Set in Cape Town, the movie deals with the archaic (in)compatibility question of life partners - how sharing your life 24x7 with someone can be drastically different from how one imagines it to be. So here we have Karan (Fardeen) and Sanjana (Genelia) doubtlessly in love with each other, while the under-confident and gawky Gujju boy Bhavesh (Tusshar) is so clueless about how to treat girls that he has to jot down tips from the couple. And even after all the jotting, he chooses to settle for an arranged marriage with an Indian girl Prachi (Prachi Desai) from an affluent family in Gujarat. Likewise, Karan and Sanjana also tie the knot.
But Karan and Bhavesh’s friend Jeet (Govinda), who is a divorce lawyer and doesn’t believe in the institution of marriage, tries to convince them that they have done the biggest mistake of their life by tying the knot.
The two marriages - one love, another arranged - meet their expected destiny as soon as the couples’ honeymoon is over. Karan is unable to keep up with the flippant attitude and extravagant lifestyle of Sanjana. She gives him sleepless nights for all the wrong reasons. On the other hand, Prachi is unable to fit into the traditional household of Bhavesh, with his autocratic and chauvinistic father (Darshan Zariwala) who gives lecture on parampara at the every drop of hat.
‘Life Partner’ begins on a light note and packs in a few moments of humour and romance in the first half. But as the story stretches into the second half, the proceedings take a serious turn. There’s marital strife, heartache and melodrama. However, all this chaff doesn’t pinch as much as the ludicrous climax that conveniently tries to iron out all the complications with one swipe. And that’s a big downer.
Director Rumi Jaffrey fails to give a definite premise to the film. What starts off as a rom-com turns into a family drama before the plot takes a whacky turn at the fag end. Even the performances by the actors are mostly over the top. Perhaps it was the director who wanted the actors to exaggerate their expressions.
Fardeen rocks as long as he’s funny. But once he transforms into a broody, sleepy fellow after marriage, his performance takes a dip. Genelia D’Souza displays a narrow emotive range oscillating from wide-eyed stares to nagging squeaky tone of her voice. Tusshar is very well cast as a gauche Gujarati. Prachi Desai plays her part well. Anupam Kher is okay but why does Darshan Zariwala keeps scowling throughout his part? Govinda has lost his comical touch. The cameo by Amrita Rao fails to lift up the movie.
The film’s cinematography is good but music is mediocre.
To sum it up, ‘Life Partner’ is a film that offers nothing new.
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