April 16, 2012 Y. Sunita Chowdary
Bittoo is a small time videographer, his visiting card which looks like a mini wedding invite says 'Bittoo Boss. V.D.O Shooter'. The role is played by a charming Pulkit Samrat, he takes pride in his work and gloats over the fact that the town can't perform any weddings and functions without him. He further impresses upon everyone with his special camera angles that captures every emotion on the face. The man with scruples wins over everyone and travels on a scooter with his assistant sitting behind him with lights and equipment.
The movie opens in a typical Punjabi household where a pre-wedding cermony is supposed to take off but the entire groom's family is waiting for Bittoo to arrive with his video. Now, the entire backdrop with the gawdy decorations and over dressed women, the song and dance remind one of Band Baaja Baaraat, but wait there is a huge difference between the two films.
The exuberance of the lead pair is slightly on a lower level and there aren't too many confrontation or romantic scenes, all of it is only situational and the focus moves to Bittoo's character development post-interval. The story begins when Bittoo falls in love with a girl Mrinalini (Amita Pathak) who is eduacted, lives in a huge palace like mansion and the girl begins to smile and reciprocate. He wishes to take it to a further level and goes to her to proclaim his feelings but by then she puts him in his place.
Bittoo is full of innocence and is damn sure she will fall for him, he says, "Main kithna cute hun na ji!" to which her reply is "Honge, magar mere type ka nahin", and there begins the drama wherein Bittoo tries to change himself for his lady love after a humiliation by a CEO of a television channel.
The sincerity, earnestness and ethics of the small town man comes across very well when he confrontrs Aditya and also when consciously decides to shoot with spy camera in a hotel room in Simla. Pulkit has a very vulnerable face, never overacts and his inconvenience is clearly visible on his face and through his body language when he is on the brink of doing something wrong. So FYI instead of shooting blue films of couples with hidden cameras in order to make quick money and become a big man, he ends up becoming a samaritan much to the chagrin of his editor in Anandpur.
What happens when Mrinalini gets to know his dirty secret? Is she willing to forgive him? The first part of the film is quite interesting and what is consistent and noteworthy throught the film is delightful Punjabi background, settings and lingo. The language at times sounds entirely Punjabi, however the second part stays alive with Ashok Pathak's one liners. Amita Pathak is a plane Jane, there is nothing about her that will make you gaze though she is pretty good in her work.
The entire second part is a character sketch of Bittoo or a video of Bittoo, a man who reluctantly attempts to be seedy and unscrupulos. With peppy songs and too many characters, the story makes for a one time watch. With a little more spunk in the dialogue and screenplay, the film had all scope to be as memorable as Band Baaja Baaraat, but as of now it ends as another home video.
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