Pyar Mein Thoda Twist, Review: A sack-full of emptiness

A lot of action in the film Pyar Mein Thoda Twist takes place inside a bound sack. It is marked, Lena Hae Lena Hae (have to take, have to take) Brand, and it twists alright. No, not because it is haunted, but because it holds a man captive. This man is supposed to be Mr. Wanted, a dangerous criminal, whose capture carries a reward of Rs. 2 million. While the sack changes hands and locations several times, being stolen or ‘kidnapped’ from the house of the man who first captured the man in it, it remains the most wanted possession of the holder, on account of the bounty on the inmate’s head. Except for this idea, which seems a patch, imported from another movie, the rest of the film is neither haunted nor wanted.

A small town in Uttar Pradesh (UP) is the locale, and the current Chief Minister is thanked with a full-screen acknowledgement. Two feuding patriarchs rule the roost: A headstrong Village Headman, Vijendra Singh, and the ruthless Money-lender, Jagatram. While they are at logger-heads, their children fall in love with each other. Dhiru, the Headman’s son, falls for Maya, the daughter of the Money-lender. This angers the respective fathers (Jagatram is a widower), and they flatly refuse to agree to the alliance. Although the children emotionally blackmail the fathers, they do not budge. In comes a ‘mahant’ (the priest of their common temple). In exchange for a fat offering, he agrees to conjure up a plan to get the parents’ assent.

Pretending to come from the other side each time, the ‘mahant’ fools both fathers into believing that the alliance has been blessed by the gods. Preparations begin in earnest for the wedding of Dhiru and Maya, but the dowry demands of Vijendra Singh throw a spanner in the works. Moreover, the ‘mahant’s ruse is exposed, and ego clashes erupt. Just about then, a poverty-stricken local comes across a man in the jungle, who answers to the description of Mr. Wanted, and he wallops him from behind, on the head, knocking him unconscious. He and his obese wife then carry him home, and hold him captive, because the Superintendent of Police, the only man in the department who is not corrupt, has a wedding in his family, and would not be available for 4-5 days. They decide to wait and claim the reward from him, rather than deal with the lower ranks in the police station, who will all claim a share. With this money, he hopes to repay the debt he owes to the Money-lender, with whom he has mortgaged his hut and his land.

Pyar Mein Thoda Twist, from all accounts, is writer Abhishek Shashi Kumar’s first release, and he has a lot to learn about screenwriting. His debut effort exhibits only rudimentary knowledge of the art. The first half is an amalgam of so many films set in Uttar Pradesh. He begins with a voice-over that classifies this ‘village’ (looks a small town, not a village, in most parts, including some drone shots) as one of the worst, because the residents are all evil and indulge in a lot of fighting. A dozen odd inhabitants are shown grappling with each other. All the fighting then shown showcases Dhiru, who punches the hell out of every one who comes in his way, sends every thug along the aerial route, and once, even fights to a stop-watch timing of five minutes, because he has to take his lady love on his motorcycle exactly five minutes later. Which judo/karaté/kung-fu/jiu jitsu/shaolin/wrestling/boxing/kick-boxing schools did he graduate from is never revealed.

As the film progresses, we find the usual crop of lumpen elements in fracas with Dhiru, a greedy Money-lender and a dowry seeking Headman up to their antics. Both Dhiru and Maya, as well as the farmer Dhaniram, are near saints, so the voice over-contradicts himself. Then comes the incredible track of Sad Sack. Every time he is stolen or kidnapped, he is given a whack on the head, that renders him unconscious. But how do the three or four ‘possessors’ manage to keep him in a sack in their homes, feed him, take him for his ablutions and prevent him from making any kind of noise for days on end is never explained. Also, being kept in a gunny bag, which is tied at the top, and being knocked unconscious most of the time, he should have died, but he emerges hale and hearty. Why do Dhiru and Maya, who must have known each other, or about each other at the very least, since they were kids, suddenly fall for each other, is never explained. Dialogue is peppered with references to Amrish Puri, Alok Nath and Anupam Kher.

