The Film: Kuch Naa Kaho
Starring: Aishwarya Rai and Abhishek Bachchan
Director: Rohan Sippy
Producer: Ramesh Sippy
Music: Shanker-Eshaan-Loy
RATING: 2/10

R.S. Entertainment Pvt. Ltd..s Kuch Naa Kaho is a love story with a difference. A young boy, Raj (Abhishek Bachchan), comes to India from America to attend his cousin.s wedding. Being an eligible bachelor himself, he is forced by his mother and uncle to go through the process of bride-hunting for himself by meeting eligible girls.

To assist him in the selection process, there is Namrata (Aishwarya Rai) who works in his uncle.s (Satish Shah) office. Even as Raj is bride-hunting, he falls in love with his escort, Namrata, unaware that she is already married but deserted by her husband (Arbaaz Khan), and is presently a single mother to a little boy, Aditya (Parth Dave).

Meanwhile, Raj has also met Aditya, again unaware that he is Namrata.s son. Aditya develops such a strong bonding with Raj that he even wants him to become the father-figure in his life, which he misses. Just when Raj thinks that it.s time for him and Namrata to get married, her husband arrives on the scene and demands a reconciliation with his wife. After some self-introspection, Namrata makes her choice between her estranged husband and the new man in her life.

Although an unusual love tale, it does not have novelty value. A very similar story was seen in the recent Koi Mere Dil Se Poochhe. Besides, the presentation of the story (Rohena Gera) also is not very fresh as screenplay (Neeraj Vora) of this kind has been written in several earlier films. In fact, several scenes are so predictable that they rob the film of the surprise value which should.ve been inherent to a subject of this kind.

But what is, perhaps, the biggest weakness of the scripting is that emotions hardly touch the heart. Yes, a couple of scenes involving the child, do tug at the heart-strings but there.s simply no emotional under-current in the relationship that develops between Raj and Namrata and, more importantly, between Namrata and her son. Emotions which should.ve been the film.s high point then, are conspicuous by their absence. Resultantly, the exercise looks like a soulless piece of work.

Several scenes look contrived and give the impression of having been included only to further the story. For instance, Namrata accompanying Raj to find him a suitable bride looks unbelievable in the Indian context as such serious jobs are still the domain of the elders of a family. Deputing a young girl with Raj for the job looks too convenient and contrived. The immediate mental reaction of the viewer is that Namrata has been planted in the scheme of things so that Raj and she can come close to one another.

Yet another major scripting flaw lies in revealing Namrata.s marital status to the audience a little before revealing it to Raj. Obviously, Raj.s shock on learning the truth loses its impact if only because the viewer has already experienced that very shock a little while before. The same mistake gets repeated when Raj learns of the husband.s reappearance in Namrata.s life after the audience learns of it. Such flaws only serve to greatly reduce the dramatic effect of the film.

Further, there.s hardly any romance between Raj and Namrata since a good part of the initial drama is devoted to the irritating bride-hunting scenes. Also, the cause for the split between Namrata and her husband years ago is not as convincing as one would.ve liked it to be. In a sensitive story about relationships, these weaknesses in writing become glaring mistakes which can mar the impact of a film. In Kuch Naa Kaho, they do exactly that!

Climax should have been heart-wrenching but remains insipid. Raj stands as a mere spectator in the climax, something which will not go down well with the audience looking for heroism.

Aishwarya Rai looks stunningly gorgeous and does well too. However, she falls short of expectations in emotional scenes which, in the first place, have not been penned well. Her dances are brilliant and her costumes, extraordinary. Abhishek Bachchan looks good and springs a surprise with his restrained performance. He proves his flair for comedy too, by evoking laughter with his good sense of timing.

Master Parth Dave is extremely endearing and does a fantastic job in emotional scenes. His acting is first-rate! Satish Shah delivers a natural performance. Jaspal Bhatti, Himani Shivpuri and the actor playing their child are all excellent in comic roles. Razak Khan is effective. Suhasini Mulay provides able support as Raj.s mother. Meghna Malik, in the role of Raj.s cousin, is very natural. The two younger cousins fill the bill. Divya Palat overacts and so do the other two girls involved in the match-making exercise. Tanaaz Currim leaves a mark. Arbaaz Khan does a fine job.

Rohan Sippy has selected a mature subject for his debut film and his choice of artistes is not the best. It may not be easy for everybody to accept Abhishek Bachchan playing foster-father to a child, so early in his career. Although Rohan knows the craft, he has not been able to make an emotionally engaging film, which is only what could.ve saved the enterprise from becoming a routine fare. He definitely needs to spruce up his act in connecting with his audience on an emotional level. The titles at the start of the film are truly novel and creative.

The title song is excellent. Among the other numbers (music Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy), .Achchhi lagti ho., .Tumhein aaj maine jo dekha. and .Baat meri suniye. are good. Song picturisations are eye-catching. Camerawork (V. Manikandan) is good. Foreign locales are splendid. Dialogue (Naushil Mehta and Nidhi Tuli) are well-written.

On the whole, Kuch Naa Kaho will not be able to say much at the box-office as it lacks in heart-warming emotions and even electrifying romance. It may find favour with a section of the audience in big cities but that will not be enough to score at the box-office universally.