Break Ke Baad [DVD] [2010] [NTSC]

BREAK KE BAAD was this close to keeping away from the sappy ending, but it just couldn't resist. Bollywood has been churning out more and more romantic comedy films with an eye towards a more modern sensibility, and with varying results. LOVE AAJ KAL, SALAAM NAMASTE, and JAANE TU.. YA JAANE NA are three films that are very much worth a look. I HATE LUV STORYS is fairly atrocious. BREAK KE BAAD ("After the Break") falls somewhere in the middle. Fans of Imran Khan will note that he's starred in three of the films mentioned above. He's covered the spectrum of excellent to mediocre to awful. Some people might call this range.

Childhood sweethearts who separate and find their way back to each other, that's a standard Bollywood plot. In Delhi and later in Australia, BREAK KE BAAD charts the off-and-on romance of Abhay Gulati (Imran Khan) and Aaliya Khan (Deepika Padukone) who have been inseparable since childhood, have been squabbling and dating for a decade. Sundry folks and friends keep asking when these two will tie the knot. They don't know that the relationship is crumbling.

Abhay - but since Aaliya calls him by his surname "Gulati," so will we - is sensible and down-to-earth and, to be frank, sort of dull. He provides the consistent anchor to the wild child Aaliya. Aaliya aspires to be an actress, and is feeling trapped by her relationship with Gulati, as well as her ex-actress mom's lack of support for her acting dreams. Without consulting anyone, Aaliya applies to an Australian university, noted for its acting curriculum, and is accepted. And can the suddenly long-distance romance survive? Well, no, which is why a concerned Gulati eventually shows up at the Gold Coast, on Aaliya's doorsteps. Thing is, Gulati comes across so clingy that Aaliya decides to break up with him once and for all. And so we arrive at the kernel of the plot: Aaliya and Gulati sharing the same beach house in Australia, but really more apart than ever.

Okay, I may have been talking out of the side of my mouth before, when I labeled this film as a modern romantic comedy. Because the modern sensibility is what we see only on the surface. At the core of BREAK KE BAAD, traditional Indian mores are still very much observed. Gulati may be dull and feeling confined in his career but he ultimately knows best. Aaliya may be flighty and inconsiderate, and she may smoke and drink and party like mad, but when push comes to shove, she honors her mother and bows down to tradition. Those familiar with Bollywood will see the twist ending coming a mile off.

BREAK KE BAAD just floats along, making sure to hit a lot of clichéd beats along the way. There are several good and funny moments, mostly provided by the lively expatriated Desi siblings Nadia and Cyrus (Shahana Goswami and Yudhishtr Urs). Deepika Padukone is gorgeous and she's a natural in romantic comedies, even if her character here is pretty frustrating and immature. But I can't keep my eyes off her. Imran Khan needed a better script for his character or he needed something, anyway. It's nice that Gulati finally gets out of his own rut and finds his purpose. But his evolution as a character went from bland to bland but more career-defined. That BREAK KE BAAD is worth watching is because both leads do have considerable charms. You'll be in for a diverting time only if you can forgive the film's excesses, its artifice, its mediocrity. I don't think all that is too tall an order in exchange for a chance to gaze at one of the most beautiful women in the world. Deepika Padukone, her name may be a tongue twister, and yet I sigh at her face.

The DVD's bonus material includes the Making Of the film documentary (00:21:31 minutes long) and the Making Of the songs "Dooriyan" (00:05:22) and "Ajab Lahar" (00:05:35). All featurettes are mostly in the Hindi language, a little bit in English.

This is a love story of a young boy and girl. There are cosmetic differences from the regular Bollywood love stories in the sense that the girl is independent, assertive and has a mind of her own. The youngsters' mouth dialogues which probably they themselves would not be able to fully fathom: I want my space; I want to take a break; you are running away from yourself; we cannot be friends after we breakup; we can be friends after we breakup and so on.

As is the trend nowadays, this movie too has been located abroad, for the most part. Deepika Padukone has given a surprisingly wonderful performance. She has put her heart and soul into her act. The young man, Imraan Khan, is wooden and unglamorous, with poor acting. The movie suddenly becomes slow and begins to drag after the `break' (intermission). But, surely, that is not why the movie is named as it has been.

The songs and the music are forgettable, that is if you at all recall them after the movie. This movie has very little to make one want to see it.

BREAK KE BAAD has one of the best opening credits that we have ever seen. Right from a cinema screen to a t-shirt to steps to a terrace floor, the opening names appear innovatively, leaving a grin on your face.

moments, which is a must for a romcom. Lilette Dubey blaming the several remakes of Devdas for spoiling the youth is uproarious and so is Abhay changing his relationship status on facebook to 'It's complicated'. Wish there were more of such moments. Vishal-Shekhar's music is wonderful with many hummable songs. Andre Menezes choreography captures the beauty of Australia effectively.

Imran Khan is well suited for the role of a lover boy and gives a decent performance. Deepika Padukone enthralls you with an earnest act. Even though they are good individually, the chemistry between them is missing. Sharmila Tagore is very good. Lilette Dubey is great and gets to deliver some hilarious lines. Shahana Goswami is admirable and so is Yudhisthir Das. Navin Nischol is good in his small role.

BREAK KE BAAD is an average affair which doesn't 'break' new ground in romcoms.