Kuch Tum Kaho Kuch Hum Kahein Hindi Movie
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D Rama Naidu's Kuch Tum Kaho Kuch Hum Kahen is a rustic confection that scores a few brownie points for sincerity and conviction.
The movie stars Fardeen Khan, introducing Richa Pallod, Vikram Gokhale, Farida Jalal, Govind Namdeo, Neena Kulkarni, Sharad Kapoor and is directed by Ravi Shankar.
The trouble with family films is that they have been redone ad infinitum and whatever comes now is repetitive, if nor redundant.
Evocative of Tamil-Hindi filmmaker L V Prasad's back-to-the-village tales, Kuch Tum Kaho... has a lot to say about the virtues of village greens and builds a fairly focussed and appealing rural Arcadia with imposing ancestral homes housing egos to match.
This remake of the Telugu blockbuster Kalisundram Raa tells the story of a fierce family feud between two neighbouring households run by a moustache-twirling patriarch (Vikram Gokhale) and his bearded counterpart (Govind Namdeo).
Enter Fardeen Khan, in an author-backed role as Gokhale's estranged grandson who is determined to fill the fissures similar to Anil Kapoor in the flop Badhaai Ho Badhaai, and breach the dam, quite literally since there's a dam in the village that is a bone of contention between the two feuding families.
This movie is Fardeen's moment of glory, no matter what the box-office outcome.
As the city-slick do-gooder with a penchant for doing up ladies' hair in the entire household, Khan imparts certain earnestness to the role Akshay Kumar had rejected. A sincerity not visible in his previous roles shines through.
Fortunately, the huge two-household gallery of characters don't clutter and smother the narrative. There's a feeling of porous freedom in the narration because director Ravi Shankar has not tampered with the original plot to adapt the south Indian film to suit a north Indian palate.
This is the film's main appeal as well as major drawback as far as wooing Hindi-speaking audiences into the theatres is concerned.
The grandfather's (Gokhale's) "second marriage" with his wife Farida Jalal on their 50th wedding anniversary is a prevalent practice in the south that might confuse Hindi audiences.
Also the romance between the family grandson and an adopted daughter in the house Mangala (Richa Pallod) might appear a trifle incestuous to viewers.
Incidentally, this isn't the first time Pallod has been put in an unconventional relationship. In her debut as a child in Lamhe, she had a crush on the man who was her guardian.
Kuch Tum Kaho... is a fairly well mounted film. The protagonist's good Samaritan act -- which Fardeen does far more convincingly than Anil in Badhaai Ho Badhaai because he looks the right age -- within a bustling traditional Hindu joint family is too familiar.
The film wins over in moments rather than in totality. The songs -- by composer Anu Malik -- generate warm humorous moments between the two young lovebirds, and some prankish moments between them are quite heart-warming.
But Shankar ruins the rustic rhythm of the romance by carting the couple to a glacial wonderland in Europe for some songs. The quest for thrills in the second-half with villain Sharad Kapoor turning murderous in the climax is out of place in this tender love story.
Regrettably, Fardeen's sincerity cannot see the film through as the film gives the feeling that such a story has been done to death in many styles.
While veterans like Gokhale, Farida Jalal and Govind Namdeo perform well, debutante Richa Pallod seems devoid of grace or talent.
But it is a far better film than the week's other release Kyaa Dil Ne Kahaa, which was also adapted from a Telugu film.
