Mujhse Dosti Karoge
Jun. 29th, 2005 07:56 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
neadodsYou've Got Mail meets a gender-switch Cyrano de Bergerac, with an extra helping of angst and a happy ending: Mujhse Dostie Karoge (Let's Be Friends).
It's a sweet little story, padded out with the Obligatory Obstacles To The Wedding.* Pooja's sweet on Raj. Raj is sweet on Tina. Raj's family moves to London to make a killing in computer programming when the kids are about 8. Raj makes Tina promise to email him, but it's Pooja who becomes his steady e-pal for 15 years, always signing Tina's name on the belief that he wouldn't have bothered to read messages from her. And she has a point, because after making a passionate e-plea that he would recognize his correspondant's heart, Raj comes back to India and blows right past Pooja to fawn all over Tina.
*(Considering that said obstacles are an inevitable part of most of the Bollywood movies I see, I should come up with an anagram for that. OOttW? O2T2W?)
I rather liked it; Pooja's motivations for what she did certainly made sense at her age, and her fury that Raj's pretty words about soul mates could be trumped by a pretty face made even more sense. (I was rather reminded of While You Were Sleeping, another favorite movie where the heroine ends up over her head for reasons that are not entirely her fault.)
The one flaw is that Raj acts like an utter jerk for about a third of the story. Yes, I understood his motivations, and I'm realizing that it's part of the genre to have as many scenes as possibly where the hero grumpily angsts while the heroine stares silently out at the audience with doe-eyed despair. Still, he was the one who came up with both the notion that Pooja had to marry on his wedding day, and he was the one who picked a possible groom, so it's a bit much that he has to chew that amount of scenery when she gives due consideration to the concept.
Points to the casting director and the scriptwriter too, because the romantic rival was an excellent supporting character. In a romance series he'd've gotten his own sequel book, and he had the personality to carry one off.
It's a sweet little story, padded out with the Obligatory Obstacles To The Wedding.* Pooja's sweet on Raj. Raj is sweet on Tina. Raj's family moves to London to make a killing in computer programming when the kids are about 8. Raj makes Tina promise to email him, but it's Pooja who becomes his steady e-pal for 15 years, always signing Tina's name on the belief that he wouldn't have bothered to read messages from her. And she has a point, because after making a passionate e-plea that he would recognize his correspondant's heart, Raj comes back to India and blows right past Pooja to fawn all over Tina.
*(Considering that said obstacles are an inevitable part of most of the Bollywood movies I see, I should come up with an anagram for that. OOttW? O2T2W?)
I rather liked it; Pooja's motivations for what she did certainly made sense at her age, and her fury that Raj's pretty words about soul mates could be trumped by a pretty face made even more sense. (I was rather reminded of While You Were Sleeping, another favorite movie where the heroine ends up over her head for reasons that are not entirely her fault.)
The one flaw is that Raj acts like an utter jerk for about a third of the story. Yes, I understood his motivations, and I'm realizing that it's part of the genre to have as many scenes as possibly where the hero grumpily angsts while the heroine stares silently out at the audience with doe-eyed despair. Still, he was the one who came up with both the notion that Pooja had to marry on his wedding day, and he was the one who picked a possible groom, so it's a bit much that he has to chew that amount of scenery when she gives due consideration to the concept.
Points to the casting director and the scriptwriter too, because the romantic rival was an excellent supporting character. In a romance series he'd've gotten his own sequel book, and he had the personality to carry one off.
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no subject
Date: 2005-06-29 01:47 pm (UTC)The highlight for me is the medley because of how many songs I recognize (my favorite moment is when Hrithik imitates...Hrithik, dancing to the song from the movie that brought him to stardom, Kaho Na Pyar Hai).
Btw, now that I know what kind of flicks you like, have you seen Dil To Pagal Hai yet? It's sweet and fluffy and has lovely music. Not enough angst for me (there is very little) but it's a fun movie that you might like.
no subject
Date: 2005-06-29 02:31 pm (UTC)He hoped she'd call his bluff, but he also dumped very cruelly on her when she didn't... and considering that he was the one who didn't have the... what's the Hindi for balls?... to just tell Tina before the wedding day, he's just as bad.
I didn't know about Kaho Na Pyar Hai or Dil to Pagal Hai; will toddle off to Netflix to add to queue. Thanks for letting me in on the joke!
no subject
Date: 2005-06-29 02:58 pm (UTC)Well, he couldn't tell Tina because Pooja made him promise not to. So the only way out was indirectly.
There was also a song from Gadar, and the song from Kuch Kuch Hota Hai and a bunch of others. It's easy to look up if you want me to.
I am up for betaing :)
no subject
Date: 2005-06-29 04:36 pm (UTC)Definately look up the song crossovers; you've got more experience, so you're more able to recognize them than I.
no subject
Date: 2005-06-29 02:50 pm (UTC)