Review: Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic
ON THE SPRITE TRACK
Rani Mukerji plays an angel who turns nanny to the parentless kids of a dreary drama.
JUNE 29, 2008 – KUNAL KOHLI’S THODA PYAAR THODA MAGIC MADE ME WISH I was watching it in an outdoor theatre in the rural heartlands during an unseasonal downpour, for then I’d have been able to scoop up a handful of mud and hurl it at the screen. At least that might have lent a sense of lived-in grit to this relentlessly shiny-plasticky film, where everything – including the smiles on the actors – appears to have been scrubbed clean and pasted on a couple of seconds before the director yelled “Action!” Yes, yes – before you brandish your pitchforks and charge at me with it’s-supposed-to-be-a-fantasy cries, it’s not that I don’t get that. (Besides, it’s not just any fantasy, but a Yash Raj fantasy, and the NRI-magnet studio isn’t likely to replace, overnight, the comfort-food aspect of its menu with cold gruel. I get that too.)
But Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic happens to be a grim fairy tale about a super-rich businessman, Ranbir (Saif Ali Khan), who mows down – in a car accident – the parents of four children, and is subsequently court-ordered to take the tykes in and provide for them till they turn eighteen. Did it occur to the director that these children are forced to stare, every day, at the face of the man responsible for the death of their mother and father, and that this isn’t exactly the most ideal material for a whimsical fantasy? Didn’t Kohli wonder about the gruesome inappropriateness of the title, that the healing of young hearts and souls this wounded would take more than just a little love, a little magic? Can helping with chemistry assignments (as Saif does) or making a museum come wondrously alive (as Rani Mukerji does; she plays a nanny-angel named Geeta) smooth over the uncertainties of a life suddenly without the people who anchored your very sense of being?
Kohli appears to love film songs of another era – he, once again, weaves in a montage set to classics, with the sweetly nostalgic touch of Rishi Kapoor lip-syncing to his father’s Chalat musafir – and I kept hoping he’d take a tip or two from those films themselves, especially the ones about a brood of kids under the watchful eye of a youngish man, who may not entirely be prepared for the responsibilities he faces. I hoped that Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy (who deliver a shockingly generic soundtrack) would had been asked to conjure up a soulful solo that could alleviate the tensions of an untethered existence, at least for the duration of a night (like Main gaoon tum so jaao in Brahmachari, where Shammi Kapoor struggled as a caretaker of orphans). I hoped (against hope) that, at some point, the writers would divest Ranbir of his moneyed trappings and reduce him to a near-penniless Anil Kapoor in Mr. India, which might imbue the film with real feelings, as we would now be dealing with real people with real problems and not the residents of a vague, candy-coloured la-la land. (Kohli seems to have warmed up to Satish Kaushik’s Calendar, though, for a deadpan Razzaq Khan shows up as a liveried butler who contributes absolutely nothing to the proceedings.)
Instead, Kohli’s points of reference appear to arise from Hollywood – from classic heart-warmers like The Sound of Music (which is given a nod in a number shaped along the lines of How do you solve a problem like Maria) and Mary Poppins (Geeta descends from the clouds in a bicycle, which she folds and stuffs into an apparently bottomless bag). The corny charm of the former, the free-floating whimsy and the life lessons of the latter – that’s what Kohli is after, never mind that neither film revolved around a man who is, in a sense, a murderer. So he fills Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic with scenes such as the one where each of the heartbroken kids prays to the heavens for help. (And he’s so shameless, he splices into this montage a shot of the children’s pet dog, which makes it appear that even this animal is crying.)
And that’s just the beginning. Poor Saif is saddled with one of those talking-to-God monologues. (About the only thing that registers about the actor here is that he seems to be giving Salman Khan serious competition in the take-the-shirt-off sweepstakes.) Poor Rani is asked to warm the cockles of our hearts with leftover chicken soup-isms like “Rishte janam se hi nahin, pyaar se bhi bante hain,” that relationships aren’t forged by birth alone, but by love too. (It’ll be interesting to read in her autobiography how she was arm-twisted into playing this insufferably sweet-natured nanny.) The unfortunate result of all this brazen manipulation – including miraculous changes of heart dictated by a screenplay of convenience, and set against candied swirls of the most upbeat background music ever – is that there’s not a wet eye in the house.
