Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Cast: Randeep Hooda, Shahana Goswami, Rati Agnihotri and Jayant Kripalani; Director: Arjun Bali; Rating: 2 out of 5
Ru-Ba-Ru is a Hindi version of Hollywood’s ‘If Only’ (2004; Jennifer Love Hewitt and Paul Nicholls).
Being made as a modern urban love story, Randeep Hooda and Shahana Goswami are the lead characters who are madly in love with each other yet find each other’s attitudes and ways of leading life clashing and creating a rift which they never expected.
Shahana, who is a professional theater actress, plays Tara and Randeep plays the character of Nikhil. The love birds get the feeling of being made for each other till the individual needs and priorities take over casting doubts and sadness between them. This happens as Nikhil is a workaholic and is always pre-occupied with his clients.
The sparks of trouble starts off when Nikhil starts to continuously forget small things that goes a long way in showing the affection towards his lady love and makes a relationship stronger.
Tara wants to get married and settle down as soon as possible but her lover is in no hurry and as the time passes by his tendency to take his girlfriend, her family and friends for granted, increase creating tension. Finally the day comes when Tara’s mind, inflated with the thoughts of being not cared for, burst out and she takes some decisions to put her love saga behind and move on.
Then a magically mystical force intervenes and a whole new drama unfolds.
As per the needs of the script, the lead couple had to share more than ten intimate kisses as their relationship is shown as a very passionate and deep-rooted one.
Shahana Goswami thinks that a kiss is an eternal sign of romance and love and to portray the intensity of the chemistry and intimacy on screen it was part of her job as an actress to do what the director says. Randeep Hooda, being the more experienced actor and true professional, made sure that Shahana gets very comfortable before each scene was shot.
On the flip side, RU-BA-RU unfolds in a slow pace. Also, the second hour of the movie could have been shorter. The song in the pre-climax should’ve been deleted. Even otherwise, music (Satyadev Burman, Sameeruddin) is somehow effective though proving visually better. Andre Menezes’ cinematography captures the beauty of Bangkok in a mesmerizing way.
Randeep Hooda is a fine actor is confirmed yet again as he plays his part without overdoing it one bit. It’s a complete departure from his violence-laden roles (D, RISK) and he must build his bridge in romantic roles as well. Shahana Goswami is decent enough. RU-BA-RU should only cement her status after giving a great performance in ‘Rock On’. Rati Agnihotri and Jayant Kripalani are perfect for their parts.
All in all, Ru-Ba-Ru is a decent film and a one time watch.