Watch Ekk Deewana Tha only if you have to scrape the bottom of the barrel for something to do
Making love stories has clearly become a challenge these days. And when you see filmmakers working really hard to add a flavour of uniqueness to their romances so that people watching can figure out the difference between the usual banal love flick and their diligently created love-with-a- twist product….it’s just a li’l annoying when you see someone not trying that hard. Gautham Menon’s Ekk Deewana Tha is only the most recent example.The movie starts with Sachin (Prateik) falling head over heels in love with Jesse (Amy Jackson) at the first sight. Studying to become a mechanical engineer and aspiring to make it as a filmmaker some day, Prateik goes into a sudden stalking spree to pursue his lady love. In real life if someone did this he would be instantly qualified as a psychopath, but in the movie that doesn’t deter Jesse from wielding her charm weapon and making the most of the attention she gets.
The protagonists are neighbours. So as Prateik longs for a sneak peek of the love of his life, Jesse’s family, conservative Malayalam Catholics, make sure their dignified daughter keeps a safe distance from the Marathi Brahmin lad.
We delve a little further to give you a fair idea of what the movie is all about:
Stage 1 (interests and hobbies): Sachin loves films – Jesse doesn’t. Jesse loves Mathematics – Sachin doesn’t. Jesse has only seen five movies in her whole life and her father doesn’t know who Amitabh Bachchan is. Sachin, on the other hand, thrives on films.
Stage 2 (sudden twist): Jesse is about to get married, but refuses at the end moment when the church priest asks her if she’s willing to spend her whole life with a bloke called Roy Thomas. The groom is fixed up by her parents and is in a much better position than Sachin in terms of career and finance and, most importantly, belongs to the same caste as Jesse.
Stage 3 (confusion): Jesse loves Sachin, then doesn’t, then she does, then she doesn’t ‘coz her parents say no. Sachin always loves Jesse despite her irritating mood swings and fluctuating state of mind.
Stage 4 (they move on): Sachin thinks Jesse is married and moves on. He starts writing a script about his own life, which he later turns into a movie, and directs it himself. Just when he reaches mid-way in shooting, he bumps into Jesse and discovers that she’s not married after all, and they break into a song and get hitched while they are still crooning. Prateik’s movie becomes a hit and they live happily ever after.
Although the movie is supposed to have two or three endings, we frankly couldn’t care less even if it had none. The remake of the Tamil Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa, which also got remade in Telugu as Ye Maaya Chesave, starts with a man’s fixation with a breathtaking beauty and ends with him winning her heart, while everything in between is hollow and clichéd.
Ramesh Sippy makes a special appearance in the movie. Manu Rishi fails to create the much needed impact with his dialogue writing. The songs are a breath of fresh air and Aaromale is one of the most delightful numbers we have heard in recent times. Prateik’s street-dancing moves with a cool hip-hop appeal are an absolute visual treat. Unfortunately, gone are those days when we could enjoy watching the hero making blank calls to the heroine and wooing her everywhere in the name of a love story. These two in EEK DEEWANA THA are nothing but a mutual admiration society throughout. And we suggest you watch this one only if you have to scrape the bottom of the barrel for something to do.
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