will to achieve their ends.
The songs in the movie are also great and are a treat to listen to, meaning that the segues which can often be jarring are not so bad.
In all, this movie is great. It has excellent re-watch value. However, one must ignore not only the ridiculousness of the plot but also the questionable morals which plague the movie to fully appreciate its quality, and for that reason it deserves a 7/10.
Before I get into the positives of this movie however, id like to elucidate upon what i thought was a very alarming moral issue within. The movie in a nutshell basically condones stalking and general thuggery to 'get women'. In fact, that is basically what Maddy, the movie's protagonist character, does in order to woo the girl he falls in love with after seeing her dance in the rain from a call booth (an aside - i always find it interesting to watch movies pre-smart-phone and pre mobile accessible technology because it harks back to a time where society was not poisoned with the ills and obsessions that have been created by social media - but i digress).
Maddy spends at least twenty minutes of the film engaging in what would otherwise be known as unlawful stalking behaviour in most common law countries. He takes pictures of the love interest of the movie, Reena (played ably by dia mirza), somehow solicits her number from an otherwise dumb and slightly ridiculous friend, goes to such lengths that he enlists his buddies to cut the telephone line at Reena's own home; and to top it all off, impersonates the man that is supposed to marry his love interest for 'five days' in order to 'have her.' He even hints that he might have 'raped' her if wanted in the closing stages of the film. It is highly unlikely that anyone would NOT consider all or even some of this kind of behaviour morally questionable and stalkerish, and it represents a moral undertone which i frankly dislike. Considering India's much publicised problems with rape, sexual harassment and treatment of women, such a moral undertone condones such behaviour more than anything else (granted, the film was released much before such events in India have entered a global limelight, but this does not mean those problems were not present back then either). Maddy's 'win' at the end of the movie only emphasises that problem.
Nonetheless, despite this questionable undercurrent, the movie in itself is excellent, and it is why it has bought me back to watch it and created a cult following along with it. What strikes me from the movie is the manner in which Menon, the director, treats the screenplay, which is in my opinion flawless. The movies lengthy time is barely noticeable because menon is able to intelligently weave together the initial Maddy- sam conflict throughout the film, ensuring that their conflict is always in the background but not taking up more than required screen time to effectively convey it. Further, the comedic scenes are excellent; R.Madhavan possesses a distinct comedic touch and is ably supported by another outstanding character in the film, Vicky, who's one liners had me sniggering and guffawing quite often. Menon is able to frame each comedic scene and tie to those human, good qualities that Maddy does possess - his unrelenting will, his care for his friends and family and a boyish inflection in his personality. Despite the fact that he stalks Reena, Menon's direction enables the audience to ignore the ridiculousness and instead almost root for Maddy as he, his friends and dad cook up various plans in order to woo the lady. For the most part, the scenes in which Maddy is trying to get to know Reena or is devising plans to have 'the perfect night out' are the best, because Menon paces them well, edits the scenes to elicit the humor (one particular scene, as Maddy is driving a 1970's fiat, he proclaims that 'everything is planned out and nothing can go wrong when I have planned something'; which immediately cuts to Maddy coughing and cursing an overheated car as he unsuccessfully tries to fix the radiator in the bonnet, drew several laughs). Further, Menon conveys Maddy's inner conflict of keeping his facade as 'rajiv from America' and telling Reena the truth in effective ways; he often juxtaposes Maddy's conflict in scenes where he is expressing his feelings to Reena, keeping the audience interested but also worried for the eventuality that will happen if Maddy does not tell the truth. But the greatest success for Menon is how he is able to connect Mumbai to the character of Maddy; mumbai's grime and problems is reflected by Maddy's irresponsible, immature, vulgar, alcoholic side; but on the other hand, mumbai's humor, its points of beauty and its charm is also reflected by Maddy. It is interesting when Reena admonishes Maddy on their first day together, stating that 'im a simple woman, an Indian woman...leave your American-ness alone', effectively implying to Maddy that it is his inner mumbaiwalla charm which she wants, and which she eventually falls in love with. It is this which makes the film such a cult classic because it speaks to the inner Indian in the moviegoer heart, the charm and visceral beauty within each and the will to achieve their ends.
The songs in the movie are also great and are a treat to listen to, meaning that the segues which can often be jarring are not so bad.
In all, this movie is great. It has excellent re-watch value. However, one must ignore not only the ridiculousness of the plot but also the questionable morals which plague the movie to fully appreciate its quality, and for that reason it deserves a 7/10.