Kuch Meetha Ho Jaye

Do journalists make competent directors? That's a debatable issue, but narrating a convincing story and keeping the viewer focused to the big screen is indeed an arduous task.

Television journalist and movie analyst Samar Khan makes his directorial debut with KUCHH MEETHA HO JAYE and the first question that crosses your mind is, Does he deliver? Does Samar, who has analyzed umpteen movies over the years, come up with an interesting product?

Unfortunately, KUCHH MEETHA HO JAYE misses the target, courtesy Samar Khan and Rohit Malhotra's unpersuasive screenplay. The film has a waferthin plot and to make matters worse, the screenplay is lackluster. The goings-on, barring some sparks towards the finale, are an exercise in boredom.

Samar Khan had an interesting idea on hand, but the power to keep the viewer's interest alive for those 2.30 hours is clearly missing!

Who could have imagined that a forlorn, smalltime airport could change the lives of so many people! But it did for the lucky few. Stuck at the airport with their flight being delayed, their lives come to a screeching halt, giving them time to examine and introspect relationships.

 

Starry-eyed teenage lovers [Shravan, Mahima Mehta], the bachelor [Parvin Dabas] caught between two sisters, the newly weds [Aditya Lakhia and wife], who are constantly fighting, the married [Nassar Abdullah, Mahima Chaudhary], the divorced [Sachin Khedekar, Iravati Harshe], who don't know why they are fighting anymore… are those stranded at the airport.

Adding confusion to this mayhem is the airport manager [Arshad Warsi], his assistant [Jaspal Bhatti] with a wacky sense of humor and the colorful nitwit with a signal problem [Murad Ali]!

They mirror the crazy characters we encounter at times. The characters throw light on the funny side of the seemingly unfortunate situation, also highlighting the emotional undercurrents.

To give the credit where it's due, KUCHH MEETHA HO JAYE bears no resemblance to the Tom Hanks starrer THE TERMINAL. Yes, both THE TERMINAL and KUCHH MEETHA HO JAYE are set on an airport lounge, but the similarities end there.

The idea is new, but the screenplay has so many loopholes that it appears as if Samar hadn't done his homework well.

To start with, showing the airport manager [Arshad] drinking on duty, guzzling alcohol throughout the film, looks weird.

Two, as many as seven relationships and some inconsequential characters have been woven in the screenplay and a lot of footage is devoted to these characters in an episodic format. From the viewers' point of view, devoting too much footage to Shravan-Mahima Mehta, Kanwaljeet Singh-Mrinal Kulkarni, Sachin Khedekar-Iravati Harshe, Karan Roy-Sandhya Mridul, Parvin Dabas-two sisters, Aditya Lakhia-wife and Nassar Abdullah-Mahima Chaudhary is anything but appealing. These characters would've worked had there been meat in their scenes.

Surprisingly, Arshad Warsi is relegated to the background. Those expecting Arshad to be as bubbly and lively as he was in MUNNABHAI M.B.B.S. or HULCHUL are bound to be disappointed big time since the actor enacts a Devdas kind of a character. What a terrible waste of a terrific actor!

What taxes the viewer further is that the film goes on and on, aimlessly, for 2.30 hours, though the ideal length should've been 1.45 hours, with several entertaining moments.

Samar Khan has executed a couple of sequences efficiently, more towards the post-interval portions. But he is letdown, and terribly at that, by a dull and unimaginative screenplay. The finale does get interesting and Shah Rukh Khan's star presence also elevates things [for a few minutes], but that isn't enough to salvage the show!

Himesh Reshammiya's music is passable. The title track is the pick of the lot, while the remaining tracks are strictly okay. Cinematography [Sameer Arya] is admirable. Dialogues are functional.

An actor of the calibre of Arshad Warsi is wasted in the film. Also, he suffers on account of poor characterization.

Mahima Chaudhary looks pretty and delivers an efficient performance. The film has a number of character actors, but Sachin Khedekar and Iravati Harshe stand tall with natural performances. Jaspal Bhatti is, as always, funny.

Parvin Dabas doesn't get much scope. Kanwaljeet Singh hams. Rohit Roy deserved a better role. Ditto for Sandhya Mridul and Aditya Lakhia. Mrinal Kulkarni is passable. Murad Ali irritates. Newcomer Shravan needs to better his acting skills. Mahima Mehta, paired with Shravan, is okay.

On the whole, KUCHH MEETHA HO JAYE is a weak fare. Below average!