Derailed

CAST: Sahil Mehta,Vikas Katyal,Mannat Ravi,Priyam Galav,Om Puri

Rating: *1/2

This is a bargain basement combo of Jab We Met and Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge,in which a boy and a girl are betrothed,placed on a train,and sent to Mumbai to wed,accompanied by families from “both sides”. In the first ten minutes,we discover neither the girl nor boy want to marry: she has a boyfriend tucked away somewhere,he thinks “arranged marriages” suck. Cue to,first,the nonk jhonk,then the cosying up,all within a coupe meant for a couple. Also to the tu-tu-main-main between the mummyjis and daddyjis and the baraatis and gharaatis,and the papering over of cracks by the wise old dadaji (Puri). There’s also a warring former boyfriend-girlfriend who are destined to leave the taqraar,and head towards pyaar. And a young sardar,dressed fully in yellow,(even his patka is colour-coordinated) who is meant to keep us in splits.

Subhash Ghai,whose production this is,is doing an admirable thing by encouraging features from rank newcomers,and putting them out in theatres. Only it shouldn’t feel quite as learning-on-the-job as this one,which,at best,comes off like a nice,bland sitcom.