A BREEZY ENTERTAINER
(By Subbaram Danda)
An unexpected invitation took me and my wife to the newly-released film “Aaha Kalyanam,” a Tamil romantic flick produced by the famous Yash Raj Films and directed by Gokul Krishna. A remake of the highly successful Hindi movie “Band Baaja Baaraat,” it features dashing Nani and Bollywood sensation Vaani Kapoor in lead roles. Veteran actress Simran appears in a few scenes.
As the film rolled, its storyline fascinated me. It has, at its core, the activities of the fast emerging breed of wedding planners, about whom I have also written but in a different context. In the short story “Celebrations Exotica” in my book “The Rustles of Pleasure” I have highlighted the trend of organizing weddings in novel ways and at unconventional sites like beaches, palaces, castles, foothills, large parks and even lagoons. Facilitating this are the wedding planners, who are much more than contractors. They are smart professionals, who leave no stone unturned in arranging everything from A to Z for a wedding. They release the parents of the bride and the groom from a variety of hassles, of course for a swank fee!
The main plot of the film revolves around the roller-coaster love affair between the partners of a firm of wedding planners – a ravishingly beautiful lass and a dynamic young guy. Interspersed are the trials and tribulations faced by these planners in a world of cut-throat competition and underhand deals.
Presented in a breezy style, the film treads on a refreshingly new track leaving behind the old clichés of the Tamil film industry. The first half runs fast capturing the attention of the audience, while the second half meanders but ultimately it too catches up. The film is remarkable for its pleasingly colourful, expensive settings and fast-paced dances in sync with resonating songs. The bewitchingly gorgeous costumes that the heroine sports have the potential to become the rage of the teens. Happily, contrived fighting scenes are missing. There is no separate comedy track either.
February 24, 2014
