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SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2019 (PAGE 4) MOVIE-REVIEW NATURE Unconventional tale of love Plastic invades KARLOOP EK LADKI KO DEKHA TOH AISA LAGA is the story of a Director Shelly Chopra Dhar sensitively handles the sub- Ashwani Sharma girl wanting to love but is not allowed to due to societal pres- ject of homosexuality. However, the conflicts don't seem that sures. Sweety (Sonam Kapoor Ahuja) lives in Moga, Punjab extreme for some reason. Ideally, the confrontation between It’s not a good story to tell anyways . and is the daughter of Balbir Singh Chaudhury (Anil Kapoor), Sweety (Sonam) and her family should have been more Rather,painful and worrisome. Swachh Bharat who runs a big garment factory. She completes her gradua- extreme and that's when it would have made a smashing Abhiyan and ban on plastics notwithstanding , tion and Balbir starts hunting for a suitable groom for her to impact. Also, the finale seems a bit too simplistic. marry. Sweety's authoritative brother Babloo (Abhishek EK LADKI KO DEKHA TOH AISA LAGA has a somewhat villages in Jammu are not clean. Infact, the Duhan) however realizes that Sweety secretly is in love with awkward beginning as the celebrations in the song 'Gud Naal rural community acknowledged and rewarded someone. When she goes to Delhi to meet the lover, Babloo Ishq Mitha' seem a bit superficial. The story picks up as Sweety for its best sanitation practices appear to have follows her. Sweety realizes and she runs away. She lands up and Sahil meet in the auditorium and later in the sequence in a drama auditorium where she bumps into play director inside the metro train. The manner in which Sahil decides to forgotten some noble lessons. Self –revolved Sahil Raza (Rajkummar Rao). Sweety ends up seeing the play leave the play rehearsal in the middle and embark to Moga to sense to maintain community assets, keep rehearsal and remarks that the play lacks soul, as if the writer- find Sweety is quite difficult to digest. And this aspect contin- director has never fallen in love. Sahil falls for her at that very ues throughout the film. A few scenes here and there thank- streets clean, water sources pure and usable, instant. Babloo however lands up at the theatre and Sahil fully entertain like Balbir secretly going to the kitchen and conserve village ponds and protect public helps her in running away from him. So smitten is Sahil by Balbir-Sahil's first meeting. The intermission point could places are dead for now. Sweety that he lands up in Moga. He pretends to conduct an have been more impactful but nevertheless, it works to an acting workshop there and he's helped in his 'mission' by the extent. Post-interval, Sweety's flashback is worth watching My village –Karloop ,for example, that for years been lovable Chatro (Juhi Chawla). Babloo meanwhile tells Balbir and a lot of unanswered questions get solved. Again, Sahil's known ,for its best community driven initiatives has fallen and Beeji (Madhumalti Kapoor) that Sweety loves Sahil, a decision to stay back in Moga to help Sweety feels a bit far- to the bad days .What pains more is how things have gone fetched. The climax could have gone quite wrong, a la AAJA bad in recent years for so-called modernism .Effort to pro- NACHLE [2007] but thankfully, it doesn't. At the same time, tect village green cover, save natural water channel—‘Cho’,a it doesn't induce a feeling of goose bumps, which it ideally sprawling pond – ‘Chhappar’ , sweep streets on daily basis should have. that been an inbuilt culture ,or to upkeep of village ‘bazar’ Sonam K Ahuja gives a fine performance but doesn't does’nt exist any longer . impress much. She could have done a lot with such a brilliant Located, barely 1.5 km from the Jammu-Gajansoo road, part but she lets the opportunity go. Her performance is not Karloop’s list of achievers is no less significant than many a failure but at the same time, not as memorable either. The other forward border villages. Those who have gone to film centres on her but it's the other actors who carry the film. serve the Indian army have done proud to the soil. Services Anil Kapoor steals the show with his performance and leaves from teaching to legal and medical profession never been a tremendous mark as the patriarch caged by society and its short of men and women born here. Literary figures like expectations. He is bound to put a smile in scenes where he late Ram Lal ‘Papeeha’—a noted Dogri poet, folk signers is passionately cooking in the kitchen and when he gets like Duni Chand & others (Exponents of Dogri Pakh) and charmed