And all the real bring-out-the-handkerchief moments are inexplicably tossed off like afterthoughts. Ranbir, as a boy, loses in quick succession the girl he loves, his mother, and his favourite teacher, and he compensates for these losses by turning into a grim winner. It’s a great stepping stone for a character arc – from heartbroken child to heartless, overachieving adult – but unfortunately, the whole thing is tucked away into the song that plays over the opening credits and it hardly registers. The bits about one of the kids remembering her mother (as she sees a classmate being picked up after school by a parent) and another being conflicted about beginning to warm up to Ranbir (because he feels that such an affection would be a betrayal of his parents’ memory) – these, too, are grudgingly shoehorned in, probably because giving these situations the importance they deserve would cut into the don’t-worry-be-happy mood and subsequently into the popcorn sales.
And so Kohli tries to tickle us with, oh, the scene where Malaika (Ameesha; the same actress who once bore the surname of ‘Patel,’ and who’s apparently decided that the shot in the arm her career needs is a generous display of breasts in baggy bikini tops) breaks up with Ranbir because his kids trash her birthday celebrations. Are you laughing yet? Even funnier, in even more unintended ways, is the attempt by the children (a couple of whom deliver the only decent performances in the film) to take cold-hearted revenge on Ranbir as soon as they move into his mansion. Each one tiptoes to a different corner of the house as Ranbir is sleeping, and… occupies a different bathroom just as he is ready for his morning rituals. You can sense in them the happy flush of vindication: “Ha! You snatched away our shot at a long life with mom and dad. So there! We’ve snatched away your shot at a bowel movement.”
Copyright ©2008 The New Sunday Express. This article may not be reproduced in its entirety without
I feel for Rani. What has she done to her career over the last few years. Why does she keep choosing these movies that I have no interest in seeing.
I almost thought you got so bored of your job of reviewing Bollywood stuff (in the process ignoring regional masterpieces like the recent one starring the man who holds the record for most Filmfare acting honours) that you simply decided to recycle your review of another film by the same production house, starring the same lead pair and released almost the same time last year (give and take a couple months
No seriously, “And all the real bring-out-the-handkerchief moments are inexplicably tossed off like afterthoughts.” reads much like..
“The dark themes (and the resulting dark emotions) are never allowed to fully develop and it’s only when the characters refer to themselves as being poor that we are reminded that they are”
But what can a poor reviewer do, if the production house in question does not believe in making films “dealing with real people with real problems and not the residents of a vague, candy-coloured la-la land”?
Personally, I have never liked any of Kunal Kohli’s work (except maybe Hum Tum…just marginally). He’s like a chef who has only one specialty – Cheese and Corn Pizza – and everytime he decides to do something new, he just adds one more layer of cheese and corn.
KK is defintely one of the most overrated directors out there…..has this guy achieved anything in his few years out there that warrants such big platforms ??? And has Yahsraj lost sight of scripts when approving projects…this after Tashan ?? Chalk another one up on the Yashraj debacle vehicle…only SRK can rejuvenate them now.
So Rangan…..still nothing about Dasa !!!!
The funniest opening lines by far !! You seem to be getting better n better n YRF seems to stuck at bad stuff.
//It’ll be interesting to read in her autobiography how she was arm-twisted into playing this insufferably sweet-natured nanny//
I think ull be interested to know that according to a mid-day report Rani saw Nanny Mcphee n thought it’ll be a great idea to make a movie on those lines. I think we should know abt how Aditya Chopra got arm-twisted to make the film in the first place !
Ah the conveniences of an outdoor theater…my spider sense warned me of this when I saw the trailers.
Btw whats does it take for English movies making the cut for your review?(beyond the I can only watch so many movies on an opening weekend)
Ouch!
