Dulhan Hum Le Jayenge

By Kavita Awasthi

Ratings : * * (okay dokey)
Special comment : Biwi No 1 was better, at least it had a story
Anything more : The David Dhawan comedy ingredient is majorly missing


A proper David Dhawan...what else did you expect? DHLJ has no spine (read story). It flows and keeps flowing, propped up by liberal doses of songs and jigs. Surprisingly comedy is kept on a back burner. Maybe David forgot about it.

The film begins with a family (Farida Jalal and Kader Khan) looking out for a bahu for their son and their maid (Himani Shivpuri) telling them about Sapna (Karisma Kapoor) who lives with her three mamas. Paresh Rawal is religion conscious, Om Puri is weight conscious, and to top it all Anupam Kher is fashion conscious. A great cocktail indeed. Strangled and straddled by the wishes of her uncles, Karisma goes on a trip to see life (reminds you of Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge) where she meets Raja (Salman Khan), who is sent by his parents to make Karisma their bahu. He tries all the tricks we have seen before in Dil Hai Ke Manta Nahin ... he waits for her when she misses the bus, fights goons when she takes a lift, stays together in a room, etc. Eventually she falls in love with him.

When they return from the trip, the plot thickens with the couple's attempts at convincing the mamas to agree to their wedding. Great! Another idea borrowed from DDLJ...the hero has to get the blessings of the parents. So we have a happy ending eventually.

David Dhawan pulls another one out from his bag of tricks and steers clear of the double meaning and read-between-the-line jokes. Himesh has given us a few great foot tapping numbers. Salman looks great, but bored after a point. Karisma is in her element in the film. But you can feel the absence of Manish Malhotra in the film. Paresh Rawal and Om Puri are okay. Anupam takes the cake with his effeminate behaviour.

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