Aap Ka Suroor

So, can Himesh act? There are legions who believe he can sing, and snap up his albums as fast as he can churn them out. But acting, well, here8217;s the thing: as long as the script doesn8217;t demand too much of him other than belting out songs, and allowing some well-written digs to be directed at him, he8217;s all right.

All this happens before the interval, when the hugely successful popstar HR yes, that8217;s what Himesh imaginatively calls himself arrives in Germany for a series of shows, and finds himself in love, and in jail. In that order.

The second half has HR trying to do emotion, and action, and everything else in between. That8217;s when the movie, which turns from a love story into a thriller-cum-whodunit, slips out of his grasp. And ours.

In between, there8217;s the luscious Mallika who plays, gasp, a lawyer, madly in love with HR. Who is madly in love with Hansika, precocious TV tot Kahani Ghar Ghar Ki who8217;s suddenly blossomed into womanhood, but still looks way too young for HR.

Himesh8217;s fans should like the music. Assalam-o-alai-kum is rendered in rap, and the Gayatri mantra is turned into a pop ditty. But even they will be hard put to roar when their icon, togged out in trademark jackets, cap and facial hair, tries his hand at romancing-cum-sleuthing, all in one go.

The nicest line of the movie goes thus. Friend to HR, in a chat involving izzat, and naak: agar naak kat gayi toh tu gayega kaise? And they both laugh their heads off. Smart way to acknowledge the accusation that Himesh has a strong nasal voice, and the singer thumbing his nose at it.

If only the movie had kept this lightly ironical, funny tone throughout.