FILM REVIEW: BETAABI

A run-of-the-mill movie despite a crop of talented actors.

By Anupama Chandra

MOVIE: BETAABI
DIRECTOR: RAJESH SINGH
CAST: CHANDRACHUD SIGH, ARSHAD WARSI, ANJALA ZAVERI, MAYURI KANGO

A village yokel with a yen for designer clothes and stupid challenges falls in love with an heiress whose hobbies include dirt riding and treating men like dirt. Meanwhile, a nasty businessman hires a petty thief to lure the heiress into a love trap so he can avenge himself on her father. The heiress challenges the yokel to kidnap her and take her to Mumbai (she lives in a quaint town called Prem Nagar, entirely populated by college students). The thief, also trying to woo her, is challenged to prevent her kidnapping. Whoever succeeds will win her hand. And this is the more logical half of debutant director Rajesh Singh's Betaabi.

The rest of the film is sillier. The two heroes spend their time taking turns, rescuing and kidnapping the heiress. They are followed by her friend who now loves the thief and her friend's wicked husband-to-be, played by Shadaab Khan.

As a spoof, Betaabi might have worked but Singh keeps his "tale of passions" deadly earnest. When the friend encourages the thief to turn honest and fight the businessman, he says, "Think about it, I might lose my life." Her reply: "Never mind, we'll meet in our next life."

The heroes, Chandrachur Singh and Arshad Warsi, repeat their successful Tere Mere Sapne roles. So Chandrachur is the soulful yokel and Arshad, the fast-talking, smart-ass thief. The two try hard to keep the film afloat but the loony script by Robin Bhatt and Aakash Khurana is too heavy a burden for their newcomer shoulders. Chandrachur, with his limpid love-lorn eyes and newly developed muscles, does infuse life into the film despite the wobbly characterisation. Arshad, though equally good, is in danger of being typecast as the happy-go-lucky guy. The women, Anjala Zaveri as the heiress and Mayuri Kango as the besotted friend, dress in outlandish clothes and mostly pout and preen. Mayuri, so wistfully sweet in Saeed Mirza's Naseem, is wasted here.

That a 20-something director should make such a regressive film is disturbing. The heiress is just a prize to be won and if by the end, you're still wondering who's the boss, the director clarifies. When the yokel walks away from the heiress, her father stops him, "Don't you want your inaam?"

Chandrachur, who rose to fame due to his sensitive role in Maachis, is often quoted in fanzines about his attempts to be selective. What convinced him to commit his time and energy to Betaabi remains a mystery.

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