Ugly Aur Pagli Hindi Movie
Ugly Aur Pagli's script is supposed to have been ripped off from the 2001 Korean film My Sassy Girl, which I confess I haven't seen. But I have to say I don't see how that could be true. Because Ugly Aur Pagli doesn't exactly have a script in the first place.
Ugly Aur Pagli is obviously made on the same lines as the producers' earlier hit Pyaar Ke Side Effects, and so we have Ranvir Shorey opposite Ms. Sherawat this time. It doesn't work.
It almost seems like Ranvir and Mallika were just called on the on random locations at random times and given randomly written lines and terribly composed songs to perform. I mean, this movie is just so- well, random! Things just happen, without any logic, intelligence, or humor to the proceedings. I generally avoid giving away the plot of a film any reviews, but frankly I couldn't have done it here anyway, because there really isn't any.
However wacky a film's characters may be, they have to have some rooting in reality, some kind of emotional core. In Ugly Aur Pagli, the leads are total caricatures, and that is why you can never really feel for them- so much so that if one were to describe the two main characters, the title would suffice, because there is just nothing beyond that. And that's a pity, because these are actually potentially very interesting and complex characters, unfortunately shorn of any charm or empathy because of sheer poor writing.
There isn't much the leads can do really, and one can't really blame them for the fact that neither of them really crackles on screen. Mallika Sherawat isn't bad at all, and does her Pagli act like only she can, with that trademark Sherawat spunk. But there were times where I was genuinely puzzled as to whether she was performing a comic scene or an emotional one (it seemed neither funny nor touching) and that isn't really a great thing for any actor- looks like there are still miles to go for Mallika to grow as an actor.
Ranvir Shorey dazzled us with his awesome performance in Mithya earlier this year, and, he inevitably disappoints here- always more or less on autopilot mode, never really making much of an effort, but that is probably because it really isn't worth it. And that is why whenever he pulls that pitiable expression in the film, one can't help but thinking if he was actually wondering what he is doing in this film.
Believe me, this experience has to be endured to be believed. At least Ranvir Shorey had the good fortune of being kissed by Sherawat at the end of those countless slaps he received in the film. I on the other hand, left the theatre grimacing in pain. Ouch- it still hurts.
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