Something fresh, youthful and full of energy is always interesting to watch on screen
I Hate Luv Storys
U/A; Romance
Dir: Punit Malhotra
Cast: Imran Khan, Sonam Kapoor, Sameer Dattani and Bruna Abdullah
Rating: ** 
WHAT'S IT ABOUT: Something fresh, youthful and full of energy is always interesting to watch on screen. And when it comes in the form of a love story, it's even better. Debutant director Punit Malhotra tries to capture all of that in his first offering, I Hate Luv Storys. The production values are just what you'd expect from a Karan Johar film: the lead pair is appealing, and the music is vibrant. You wish the director hadn't just been content with all that and maybe pushed the envelope more to make it a complete package. IHLS is about Jay (Imran Khan) who works as an assistant to big-time filmmaker Veer Kapoor (Sameer Soni). Jay doesn't believe in love and he'd rather have a good time in life. Enter Simran (Sonam Kapoor) who joins the film's team as art director. After a few initial hostile encounters, Jay and Simran take a strong dislike to one another. Simran is happy in the company of her boyfriend Raj (Sammir Dattani) and looks upon Jay as just another shallow person. But as she starts working with him, she discovers a new side to his personality, which attracts her to him. When she finally realises her true feelings and who her heart really beats for, she's ready to take the plunge. However, all's not what it seems like. Caught in a vortex of emotions, heartbreak and the eventual rediscovery of love, IHLS is the story of two people totally mismatched and yet perfect for one another.
WHAT'S HOT: After a series of intense and serious films at the box-office, IHLS comes like a breath of fresh air. Punit is out to woo the bubblegum pack and the film has the vibe to draw them in. The shot-taking is slick; the screenplay and dialogues have been penned to appeal to the Gen. Visually, IHLS is a treatu00a0-- right from the designer outfits to the delicious sets to the fabulous locales in Mumbai and New Zealand. The soundtrack by Vishal-Shekhar grows on you with every frame. Setting the story against the backdrop of the film industry is also a novelty. The take-offs on Johar and Chopra films is delightful. Sameer Soni is lovable as the eccentric directoru00a0-- he's the show-stealer every time he's on screen. Kavin Dave who plays Imran's friend has the best one-liners and he makes the most of them. Aamir Ali does a good job. Sammir Dattani shows restraint and adds the right touches to his role. Bruna Abdullah is completely uninhibited in front of the camera. Sonam Kapoor looks good and wears some fabulous clothes. But the true soul of IHLS is, indeed, Imran Khan. The role needed him to display an array of emotions and he delivers.
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WHAT'S NOT: In a nutshell, IHLS is about a young man who abhors quintessential Bollywood romances and ends up having a filmi love story of his own. A promising premise; but somewhere, the story isn't tuned in on the same route. The director puts a lot of effort into the accompaniments (the superstar having traits of a real-life hero; the director's character loosely based on some well-known makers; songs and sequences paying a humorous tribute to blockbusters) but the main course isn't given as much attention. The film's most integral part (the love story between Jay and Simran) lacks the crucial poignant doses. Punit could've done with some more intensity between the two. The romance is breezy but at no point does it make you connect deeply with the protagonists. The film's first half is too verbose and needed some more twists in the script. The defining part in any love story is the emotional quotient between the pairu00a0-- you should want to smile when they're together and bring out your tissues when they're apart. IHLS is rather impersonal in that senseu00a0-- you laugh at the witticisms, you enjoy the chemistry and you appreciate the gloss. Sadly, you leave the theatre without feeling much. A serious focus on the script would've changed all that and made IHLS a memorable experience. Sonam Kapoor needs to seriously spruce up her voice modulation; it's always on the same wavelength. A good actor can transform even an ordinary scene into an extraordinary oneu00a0-- Sonam fails to rise beyond her glamorous avatar. In most scenes, she cannot match Imran's spontaneity and that's where the impact falls short.
WHAT TO DO: Watch it if you are a sucker for love stories and Imran Khan.
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