Life Partner (2009)

I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

A Masterpiece!

Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

Rumi Jaffrey returns from the aftermath disaster 'God tussi great ho'. The movie was a bad carbon copy of 'Bruce Almighty'. However after viewing Life Partner I realised that he if he rally put his mind to it, he could make a good comedy. As well as directing Rumi wrote the script. What really makes this movie enjoyable to watch is the comic dialogues and Fardeen Khan and Govinda's presence. Govinda has limited scope however when he appears on screen the movie picks up pace. He effortlessly can make one laugh. He does not have to practically do anything to amuse. The quality is in his personality. He is a natural. I was impressed with Fardeen's comic timing. He convinced me that he has the ability to make the audience laugh, when given the correct role and opportunity. Though he is not capable to do it independently. His support with Govinda manages to help him.The movie revolves around two couples who face difficulties in their lives after they choose to get married. Prachi Desai experiences adjustment issues while living with Tushaar's conservative family. Simultaneously Genelia D Souza and Fardeen Khan are discovering that there is more to a marriage than love. Fardeen gives Genelia a waking up call to come to terms with responsibilities in marriage life.Rumi Jaffrey presents to us a look at the institution of marriage from a humorous point of view. His directional skills are nothing special. But it has improved after God tussi great ho. The first hour is devoid of any plot development but it sets the stage well for introducing us to the characters. Govinda's presence makes us watch on in anticipation. Tushaar does not possess the ability to make anyone laugh. Genelia steals the show with a humorous performance. She played the role of a spoilt girl very well and realistically. Prachi Desai performs naturally after 'rock On'. The background score was totally inappropriate. If it was improved maybe the movie could have been more enjoyable.Overall this is a good Indian comedy. Good to watch with family and friends.

Rumi Jaffery made his directorial debut with the disappointing'God Tussi Great Ho', thankfully his 2nd outing 'Life Partner' doesn't remind of his previous work.First things first: Don't watch 'Life Partner' with huge expectations, chances r you might turn it off. If you watch it with limited expectations, your bound to have a good time... to an extend! The first hour doesn't work, that's mainly because the story hardly moves. The film takes off when Prachi Desai enters the scene. The second hour is interesting and has a silly, but gripping climax.The music is good, with every song keeping the mood alive. While the Rumi Jaffery's writing is faulty at times. As a director, he does what his script demands.Performance-wise: Prachi Desai, undoubtedly is the life of 'Life Partner'. She looks damn cute and delivers a natural performance from scene A to Z. The second in command is Fardeen, who excels throughout. Tusshar is decent, while Genelia D'Souza hams. Anupam Kher, Vikram Gokhale and Darshan Jariwala are perfect in their parts. Veteran Comedian Jagdeep does a hilarious cameo as Fardeen's ill client. Amrita Rao is wasted. And last but not the least Govinda. He's first-rate in an extended special appearance.On the whole 'Life Partner' may not be the best film to watch on a Sunday, but not the worst either! Average.

