Katti Batti

Thought it would be something similar to Shuddh Desi Romance but it ended up somewhere similar to Nikhil Adwani’s own Kal Ho Na Ho (a wannabe KHNH). Katti Batti would have worked on an emotional level if the first 75% of the runtime had that grace to keep us excited. But with a non linear narration failing to create a smart and deep romance between the main protagonists, the last quarter can’t really save the movie from getting drowned.

Madhav aka Maddy and Payal are the central protagonists here. The tomboyish Payal and the soft hearted Maddy decides to have a time pass relationship. Over the years they get closer and at one point Payal leave Maddy all of a sudden. The film is basically Maddy’s journey to find out why a girl who was with him for nearly five years left him without much of a hesitation.

Well not showing us the reason for the breakup for the large portion of the film was justifiable as the movie’s so called suspense had something to do with that. But the presentation of a modern day love story in the particular way shown in the movie seriously influences it in being not so touching. You have the hero and heroine having an affair, staying connected, arguing over silly thing and not showing any sign of commitment (the lady mostly). Even when you give that selfless melodramatic reason in the climax to justify the attitude, there were little instances that showed them connecting with each other. Adwani takes a lot from KHNH, but because of the lack of depth in relationship those dramas don’t really touch the heart.

On screen Imran Khan gets a safe zone role for his skills and the guy was okay in portraying that role. Payal looks much similar to Tanu except for the dressing style. But still Kangana Ranaut makes it look too easy on screen. The supporting cast were also okay in their respective roles.

Making wise the style has changed drastically from last week’s hero. But Nikhil Adwani hasn’t managed to bring a charm to the situations created in the screenplay. Some of the funny sequences look too disjoint from the story. The back and forth narrative sort of confuses the viewer about the timeline of the relationship. Dialogues were okay. Edits and cinematography are also on the average side. The music from S-E-L was enjoyable.

Overall Katti Batti looks like a film where the makers were clear about the conclusion but not so convinced about the beginning. The rating for the film is 2/5. It isn’t unbearable, but it just doesn’t work emotionally or comically.