If it is the writer’s first effort, it is probably the director’s 20^th. And should he have known better! Partho Ghosh (100 Days, Dalaal, Agni Sakshi, Mausam Ikrar Ke Do Pal Pyar Ke) has directed Hindi and Bengali films galore, and his first Hindi film was 30 years ago. At 65, he cannot be making Pyar Mein Thoda Twist, unless the motivations were other than cinematic. Add to that a plot that is hackneyed and beaten to death, in the first half, and completely changes tracks in the second half, and a lead actor who does not deliver and a heroine who has a flat, unidimensional role…his task in unenviable, to give him a bit of his due. Continuity needed to be paid better attention too. To his credit, he is able to extract serviceable performances from his supporting cast, except when they are made to go over the top. He directed the producer’s last vehicle, Mausam Ikraar Ke Do Pal Pyar Ke, which I have not had occasion to watch.

Did I say that the lead actor, Mukesh J. Bharti, shows skills in martial arts? Here is what the Internet reveals about him: Formerly a Martial Arts Instructor in Bareilly (UP, where I was born), he is a 5th Dan Black Belt. His first film was Kaash Tum Hote, released eight years ago. Like many action heroes, he needs to work on his emoting and dialogue delivery. Work hard, work soon, since he has already spent over eight years in film-town. It is not known whether he is related to the co-producer Manju Bharti, who also appears in a brief role, showing her dancing ability too. Richa Mukherjee, as Maya, who graced the soft premiere cum press show with a midriff revealing outfit, has little to do, in terms of real histrionics. Winking, dancing and pillion riding on the hero’s motor-cycle do not require any special skills. But she has potential, which needs to be tested.

Rajesh Sharma as Vijendra Singh and Atul Srivastava as Jagatram, the two warring lords, deliver the goods. Atul has matured very well from his television days. But both look ill-at-ease, notwithstanding the smiles, when they are made to dance. Alka Amin plays the Headman’s wife fluently, while the Money-lender is a widower. Good support comes from Vijay Singh Bhadauria, Arpit Singh Bhadauria, Noor Fatima, Soma Rathod, Saheb Das Manik Puri, Rajeev, Omkar Das Manikpuri (Dhaniram, a rich performance), Samuel Charle, Santosh Shukla and Gulshan Pandey. That makes two Bhartis, two Bhadaurias and two Manikpuris. Some of these actors perform better than the lead players, but all in vain.

There is little to commend about cinematography by Amit Singh and film editing by Sanjay Sankla. Even the art direction, by Sidhant Malhotra leaves a lot to be desired. Which brings us to the music. At the soft premiere in Mumbai’s PVR Icon Auditorium 3, at the Infiniti Mall, a spokesperson, who look very much like a Russian or East European actress working in the Indian film industry, paid tribute to Bappi Lahiri, who has composed the music of this film and sung as well, in broken English. She did not even get the composer singer’s name right. Bappi died just a few days ago, aged 69. We observed two minutes’ silence in honour of the departed soul. A lot was said about the close association of Bappi with the film and the great sense of loss the producers are feeling, having had to release the film, his last, just days after his death.

Rather unfortunately, Pyar Mein Thoda Twist does no justice to the creativity of Bappi. Arguably, his work in the 80s was no patch on his early assignments, in the 70s, beginning with Nanha Shikari. Bappi succumbed to the disco lure and even lifted tunes directly, filling them with electronic sounds, rather than Indian melodies and instruments. Here, he recycles his own ‘Lena hae lena hae’ and does a version of ‘Tootak tootak tootak tootiyaan’. ‘Lena hae, lena hae’ was a term he contributed to the original song, not the lyricist. The background score consists of really loud stuff, with five or six set pieces running through several minutes each of screen time. The dancing that accompanies these songs partly redeems the tracks. But if he was honest about it, Bappi would not be proud of his contribution to the music track of this film.

It would not affect the film one bit if the entire first track, of Dhiru and Maya, is excised, and the film is released as a tale of the trials and tribulations of the most desirable Mr. Wanted, in a 90-minute version. The makers could take inspiration from the popular comic cartoon series, in print, called The Sad Sack, and weave a story around it. As it stands, the dichotomy weighs the film down, and the 128 minutes are not pleasurably spent. And that is an understatement. Meanwhile, a few people should be ‘sacked’ for turning out a film that lacks basic cinematic grammar and composition.

Rating: * ½

Rating: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CwnM0udH-Jc