Mujhse Dosti Karoge!

Mujhse Dosti Karoge! -- Will You Be My Friend?

MAIN CAST
Hrithik Roshan -- Raj
Rani Mukherjee -- Pooja
Kareena Kapoor -- Tina

BRIEF PLOT OVERVIEW
Shaped around the old tale Cyrano de Bergerac, Mujhse Dosti Karoge! tells the story of three friends who end up in a truly twisted love triangle, thanks to 15 years worth of letters that Pooja sent to Raj in Tina's name.

FILM -- 3/5
The script is really cliche and run-of-the-mill, although it has some pockets of charm stashed away in its depths. Even if, you know, the story kind of goes nowhere fast. And the rather predictable twists and speeches come flying at you at 100mph. And the speeches in and of themselves are--okay, I'm shutting up now. The picture and sound quality are great, although I hated the little "a-ha!" noise they played every time Tina played hard to get. Yash Raj knows how to work its budget and its cameras, so be prepared for lots of great city shots! The costuming is great and really fits the characters, as Pooja's outfits are wholesome and classy, Tina's funky and trendy, and Raj's an eclectic mix between traditional Indian colors and English simplicity. All in all, a decently put together movie, but still a very cliche one.

CHARACTERS -- 2.5/5
There's a good deal of overacting and out-of-control body twitching in MDK, but for some odd reason, I still kind of liked the characters. Hrithik Roshan is as charming as ever, and his dancing is wonderful. His acting isn't up to Jodha Akbar standards, though, so don't go expecting a landmark performance. Loved the character's sweetness in the first hour, hated his temper tantrums during the rest of the film. Raj was a real Jekyll and Hyde. Kareena Kapoor plays her typical "bratty girl" role, but I'll give her props: it's something she knows how to do. Plus, she doesn't look like a total imbecile when she dances in this movie. Rani is as radiant as ever, but also give a "typical performance" as she pouts, smiles, and generally just walks around look lovely and misunderstood. Rani just doesn't seem to fit with the other two, however, not for any lack of trying, but just because she's so physically different. Kareena Kapoor and Hrithik Roshan look like perky college kids to me, while Rani Mukerji has always struck me as a natural, mature beauty, a more adult prettiness versus Kareena's hit-or-miss spoiled rich kid looks. Hence, the chemistry--romantic and friendly--is a bit off in many of the scenes. They aren't the worst jodis I've ever seen, though. The supporting cast is great and includes many popular actors as "window dressing," including Jaya Bachchan and Uday Chopra.

SOUNDTRACK -- 2/5
"Andekhi Anjaani" features some slightly distracting island beats and guitaring, and I really hate Lata's voice over top of Kareena and Rani. The island flavor continues in to the title song, although it's a much better, bouncier tune. "Oh My Darling" is catchy enough to be good, lyrically stupid enough to be a guilty pleasure. (The song is 10x better in-film because you get to laugh at Kareena's jerking around versus Hrithik Roshan's incredible fluidity on the dance floor.) "Jaane Dil Mein" is a rather boring ballad, and Uday Chopra's grand entrance, "Sanwali Si Ek Ladki" is pretty plain as well. There's a great medley featuring 18 different songs from older films...and I think it says something that I cared more about a medley than any of the original songs. There's some track blending, but I have to forgive it, thanks to Sonu Nigam's incredible vocals on most of the songs. Other than that, I don't much care for this soundtrack, and I doubt I'll listen to it much outside of its original context. As far as Yash Raj stuff goes, Mujhse Dosti Karoge! is not up to par.

OVERALL -- 2.5/5
One of the nice and oft-underrated things about MDK is that the characters fall in love with each other for something other than their physical appearances. Sure, Raj thinks Tina is beautiful, but what he's really fallen in love with is the person he's known only through writing--if he knew Pooja had written those letters, he'd surely be in love with her, but we wouldn't have a plot device, would we? Beyond that good point, this film is typical Yash Raj fare: fluffy, mildly eccentric, slightly shallow, colorful, predictable, but most of all, entertaining in an air-headed sort of way. There's no originality here, nor is there anything that really sets MDK apart from other romantic masalas, but hey, some people like that! I don't think the cast gels very well, if only because of that physical appearance issue; otherwise, everything worked just fine. If you want to be entertained and enjoy light-hearted love stories with no point to them beyond making your insides feel warm and fuzzy, give Mujhse Dosti Karoge! a try. If you want something stimulating or unique, however, this is not the film for you.

TOTAL SCORE -- 10/20 (mediocre)