'Bachna Ae Haseeno' is Yash Raj Films' first ever movie that has failed to secure a good number of multiplexes and got only few single theaters. The reason is obvious Akshay Kumar -Katrina Kaif starrer is still dominating in 140 theaters even in its second week. Yash Raj Films has perhaps erred in releasing their mega movie costing a huge sum of Rs 350 million, at this juncture. Maybe Aditya Chopra of Yash Raj Films decided to run it in the hope that his four-year old friendship with Siddarth Anand who scripted their 'Salaam Namaste' will fare well this time too as in the past. Siddarth's script of 'Taa Ra Rum Pum' had also proved a hit.
Aditya forgot that the success of this movie was mostly due to the cast comprising Saif Ali Khan and Rani Mukherjee. Meanwhile, Siddarth wrote the script of 'Bachna Ae Haseeno'. Since Adiya wanted to make a movie that focuses on the next generation and moves around youngsters, he picked up Siddarth's script and entrusted it to his writers to complete it. At the same time, Aditya entrusted the cast selection to Siddarth, who signed Ranbir Kapoor for the hero's role in view of the latter's excellent performance in 'Saawariya'.
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This surprised everyone, though. Siddarth also chose three heroines - Bipasha Basu, Deepika Pandukone and Minissha Lamba, but in consultation with Aditya. Though the movie is said to have a solo hero in Ranbir Kapoor opposite three beauties, but Kunal Kapoor also has a vital role to play opposite Minissha Lamba. We may also reveal to our readers that the credit for the movie's title goes to Ranbir's dad Rishi Kapoor. 'Bachna Ae Haseeno' means 'beware beauties'!
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As usual, the movie's story is the legend of a Casanova character who ditches two girls though the third one dumps him. As told earlier, Aditya Chopra was looking for a film focusing on the next generation for whom flirting with girls isn't considered bad. Isn't this movie a combination of the themes of three films 'Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge', 'Salaam Namaste' and 'Victoria 203'? Let's see how it relates to them.
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First, Raj (Ranbir Kapoor) encounters Mahi (Minissha) in Switzerland; they miss their train to Zurich and ride on a two-wheeler across the Swiss Alps. Isn't similar to 'Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge'. Two, Raj during his stay in Mumbai is in a live-in relationship with a raunchy Ranchi girl Radhika (Bipasha Basu), but without any commitment. Despite all his efforts, when their relationship doesn't break out, Raj escapes to Australia. This seems like the one witnessed in 'Salaam Namaste' Third, Raj falls for an Aussie cabbie Gayatri (Deepika Padukone).
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Here, Gayatri's rejection makes Raj ruminate on his callous romantic involvements of the past. So, he feels guilty and sets on a mission to trace his ex-flames and seek forgiveness from them. But, Mahi is now married to Joginder (Kunal Kapoor) though not inclined towards her husband despite a decade-old marriage. The director revives 'DDLJ' again when Raj barges into their family wedding, dances on a bhangra number and reunites the couple. The second girl Radhika is now starlet Shriya who makes Raj slog as a slave!
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Screenplay-wise, 'Bachna Ae Haseeno's is a simple episodic pattern. Love doesn't come the classic way. It's either induced through dialogues like the anecdotes of astronomer Rakesh Sharma in the Minissha episode or through a song number as in the case of Deepika. The movie has its strength in Vishal-Shekhar's music that supports the story. The cinematography is cool though there are those mandatory smooch scenes in each episode as per the pre-defined Yash Raj style.
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The cast does full justice to its characters. Ranbir scores over all. Bipasha comes a close second. Both of them shoulder the movie. Bips scores over the other two beauties in spite of her being older than the hero. Minissha proves a bubbly girl. Deepika is good but not as in her other film. Another novelty of the movie is that its entire cast is given in the beginning in a music video. This is perhaps to play safe as most audiences make an exit much before the movie ends. Not a bad idea!
