Rings hollow

 

 

In 1999, E Nivas came out of obscurity to direct an amazing piece of cinema, Shool. The movie was a searing and uncompromising look at the corruption and nepotism in the police force. The movie had everything – good script, well-etched characters and some superb moments of cinematic brilliance. It was definitely a refreshing and entertaining film. Cut to 2008, the same E Nivas, his aura considerably dimmed by duds and unmitigated disasters like Dum and Bardaasht, directs De Taali. Do you dare hope?

Of course not! De Taali is neither fresh nor entertaining; the movie is a confusing mess, where the director seemingly can’t decide whether to make the movie totally slapstick or a romantic comedy. The result? A boring farce.

The story revolves around Abhi (Aftab Shivdasani) who has a problem that he falls in love too easily. Paglu (Ritesh Deshmukh) one of his best friends wants him to fall in love with his other best friend, Amu (Ayesha Takia). But Abhi falls in love with a gold digger, Kartika (Rimi Sen) or is it Anjali? The movie then tries to do something different with the age old, ‘love triangle formula’, but the attempt is neither sincere nor wholehearted. Agreed, it’s good for a few laughs, intentional as well as unintentional.