Chori Chori (2003)

Successful liar
meets her match: a man who needs
lies to find true love

First of all, let me just say, Ajay Devgan doesn't walk y'all. He struts. Furthermore, as irreplaceable as Hrithik is in my hierarchy of actors, there's nothing like some brown skin! (Ok, ok. Tan would probably be more accurate. Let's not nitpick.) On to the film...

As I have been informed, Chori Chori was Rani's first comedy attempt and it works. Truthfully, her character in Bunty aur Babli is similar in many ways--fun, squeaky-voiced (!) and mischievious. Ajay, on the otherhand, moped around the film looking appropriately depressed and being a bit (too) mean at times. While a scowl is the most necessary accessory to a proper strut, I don't believe I've ever seen Mr. Devgan with any other expression on his face. It's bothersome. It really is.

Anyhoo, the first few moments of the film really had me wondering whether or not I was gonna make it. Grown women who call their stuffed animal "my best friend" when not calling them by their given name (Jonathan!), are a little unsettling to me. But maybe it's just me...

I liked the storyline though. It was different. In some ways, it's the reworking of an arranged marriage: two people who had no more than passing interest in on another, suddenly find themselves thrown together with a wedding planned out and--because this is Bollywood--they do indeed fall passionately in love. Rani's character is a hustla baby! I love how she turns everything around on the ex and gets a free lunch out of it. And for some ridiculous reason I found her homeless, wino surrogate parents rather amusing.

For a film of 2 hours and 15 minutes, 8 songs is a sure clue that the writers ran out of material. That's ok. File it under cotton candy. It was a nice return from my viewing hiatus.