Movie Review : Patiala House

Rating : Above average (3.5/5)
Genre : Drama
Year : 2011
Running time : 1 hour 35 minutes
Director : Nikhil Advani
Cast : Akshay Kumar, Anushka Sharma, Rishi Kapoor, Dimple Kapadia, Hard Kaur, Tinnu Anand
Kid rating : G




PATIALA HOUSE : MELODRAMA IN LARGE DOSES !

An over-bearing patriarch and his over-wrought Punjabi family; put these 2 together with some drama-shama (because they are Punjabi, and Punjabis – they are like that only!) in the same film, situate the film in London and what do you get ? Why, Patiala House ofcourse ! Yes, I kid you not people – this is one overdone film. They’ve taken the Punjabi-ness and run with it.

For starters they have Gurtej Kahlon aka Bauji, Rishi Kapoor as a portly patriarch. Bauji is an intrepid and out-spoken man whose word is law in his home and in the community he has built up and aided against British racists. Then there is the salwar-clad long-suffering and very, very patient wife of the patriarch – doe-eyed Dimple, aging, but as pretty as ever. And then there are the bacchas – sons and daughter, nieces and nephews and daughter-in-laws, all sweltering in the heat of Bauji’s overt Punjabi-ness. The kids can’t assimilate into the British culture around them, nor can they do or speak as they wish. Bauji decides everyone’s fate and that’s that.

Things come to a head when Bauji’s obedient son, Pargat Singh Kahlon aka Gattu (Akshay Kumar), who has long since given up his life’s dream at Bauji’s behest, spies a ray of hope. Phir kya logon, – it’s mutiny time ! It’s covert mutiny ofcourse, it’s all hush-hush – Bauji hasn’t a clue what his honhaar beta is doing. But really, like all Bollywoodian plans, (and you can see it coming a mile away), this one’s going to go awry.

Yes, yes, yes – it’s high drama. Kapoor has a thing for the melodramatic and this script and the just as melodramatic dialogues give him all he needs. He milks it to kingdom come. Dimple by comparison, looks subdued and gives her matronly role the whole suffering mother treatment. Akshay Kumar playing the well-behaved son weirded me out. He was fine when he was covertly dancing to bhangra rap in the basement, but as seedha-saadha Gattu he was just morose. And oh, Ms. I’m-so-thin-I-could-be-one-dimensional Anushka Sharma turns in another sterling performance as the perky Simran.

Singer Hard Kaur acts. She’s a cousin sis of Gattu’s in the film – the one who wants to rap but quails at what Bauji will say. Interesting to see that out of her “rapper” get-up, and in a simple salwar-kameez, she looked really domesticated. Like she’d be frying samosas any minute. And for all you folks tripping down memory lane, there was a turbaned-up Prem Chopra and a blooming (and ballooning) Soni Razdan, both playng their bit parts quite effectively.

Anyway, I say it’s overdone, but it was still fun to watch. Direction, script, screenplay all passable. Great songs, some nice thrumming bhangra beats, and some cricket to boot. There’s lots of color and energy and a variety of characters, all with interesting quirks. The only thing that wasn’t developed well was the romance between the lead pair, so yeah, it’s not going to get you weak-kneed or anything. This is a family film, focusing on family ties – so I doubt that Gattu and Simran were going to get kissy-kissy anyway (they barely say a couple of words to each other, collapsing gratefully into holy matrimony).

Fairly slick, clean, and wholesome, “Patiala House” is a decent watch.