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Neal 'N' Nikki
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'Neal 'N' Nikki' Disappoints

By Nikhil Kumar
Film critic, ApunKaChoice.Com

It is sad, but true. The tiny bras and bikinis in this film cannot camouflage the big, gaping holes in the script and movie direction.

Arjun Sablok, the movie’s director, grossly underestimates the intelligence of the viewers. In ‘Neal N Nikki’, he is offering a no-story film in a beautiful package full of skimpy dresses, butts and cleavages, and, worst-of-all, absolutely puerile humour.

Add

to all this an over-the-top performance by Uday Chopra, who not only is not-funny, but also an embarrassment to watch because you can see on the screen that the young lad is absolutely convinced that he can quip and entertain with flamboyance. A reality check is needed.

Tanishaa matches Uday in no less stead. To her, bubbly and sexy probably means to loosen her inhibitions and shriek her dialogues out.

No doubt, it is a boon to have born in a family with filmi background. Talent or not, a big break is guaranteed for sure.

Now to the movie’s no-story.

The setting is Canada. Neal (Uday Chopra) is a young man looking forward to get laid. He has already agreed to an arranged marriage with a girl named Sweetie (Richa Pallod) from Bhatinda.

Before he gets hitched, Neal wants to enjoy three weeks of bachelorhood and try bedding as many women as possible. One-night-stands, you know. But before he could hit the sack with any of his prospective lays, Nikki Bakshi (Tanishaa) turns up to spoil the party for him. Whenever, Neal is on the verge of hitting a score, Nikki turns up in the nick of time, leaving him a frustrated, unsatisfied and ‘loaded’ man.

The two obviously hate each other. But beneath it lurks the spirit of fun buddies. Gradually, they become ‘can’t live with or without’ friends. They fight, they argue, pull each other’s leg and then make up.

Just when love was beginning to blossom between the two, Neal comes to know Nikki’s secret.

Watching the remaining film is just a whiling away of time as you already know the end, which, to add, the writers have unimaginatively conceived in their screenplay of convenience.

‘Neal N Nikki’ is like a poor, stripped rehash of Aditya Chopra’s Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge. But Uday Chopra is no SRK, though his histrionic has a h-h-hint of Khan’s charm and swagger. And Tanishaa is no match for her elder sister, Kajol.

‘Neal N Nikki’ abounds with skin show. Bikini clad babes are a constant distraction from the fact that the movie has no story. Close up shots of busts and butts are thrown in at regular intervals just to ensure that you don’t walk out of the movie mid-way. But after a while, it all begins to look sleazy and somewhat obscene.

The music in the movie provides a little relief. It has a youthful feel that goes along well with its theme. The movie’s setting, Canada, makes for a picturesque backdrop. And the cinematographer has captured the idyllic landscapes in visually stunning frames.

But nothing makes up for the lack of a good story and script. In the movie’s first half only, while you are being subjected to the inane antics of Neal and Nikki, you know the film has fallen flat.

Uday Chopra can be caught many times trying deliberately to be funny in the movie. While in Tanishaa, there is hardly anything to catch, except a glimpse at her anatomy whenever she hangs her hair down. Acting, she still has to learn.

In a nutshell, if you have the stomach for inane, puerile and over-the-top romantic comedies, ‘Neal N Nikki’ might just entertain you a bit. Otherwise, it is better to ‘nick it’.

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