“Rishte janam se hi nahin, pyaar se bhi bante hain,”
You thought this was bad? For me the dialogbaazi that topped all dialogbaazi was Abhishek saying “Muzhe kya zaroorat hai ki main sabse dushmani mol loon, bibi ko kho doon, bahi ko maar doon!” Haven’t yet seen Thoda Pyar thoda Magic, but I plan to. After the bad taste that Sarkar Raj left in my mouth some syrup is definitely needed.
ML: Quite. It’s hard to believe that Rani and Preity were so hot a couple of years ago and now both their careers look close to kaput. Could it have something to do with KANK?
Aditya Pant: Actually, in one of my earlier reviews, I recycled an entire paragraph, saying: if they can recycle their films, why can’t I recycle my reviews. I forget which one now.
But I did enjoy the first half of Fanaa quite a bit.
karthik: Yeah, even with “what goes up must come down” and all that, Aditya Chopra has been on an awful losing streak of late.
Sudhir Nair: Oho – Nanny Mcphee! Haven’t seen that. But saw a couple of reviews that pointed to Dushman (which later became Rajini’s Anbukku Naan Adimai).
Sujith: English films… whenever there’s a press preview. Otherwise it becomes to late to catch the review deadline. Why? Which English film are you thinking of?
neela: I can see Sarkar Raj still rankles
Your review brings to my mind the following Calvin and Hobbes strip:
http://www.s-anand.net/calvinandhobbes.html#19910623
The story of this film sounds ridiculous, but not ridiculous enough!
Also, will you be reviewing Wall-E?
Great review![:)]
Could you dig up reviews of Fanaa/Rang de basanti and swades please?
Baradwaj, one idea. Recycle one of your old Yashraj reviews. You don’t waste much time on crap. And then you can review THAT movie which everyone is craving for you to review. As a special treat for us Blogical Conclusion fans !
Ravi K: Wall-E… let’s see when it gets here first.
Pradyumna: Fanaa / Rang de basanti and swades – enjoy
Ramesh: If only I got a buck for each time I’m asked this, I’d be ready to retire now
brangan: I swear I didn’t read this (and certainly NOT the last line)before I oh-so-innocently commented on Ramsu’s blog. Bah, such accusations. And all for an incidental crossing of Proctologist and protégé thought trains.
What, nothing about Via Darjeeling? The idea for that movie sounded good but I’ve been getting some bad vibes from the publicity. Nothing as bad as the horrible taste that the TPTM promos leave, though.
Sudarshan: Oh, it didn’t get released here. The TV promos looked quite interesting…
I did manage to catch the film with my aged parents and kid nephew. Their verdict – solid two thumbs up! Mine – I kind of liked it. I was reminded of Bhoothnath in many places – both were kiddie flicks, both had elements of the supernatural, both had shades of deja vu (Bhoothnath to Beetlejuice, Caspar etc., TPTM to Nanny McPhee, Sound of Music, mary Poppins), both had children that were most like children, and both disappointed to some degree. Bhoothnath had the last third degenerate into a Baghbaan like film, TPTM was a bit derailed in tryng to be somethign for everyone – a bit of romance, a bit of kid pranks, some desh bhakti! But all in all I felt that like Bhoothnath it too was a children’s film in the right direction – away from the Krrish and Koi Mil Gaya type junk and somehow aboit real children.
Mr. Rangan – why so upset at the children having to stay with their parent’s killer? It was an accident! And the director put it front and center via the mouth of a reporter as the verdict was announced. And Lazy Lamhe (with the magic, kiddie pranks interspersed throughout) seemed less adult content than the sizzling Kaate nahin kat te in that other kids’ film Mr. India.
I was struck by the resemblance to How to Solve a Problem Like Maria (Sound of Music) in the Bulbula song. But I also got a similar sense of deja vu in Kannathil Muthamittal when Amudha was in that school song and dance.
I wish it was possible to go back and edit all those typos that make me seem so uneducated! Note to self – next time draft in a Word document.
neela: “why so upset at the children having to stay with their parent’s killer?” That didn’t upset me so much as the fact that this entire aspect was sidelined to an alarming degree. I mean, why bring up the plot contrivance that Saif was responsible for the death of their parents? Wouldn’t the film worked just as easily had the kids been orphans and if they’d found another reason to end up with Saif? It just didn’t work for me.
