Gori Tere Pyaar Mein: Will he win her back?

In the movie, Sriram ‘adopts’ a crab instead of eating it in a restaurant, to show his love for Dia and her cause!

Ambreen Haider November 26, 2013
Growing up, I always noticed that romantic comedies, also known as ‘rom-coms’, mostly circled around a single theme: boy and girl spot each other, possibly kickoff at loggerheads, realise the attraction somewhere in between, fight the world, win the battle and unite in the midst of song and dance - or more popularly known as ‘Happily Ever After’. 

Although Hollywood evolved and began to produce rom-coms based on what happens after the lovey-dovey couple get together, Bollywood continued to shy away from such storylines until fairly recently.

Chalte Chalte and Saathiya were among the first movies to depict the topic of post-marriage matters and hence, both films were considered to be slightly more intense than the usual light viewing of Bollywood rom-coms. However, the movies paved the way for the industry to venture into producing more films on similar themes. With time, another element seemed to emerge – that of two strong individuals instead of one being the damsel in distress, as seen historically.

This breakthrough led to movies like Break Ke Baad and Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani, to name the more recent ones.

Gori Tere Pyaar Mein is a bit of both these themes and although the movie’s glamour factors are purely its two leads – Imran Khan and Kareena Kapoor Khan - and of course, the banner that produced it – Karan Johar – the production and story itself are quite simple.

The movie centres around two urbane people with opposing mentalities. Dia, played by Kareena Kapoor Khan, is a modern day strong-headed environmentalist with unalterable beliefs, whose focus is to improve life for the less -fortunate.



On the other hand, Sriram Venkat, played by Imran Khan, is a whimsical, non-ambitious, flirtatious boy who works on and off in his father’s company. His life revolves around material things and he is well described by Dia as “shallow” [but] “not as emotionless as he portrays”.



Although the chemistry between the lead characters may come across as almost on-existent, one does get the impression that this depiction is intentional. The characters are meant to share a very individualistic and independent relationship so much so that Sriram almost considers their relationship to be casual, only to find out that Dia thinks it to be more serious; although she agrees with him that it should not change their personalities.

Until of course, the attraction fizzles out and reality bites.

While the first half revolves around them trying to make sense of a relationship, without compromising their extremely developed personalities and beliefs, the second half of the movie is dedicated to Sriram looking for Dia in a remote village with a motive to win her back.

To say that the movie is not dramatic would be a misnomer since it has its fair share of dramatic moments such as the runaway groom and the heart-broken lover singing at his lost love’s wedding, among others.



However, what the movie and its story must be commended on is its mild underscoring of nuances in relationships – moving on yet holding on, differences in knowing each other and future plans, re-evaluating the bond and reasons for friction over the slightest things.

And of course, the most important and rarely talked about subject – who decides the way forward in a relationship and is it always mutual?

Although the bigger story continued to be ‘Will he win her back?’ these were all touched upon through mere dialogues and certain scenes.

The movie does not have memorable songs although they provide light listening while they play; nor does it boast extravagant settings or remarkable dialogue. However, it has two strong supporting cast members –Shraddha Kapoor as Vasudha who played Sriram’s rebound and Anupam Kher as the corrupt tax collector in the village to which Dia moved to after her break-up with Sriram.



Yet, the movie has its moments where the viewer cannot help but guffaw out loud and most of the credit for comic relief goes to Imran Khan and Anupam Kher. For some, it may also be the crab that Sriram ‘adopted’ instead of eating it in a restaurant, to show his love for Dia and her cause.

Kareena Kapoor Khan plays an 'NGO-type' in Gori Tere Pyar Mein. Photo: Facebook page Gori Tere Pyar Mein

Overall, the movie provides light entertainment and a fun watch, with some moments that may replay in the head later.
WRITTEN BY:
Ambreen Haider A Banker. She tweets as @ambreenhaider (https://twitter.com/ambreenhaider).
The views expressed by the writer and the reader comments do not necassarily reflect the views and policies of the Express Tribune.

COMMENTS (9)

gp65 | 10 years ago | Reply There are a few movies with a similar theme activist woman with urbane boy getting some social goal accomplished : Swades, Kismat Connection. But I do not think this is such a common theme as you are making it out to be. By the way Kareena is also in the Madama Tussaud's museum.
Tom | 10 years ago Madama Tussaud must be crying in her grave.
Atif | 10 years ago | Reply They say you cannot judge a book by its cover. But, sometimes, one can surely judge a movie by its title or poster. One gets disturbed to realize how dumb the masters of our entertainment think we are. In this age of enlightment, they still churn up cheap senseless flicks with ever so senseless titles. If an alien race were to judge us by the movies we consume in the name of entertainment, they would infer that we are getting dumber on the average each year. This is true. But one must realize that this 'dumbing down of humanity' is deliberate. It is a global menace wrecked on society by the cabal that owns our means of entertainment. By the way Kareena can be deemed beautiful only in India. Yes, the same movie each time , albeit with a different packing.
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