Review By Subhash K Jha: As far as love stories go, this one goes that extra mile to provide just that little extra something to the movie experience, that special spark that separates the routine from the remarkable. Aabeer Gulaal, directed by Aarti S Bagdi with an impressive eye for the unseen, falls somewhere in-between.
This gossamer threaded yarn has some really uplifting moments between the lead players. They can be spotted in isolation even when they are with a crowd of family and friends. Bagdi, who has co-written the ambrosial screenplay with Meghna Singhee, excels in delicately segmenting the central romance in a ‘When Hari Mets Sawri’ kind of indigenous romcom.
The ‘Bollywood’ references are ubiquitous. And Vaani Kapoor, God bless her dancing feet, is always up to it. In their first encounter in a hotel room (watch how the sequence unfolds like the creases of a silk saree), Gulaal does Rekha’s steps from Umrao Jaan, although Aabeer confesses his favourite song in the film is the lone Talat Aziz solo (Zindagi jab bhi tere bazm mein). It figures.
Heck, this could be an upscaled Tanu and Manu, except for the fact that this couple is just not into morphing. They are fiercely individualistic, united by their love for food, dance ….and love! But of course.
I loved the way Fawad’s Aabeer keeps rescuing Gulaal from sticky situations (all interestingly narrated), while her father, back in Jaipur (Parmeet Sethi doing an Amrish Puri), keeps calling anxiously. Even when Aabeer grits his teeth at unnerving moments, we know where his heart is going. These two strangers are meant for each other.
Both Fawad Khan and Vaani Kapoor are terrific in their parts, especially Fawad, who has a way with words. A simple invitation for coffee sounds like something else. Here is an actor whose spoken words convey the punctuations and silences of true conversation without losing any of its poeticality.
Fawad makes his character Aabeer Singh very believable and charming; Vaani is right behind. Their shared sensuousness spreads out in an arching trajectory, subsuming everything that comes in the way. The food looks tempting. The romance looks inviting. Aabeer Gulaal is for everyone who has ever been in love, or would like to be. There is no room for hatred here.
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