Khubsoorat
Director: Shashanka Ghosh
Actors: Sonam Kapoor, Fawad Khan
Rating: *1/2

It’s one thing for a smart, carefree, sassy kind of girl to enter an uptight sort of household to loosen things up and have fun along the way. That was Rekha in Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s Khubsoorat. It’s quite another thing altogether when that same chilled out character comes across as a certified imbecile (Sonam Kapoor), perpetually prone to behave like an over-friendly dement, because her Punjabi mom, who she calls by the first name Manju (Kirron Kher), behaves even more demented.

This film is as much a remake of the gentle, warm Khubsoorat (1980) as Rohit Shetty’s Bol Bachchan was a nod to Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s subtly charming Gol Maal (1979). The film is produced by Disney. Most people who have even seen its trailers will liken it more to the American hit, girly, teen franchise The Princess Diaries (2001).
Sonam plays a physiotherapist in the movie. She gets appointed to treat the jobless king of a mythical empire in the desert. Aamir Raza Husain plays this sombre king. Those who’ve grown up savouring the vibrant theatre scene in Delhi will know Hussain as the master director of stellar productions like The Fifty Day War (2000) and The Legend Of Ram (2004). It’s great to see him on the big screen. He looks and behaves every bit a blue-blooded royal, although talking in a decidedly UP accent, which is only mildly strange for an ‘emperor’ from contemporary Rajasthan.

Stranger by far is the Rajput king’s son. Together with the father and the bored mom (Ratna Pathak Shah), this thoroughly serious looking, busy as hell prince dude (Fawad Khan) lives in a massive palace that, by all accounts, appears to be located quite far away from urban civilisation. I suspect he works in the hospitality business, though it’s very hard to tell. Throughout the film and all through his day, all you can see him do is strut around in an astounding range of super-formal designer suits and bandhgalas, walking around all alone, inside his own house, between the drawing room, study or perhaps the restroom. No, seriously, who are these people?

After reading this review you must recommend me for a bravery award. Poonam Pandey's Nasha is a cheap and forgettable film, despite all the loud claims she made on Twitter. The storyline is weak and the acting is pathetic. Nasha is such a bad film that it needs to be ranked 'Minus Zero'. This is because some see a wee bit of positivity in a zero too. Therefore to dispel any such remote notions, it's a  Minus Zero.

It is the story of a school in Panchgani where the students are loud, shameless and boisterous. They do not mind sharing cheap jokes and making adult comments. Poonam Pandey's entry in this school as a theatre teacher is all that was needed! A boy called Sahil falls for her and then comes her boyfriend Samuel who, much to the chagrin of Poonam, begins to trouble Sahil.

Samuel is actually the story's villain who breaks Poonam's heart as she discovers his other affair and his bad habits (he is caught in a rave party!) Sahil comes to support his heart-broken Ma'am. But this moralistic teacher says she must go away as this relationship is immoral - but not before she has a steamy sex session with her student!

Poonam Pandey is a disaster in the name of acting. Her husky voice sounds terrible on screen. Her acting in the film is so pathetic that when she was shouting, people in the cinema hall were laughing!

This 'upright' teacher teaches the most immoral lesson of love - "Love is like summer vacations, it gives different type of pleasure every year," says Poonam and the crowd hails it with a loud applause! The screenplay is cliched and the songs are mediocre. Amit Saxena has failed miserably as a director. His Jism was classy because it had the Bhatt camp background, but Nasha is nothing but P-grade (Poonam Grade).

Sahil is average, his Ma'am is horrible and Samuel is good. Camera work is average and editing is quite poor.

Those who want to go to theatres in hope of watching bold scenes will be in for disappointment because everything bold has been shown in the promos.

This film has exposed the 'acting' skills of Poonam Pandey and I am sure any sensible film maker will think twice before signing her. It is a cheap and dangerous Nasha that should be avoided at all costs!