Surprisingly, Life Partner is actually quite a fun movie, especially in the first half ! The dialogs of the movie were pleasantly witty and with absolutely no slapstick !! Govinda is back in his old touch and one thoroughly enjoys the first half. However Life Partner is not without its flaws as the second half gets a little more sentimental and comedy takes a backseat.The movie is about two NRI couples in Cape Town - Karan-Sanjana (Fardeen-Genelia) and Bhavesh-Prachi (Tusshar-Prachi) and their lawyer friend Jeet (Govinda). Karan is the suave metro-sexual and his girlfriend is Sanjana, the spoilt-brat daughter of Anupam Kher. Bhavesh is the gawky Gujrati bought up with 'strict Indian values' – who is waiting to gift his virginity to his wife. Prachi is well ... just Prachi Desai – saccharine sweet smile and not much else.The first half of the movie introduces us to Karan-Sanjana and Bhavesh and their families etc and of course, Jeet ! He is a divorce lawyer who is perennially looking for opportunities to break up marriages. And he himself has just once policy - No marriage !! Govinda is definitely the strongest point of the movie and his tete-a-tetes with Genelia are fun to watch. Though at his age, Govinda just cant carry off two firang babes on his arms (and though he looks really thin on the posters, those are just photoshop effects – he looks just as fat in the movie)Trouble arrives in the form of marriage – Bhavesh goes all the way to Gujarat to find himself a wife and gets hitched to Prachi, a rich heiress. In a moment of marriage madness, Sanjana and Karan also tie the knot there. And when they come back, the decibels start increasing. Sanjana doesn't like the Karan who has become a little responsible and Prachi is at loggerheads with her ultra conservative Bapuji (father-in-law Darshan Jariwala). Genelia is especially screechy, though overall she plays the wife-from-hell part pretty well. And the song Koke Koke is so atrocious its not even funny !!In the second half, we see very little of Govinda and probably a few more scenes with him could have made this movie a complete blast – like the "tum chup raho" scene. However director Rumi Jaffrey decides to give a gentle preaching on marriage. Consequently, things slow down and the Prachi Desai scenes sometimes resemble an Ekta Kapoor show. But there is one more gem in the movie – veteran comedian Jagdeep. His scene with Fardeen & Genelia will have you falling out of your seat laughing !!The climax where all the issues are sorted out was a letdown and so was Amrita Rao in the movie. Songs are also a completely waste - though only Koke Koke is abominable, the rest are just boring. The visuals are pretty slick though – and that honeymoon suite balcony view is really fantabulous. Definitely wish to visit it someday. Overall, the movie is an entertaining watch, and an extra 0.5 for Jagdeep.

If we go through our golden era of black and white films before the 70s, then there are several movies featuring many big stars of that time, which are just nice and cool for a one time watch. They are neither a masterpiece nor could be considered as trash. "Life Partner" also falls in the same category, where you simply feel OK after watching it and don't mind your valuable time and money spent. In fact a particular section of the viewers may love it for the enjoyable act performed by their favorite Virar Boy, Govinda.The screenplay revolves around two young couples and their common lawyer friend who is known for his specialization in divorce cases. When both the married couples face rough times after their marriage, their lawyer friend offers them help and gets them rescued. The plot had a great scope of humor and entertainment for its viewers. But since it is used in a very restricted manner, the final outcome couldn't result in a complete laugh riot. The movie has its own moments of comedy and preaching too. The director tries to explain the meaning of marriage and its tradition with a pinch of comedy, romance and family drama. So, all the three basic elements of an Indian movie are combined together by Rumi Jaffery in his second attempt, produced by the famous director duo Abbas Mastaan.The movie can be clearly divided into two parts where the first half stresses on the comedy and romance element of the story and the second focuses on the post marriage conflicts and family drama. However, the director takes too much time to establish his three characters and their love stories in the first half which could have been easily shortened to a great extent. So, not much happens in the first part as far as the story goes, but you enjoy the scenes featuring Govinda as the Love Guru for both Tushaar & Fardeen. The second half is conceived keeping in mind the family audiences and talks about the common marital fights and disputes. Here, for a good amount of time, Govinda vanishes from the screen which in turn takes away the fun factor from the movie. But still you don't mind watching a few well directed scenes close to the Ekta Kapoor serials seen at home (especially the ones with Prachi Desai).Performance wise Govinda excels over all the others, in the few scenes where he is back in his good old terrific form. I wish he had got more comic scenes to entertain his fans. Fardeen & Tushaar, are just fine playing their parts and its time they have to try something new in their respective careers. But it's the ladies which score over their male counterpart this time. Genelia D'souza sizzles on the screen with her great dressing sense. Along with looking perfect she delivers a fine act as the annoying wife. Parchi Desai on the other hand proves her talent once again after "Rock-on". She impresses as the true Indian wife trying her best to adjust with her in-laws. In the supporting cast, Vikram Gokhale is elegant as the rich father but both Amrita Rao and Anupam Kher are completely wasted. The veteran comedian Jagdeep entertains superbly in a surprise cameo.Pritam, comes up with a routine kind of score with no particular track making a mark or impression. Look wise the film has a rich feel with foreign locales captured beautifully on the screen. So, technically everything is just fine but nothing great with an exceptional touch or class.In short, it is an OK, cool movie directed in a simple way with some good comic scenes and fresh faces. But if only Govinda was given a better and meatier role as the divorce lawyer, the movie could have been a far better experience for the common viewer coming for a good time.