by Juhi. In the finale, it's his performance that lifts Bua Ditta are few names to remember. the film. Rajkummar Rao has a bit of a supporting part and Yet, the real story here is how the community feeling is nects many villages ahead of Karloop. No wonder all these is great as always. In fact, he's so good that one wishes that dying. The generations have changed. One who returns fields for years been a source of economic boon ,growing he had a longer role. But he's letdown by the characterization. home, not so frequently, finds the new village culture vegetables and cash crops supplies in truck-loads to Kash- Juhi Chawla is very adorable. Surprisingly, she tries too hard booming, rather exponentially. Every morning cabs and mir and other parts, outside Jammu. to be funny in the beginning portions but once she lands up matadors rush in over-speed to carrying smartly dressed in Moga, she is something else. Her Google map scene will The development, as it’s said, takes its toll on the cul- kids. surely be appreciated! Abhishek Duhan plays the negative ture and civic values . Thus, garbage and heaps of plastic “Only poorest of poor now send kids to local government part well. Madhumalti Kapoor is sweet. Brijendra Kala is quite wastage now show its ugly side in lanes and mahallas . Used good and raises laughs in the scene where he's chased by school, which owes its existence to pre-partition days” said maggie packets , empty plastic soft drink bottles ,and waste Rajkummar. Seema Pahwa (Billo) gives a lovely and hilari- a government school teacher . potato chips have brought a new gabage culture to the vil- ous performance. Sara Arjun (young Sweety) is satisfactory. The school had earned laurels for some of its best teach- lage. The waste plastics dumps are growing everywhere ers and old students. Akshay Oberoi (Raza) is wasted. Kanwaljit Singh (Sahil's filling-up common places . It’s an ugly look to some of the Village elders recall how school had functioned those father) and Alka Kaushal (Sahil's mother) are sweet. And green vacant places. The rains flushes this non-biodegrad- days. Kirpal Singh, a Sikh teacher , who served this school finally, Regina Cassandra (Kuhu) is quite an important part able waste from the lanes and heaps to the local water chan- of the film and impresses with her confident act. Though one ,used to stay at house of village Lambardar late Kaka Ram Sharma ,and was so very mixed-up socially that it became nel (chao). wishes her character was given more screen time. The water in ‘chao’ has never been so much polluted and Rochak Kohli's music is subtle and touching but not of tough for him to leave the village on his transfer . His stu- dents gave him a tearful send-off, perhaps a memorable dark as now. Except for washing utensils , dirty clothes or Muslim boy. Balbir is shocked and decides to immediately chartbuster variety. 'Ek Ladki Ko Dekha' is played at crucial junctures. 'Gud Naal Ishq Mitha' doesn't make the desired example of sorts. After the partition and unsavoury hap- bathing/drinking by cattle (live stock) ,the water has eased find a suitable match for Sweety. Meanwhile, Sahil finds out penings, the school was run by village community .Salaries to be useful .There was time when women used to carry this from the house help in Chaudhury's Kothi, Chaubey (Brijen- impact. 'Chitthiye' is touching. 'House Party Song' and 'Good of the teachers were funded by the villagers voluntarily.’ water homes for cooking. Regular bathing was a routine at dra Kala), that Sweety's family knows about him and that Morning' are groovy but aren't memorable. Sanjay Wan- Sahil is here for his 'girlfriend' Sweety. Sahil's joy knows no drekar and Atul Raninga's background score is good. “That was community feeling and shows how much the banks of ‘cho’ by villagers. Tapped water supply to every bounds as he presumes that even Sweety likes him. On Bee- Himman Dhamija and Rangarajan Ramabadran's cine- importance village elders gave to the education of the chil- house -holds has reversed the culture of daily water usages. ji's grand birthday bash, Sahil meets Sweety in private and matography is quite good and captures the locales and emo- dren even as it was a primary school, later upgraded to mid- “ The water those days used to be clean ,pure and free professes his love. This is when Sweety admits to him that she tions well. Rajat Poddar and Teddy Maurya's production dle standards” says Bishambar Sharma, one of first few from pollution. A small natural spring was a retreat of its doesn't love him and that her love interest is a girl.

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