Review: Dil Toh Baccha Hai Ji

Cast Ajay Devgn, Omi Vaidya, Emraan Hashmi, Shruti Haasan,Tisca Chopra, Shraddha Das, Shazahn Padamsee
Director Madhur Bhandarkar
Rating G

After tackling the fundamentals of various industries, filmmaker Madhur Bhandarkar deviates from his cinematic themes todeal with matters of the heart in Dil Toh Baccha Hai Ji. And in keeping with his penchant for realistic cinema, he has attempted to invalidate romantic clichés, albeit through his non-Bollywood lens. His efforts, however, falter significantly, leaving us rather exhausted.

While the spirited tale kicks off on the right note, pacing three love stories perfectly, it loses reason or purpose in the second half. It almost appears as if Bhandarkar and his writers - Anil Pandey and Neeraj Udwani - were unsure how to end the adventures of the three single men. In fact, the dysfunctional love stories abruptly shift gear from being innocently charming to tragically depressing, without any explanation for the sudden emotional turbulence.

Sanjay Chhel does pen some genuinely funny lines, but not enough to deserve applause. Although the tale warranted immense scope to explore the inane peculiarities of the male psyche, it ended up getting muddled in the same Bollywood clichés it had tried to avoid.

Even the casting, barring Devgn and Chopra, is unoriginal. Chopra ditches her domesticated mask to play the spunky Pamela, and she does it with panache. Even Devgn explores the unfamiliar by lending his charming innocence to essay the complexities and vulnerabilities of a fresh divorcee. But that's it for the surprises.

Hashmi is typecast as the impish Casanova who sings at the drop of a hat. Vaidya, though amiable, appears stuck in his 3 Idiots phase, mouthing his lines with the same twang. It's endearing, yes, but a little overbearing at times.

As for the three leading ladies, it's Das who appears the most promising, but she definitely gives ambitious girls a bad name. Her ruthless, conniving manner isn't entirely believable - surely there's more to her than just a Bollywood dream. But that Bhandarkar never explores. Even Haasan's pretty face can't help her out. It's unfortunate that she hasn't inherited the acting genes from either of her illustrious parents, Kamal Haasan or Sarika.

This is true also of Padamsee (daughter of noted actor Alyque Padamsee and Sharon Prabhakar), who squeals and screams randomly in her role.

Overall, this one is strictly worth a DVD-watch and nothing more!