Mere Yaar ki Shaadi Hai (2002)
Cast: Uday Chopra, Sanjana, Jimmy Shergill
Director: Sanjay Gadhvi
Music Director: Jeet Pritam
Synopsis: Bollywoodization of My Best Friend's Wedding retains the original's spunk
Reviewed by: Faiz Khan

 

Bunched rather cleverly between the two Bhagat Singh films came this small offering from the Yash Chopra stable. Oh yes, it bears all the hallmarks of a Yash Chopra production, but even those who habitually turn their noses up at the overly sanitised romances that emerge from the Chopra camp should give this one a chance.

Sitting on a bench near the Gateway of India in Mumbai, Sanjay (Uday Chopra) laments the fact that he has been dumped by his girlfriend to his flatmate Ria (Bipasha Basu). Before we even make it back to their apartment—a set obviously pinched straight out of Friends—a voice-over informs us that this is not really a story about Sanjay and Ria at all, but about Sanjay and Anjali (Tulip Joshi).

Anjali telephones her childhood best friend Sanjay with the news that she is getting married. Oops. That does not go down too well with our hero, and Ria promptly points out the rather obvious fact that he is hopelessly in love with Anjali. Sanjay decides to attend the wedding—not to celebrate it, but to stop it.

Adored by everyone in Anjali's household, Sanjay finds himself slipping effortlessly back into the family fold, while poor Rohit (Jimmy Shergill), the groom-to-be, remains something of an outsider. The trouble is that Rohit turns out to be one hell of a decent chap, leaving Sanjay with an awkward dilemma. How exactly do you sabotage the wedding of someone who hasn't done anything wrong? For a while he manages to create enough mischief to unsettle Rohit, but eventually Rohit realises that someone is deliberately trying to drive a wedge between them. The inevitable confrontation follows, with Sanjay and Rohit deciding that they will both step back and let Anjali choose the man she truly wants.

In a nutshell, this is My Best Friend's Wedding turned on its head, but thankfully without the nastier edge that characterised the Hollywood original.

Having said that, this film possesses a genuinely strong script. It is witty, sharply written and very well executed. Yes, we still have the usual gaggle of chirpy relatives, the sprawling mansion overflowing with bhabhis, children and endless family warmth, but none of it is overdone. Sanjay Gadhvi stitches the film together with confidence. Scenes never overstay their welcome, the pacing remains brisk throughout, and, perhaps most importantly, he manages to keep the audience guessing almost until the very end. May the best man win... does he? Well, you'll just have to find out for yourself.

Uday Chopra fits the role rather well and delivers an easy-going, breezy performance. However, Bipasha Basu almost blows him off the screen whenever she appears. This is perhaps a cruel thing to say, but Uday borders on the rather unattractive, and throughout the film one cannot help wondering how perfect someone like Aamir Khan—particularly the Sanjay of Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar—would have been in this role.

Tulip Joshi, with more than a passing resemblance to Priya Rajvansh, acquits herself surprisingly well in a confident debut. Jimmy Shergill is immensely charming as Rohit, although a slight shade of grey in his character might have made him even more interesting. Bipasha Basu, despite what is essentially an extended special appearance, positively glows in every scene and threatens to steal the film whenever she walks on screen.

Perhaps the film's greatest strength is that it steadfastly refuses to surrender to cliché. There are no endless melancholy songs accompanied by heroes leaning against convenient pillars, no rivers of glycerine, no shrill melodrama and no forced comic tracks. Even better, both male leads behave like recognisable human beings rather than cardboard Bollywood heroes. There are no real villains here either—but then again, this is a Yash Chopra production... nothing terribly unpleasant is ever allowed to happen in a Yash Chopra film!

The real heroes of the film are undoubtedly the screenplay and Sanjay Gadhvi's assured direction. The first-time music directors also contribute a couple of pleasant tunes that sit comfortably within the film.

All in all, this is an absolute blast of a film and one that I would very strongly recommend.