'Ajab Gazabb Love' is a movie that missed the bus to the 21st century. It's a crying shame since the plot is interesting enough (a rich guy tries to woo a girl by pretending he's poor) but Sanjay Gadhvi doesn't create enough dhoom (sorry, we couldn't resist). AGL ends up looking dated and is just about held together by good performances by an experienced supporting cast and a delightful cameo.

What's it about?
Richie Rich aka Rajveer (Jackky Bhagnani) is an automobile whiz who wants to make it on his own without papa's (Darshan Jariwala) help but doesn't mind blowing up daddy's money on a week of inane debauchery in Italy. He has a doting family that includes mum (Kirron Kher), who are now eager to see him settled down. Rajveer falls for student Madhuri (Nidhi Subbaiah) who brings with her, more double standards baggage. She's a hottie with a heart of gold, but hates rich people and this forces Rajveer to lie about his financial situation in order to woo her. Rajveer drags his entire family into the act, and no stone is left unturned to keep Madhuri believing that he is just a humble mechanic.

Watching Bhagnani strut his stuff - bouncing pecs, washboard abs et al - would be bearable if he could act. His lover boy histrionics are fine but his hammy outburst at the end cancels out any good work done. Subbaiah is pretty but her shoes could have been filled by just about any starlet. It is Jariwala and Kher who provide the most laughs, the former as an uptight tycoon and the latter as the dramatic, fussy mum who would do anything for her son - including pretending to be a blind seamstress. Arshad Warsi's cameo is also superb.

Plotwise, AGL is all over the place. A number of things, like Nidhi's disdain for all things rich, are explained with wafer thin logic. Keeping it simple might have helped the story but the makers try to stuff in as many audience emotion-jerkers as they can manage, and the end result is too much of a mishmash. We'd suggest that Gadhvi go back to making action movies, but we haven't forgotten the horror that was 'Kidnap' yet.

What to do?
You might like 'Ajab Gazabb Love' if your movie tastes smell like the 90s, but if you like living in the present, move on.

in.com rating: 2/5

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