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| Sonia Chopra Couples gone wrong…perfect pairs so fazed by day-to-day survival that they no longer endear each other. One partner’s request for time of the other seems an unreasonable demand. In this case, Nikhil’s (Randeep Hooda) sky-rocketing ambition irks his girlfriend for it’s taking them apart. When was the last time we really spoke? asks Tara (Shahana Goswami) to the always-too-busy Nikhil as he shrugs this little complaint off. Several Hindi films have explored the souring of relationships in the past (Saathiya, Chalte-Chalte, Metro); and they’ve all been successful at connecting with the audience. In Ru-Ba-Ru, Nikhil and Tara live together in Thailand. One morning after the couple has argued as usual, Nikhil confesses having forgotten about Tara’s show, one that she had been rehearsing for since months, and about which she had reminded him umpteen times. He’s also edgy about a presentation that day. (Strangely you see either Indians or white-skinned foreigners in the workplace, hardly any locals.) Tara barges into the meeting thinking he’s forgotten some papers and clumsily drops them in the serious room. He looks like lightening has struck him. She fumbles apologies and excuses herself. He’s infuriated over her untimely interruption on his important day. And you switch off the film already. This scene, despite not saying much, is extended and goes over-time. The evening of the play, Tara still hopes to make up over a nice dinner, but Nikhil has audaciously decided to entertain his clients at the same restaurant, and leaves her mid-meal. A freak incident that night allows him to relive the miserable day once more. This chance makes him introspect his actions and undo his mistakes. (You might find yourself thinking back to Sliding Doors that you could roughly group in a similar genre. But RBR’s central inspiration comes from the Jennifer Love Hewitt starrer If Only.) A mysterious taxi driver (Khulbushan Kharbanda) appears out if nowhere acting as the catalyst in the unnatural turn of events. You wait in pleasant anticipation to see how the story will handle this fable-like element in the middle of an everyday couple crisis. However, the following half leaves you disappointed leading to an ending that is pointless. Story-telling by debut director Arjun Bali is earnest but takes too long to establish its premise. The extended lover tiffs get boring and so does the story that doesn’t move forward for a while. There are some touching moments though. Notable is the one where Tara sees Nikhil go into a jewellery showroom the day of her show. Since they had joked about a ring as a possible gift that morning, Tara is excited. But the tiny box reveals an unexpected something that acts as the straw that broke the camel’s back. The dialogue veers from naturally conversational to the contrived; after the first half, I stopped counting the number if sorrys the characters said to each other. The cinematography prefers to catch everyday sights and sounds of Bangkok rather than its exoticism and beaches, as is the norm. Randeep Hooda is superb as the man who falls in love all over again. He plays the extremes of a cold, jaded lover and the sensitive, caring boyfriend perfectly. Shahana Goswami, after earning superb reviews for Rock On!!, gives another brilliant performance. Both Randeep and Shahana prove to be ten-on-ten performers. Ru-Ba-Ru is the same old frothy romantic cone with a different, slightly bitter flavour. If only the makers knew how to use the interesting premise more expertly, this film would have more attributes to boast of than just the lead performances. | ||||||||||
