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Avoid this ‘one kiss for 99 slaps’

Film: Ugly aur Pagli

Cast: Mallika Sherawat, Ranvir Shorey

Director : Sachin khot

The liberalisation of our economy resulted in liberalisation of mores too. At least in Hindi cinema. Till liberalisation, our Hindi film heroines did not smoke or drink. That was the job of vamps. You could not be a good girl if you downed a few pegs! Now the times have changed. Our good old Sati savitri heroine has changed too. Today’s heroine can take a couple of tequilas and a Patiala peg, and even sing, “Main talli, main talli ho gayi”. And still remain a heroine! She can show a leg, no both the legs. And still remain a prim and proper girl, suitable to be married into a middle class household where the old man spends time readings the newspaper, and the old lady using her rolling pin!

A bit of an anomaly, but then Bollywood has never been known for consistency. So it is with Sachin Khot’s film too, a film that has evoked some expectations of another “Pyar ke Side Effects” kind of saga. Unreasonable. And undeserving.

This film here is noteworthy only for Mallika Sherawat’s fondness for high spirits, and a greater ability to slip and slide after a few drinks! And a still greater ability to slip into blissful sleep. So much so, that she is carried across the city on his shoulder by poor Ranvir Shorey, and lo, the lady does not lose a wink!

And when she gets up, she gets angry. Very angry. So, she slaps him. He protests. She slaps him. He is evasive. So, she slaps him once more. Yuck. It goes on and on. She slaps, he squirms. In between, they patch up, and sing on the dance floor. Fall in love. All before she realises, he is actually the guy for her!

The hero does not have a choice. So, he kisses her, and they make up: one kiss for 99 slaps. You have a choice. You can leave Mallika to her vampish ways in the garb of a heroine.

And leave poor Shorey to his fate too. He is good in what is an easily avoidable film. — Z.U.S

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