Was it sidelined? The older kid hung on to the fact – and wanted revenge, thought he was being unfaithful to his parents’ memory if he began to like Saif. I do not think a similar almost bitter conflict could have been created if another guardianship situation was contrived. Then the kids would come across as unreasonable and brattish. In this case they seemed to have some justification for their behavior. This was the more untenable situation that NEEDED divine intervention! Cheers.
I was waiting for a Via Darjelling review
A tribute to the tradition of storytelling, I found it a satisfying experience. Definitely movie of the year after Mithya for me.
Rashomon influence have an hangover over the movie and the director makes no attempt to hide the same.
If only Sonali kulkarni could act this movie could have been far superior
brangan i thought your review was in poor taste. i have not seen the movie yet, however, i doubt it can be any nastier than your review.
after khalid M’s recent rants, it would be sad to loose another reputed critic to bias so soon.
and btw, u did not reply to aditya pants query about your review for dasavatharam which is conspicuous by its absence.
Joe – Oh, that was just me trying to be funny. If you’ve followed the discussions in the last few posts on this blog, you would understand the import behind my comment. BR has made it amply clear multiple times that he’s NOT doing a review of Dasavatharam.
Gaurav Agrawal: “Definitely movie of the year after Mithya for me.” Wow. I hope the film lives up to that — though I must also admit that I’ve haven’t seen Mithya a second time, afraid that a second viewing might not prove as rapturous.
joe tempo: “Poor taste?” Because I didn’t care for the film? Hmmm…
Aditya Pant: Oh please. That wasn’t you trying to be “funny.” That was you casting a big, fat worm into the water in the evil hope that someone would bite
Have you seen TPTM, BTW?
A distant second i must say
I would definitely like to hear your opinion of the movie when you watch it.
I thought it would be a good simple movie for kids and family …
Well…I am taking the bite..give it to me BR. Its so disappointing that critics are saying that there is no story in Dasavatharam. I really would like to know your opinion on the film.
BR: Hmm, I am a good man who stays as far away from evil as possible
Usually I watch most films when they’re released, but Ill-health has kept me away from watching TPTM. I wouldn’t have missed TPTM otherwise, as I love to let my bias take centre stage and rip kunal kohli apart (like I did in the Fanaa review on my blog). That goes back more than 10 years when he used to be a so-called ‘critic’. I will still try to catch it, but next weekend has two other films releasing that might take preference.
Rangan…..There’s only one way to silence your critics now forever –
Your 10 cents on Dasav…it would fulfill your dearest fans as well of course…..Come on !
i think this film seemed to be a poor man’s (or maybe a rich man’s given the budget!) version of ‘hum hain rahi pyar ke’. we have the orphans, the bachelor taking care of them, an angel like figure who falls in love with the bachelor, and of course the caricaturish other woman. BUT saif was nowhere close to aamir, rani doesn’t hold a candle to juhi as an angel, and the kids are so much more believable and cute in the earlier film. also the big difference is, as you pointed out, the underlying motivation: staying with someone who killed your parents is messed-up while living with your well-meaning and helpless uncle is quite another.
Watched Via Darjeeling but waiting to hear your thots… For sure you will find it better than TPTM. Tho the movie might vanish in the clash between 2 debuts… Next weekend will be all aboout fresh faces and their potential.
Jaane Tu was loads of fun…but nagging feel the movie did not do justice to Rahmans songs
Anand: I don’t think anyone is saying there’s “no story” – but then again, in general, a strong story is no guarantee of a strong film.
karthik: I don’t know if it will “silence your critics now forever ” but I’ll put up that piece as soon as it’s out on the stands…
Arvind: Looking back, and given the quality of films this year, I guess even the bad 80s and 90s films are going to start looking good, forget the decent watches like HHRPK
Shwetha: Still no Via Darjeeling here…
Sujith: Yeah, the songs were not treated well at all… Surprising!