De De Pyaar De 2

De De Pyaar De, out in 2019, was a startling first for a mainstream Bollywood film, presenting the idea of a much-older man and a young woman as a perfectly viable romantic option. It isn’t as if Hindi cinema hasn’t toyed with the May-December idea before but not to the extent of getting firmly behind the coupling of a distinctly fifty-plus grey-flecked Ashish Mehra (Ajay Devgn) and a spry 26 year old Ayesha (Rakul Preet Singh), who meet cute in London, fall for each other, and start living together.

I admit I have trust issues with a Luv Ranjan screenplay. When it’s funny, I worry if I’m amused for the right reasons. When it’s dramatic, I get anxious about the gender politics behind the gender politics. When it’s chatty, I look for hints of meninism in the elaborate arguments and expository dialogue. When it’s good-looking, I am distracted by everyone speaking like they’re in a detergent ad. When it’s progressive, I suspect it’s trying to fool us. When it’s regressive, I wonder if it’s aware. One might argue I’m being too paranoid about a harmless genre: the romantic comedy. (I can almost hear the “stop overanalysing, just enjoy” voices). But we live in an age of relentless commentary; storytelling is only a vessel. Every new-age Hindi film, regardless of form, has something to say. Maybe it’s on us to figure out what that is, before choosing to be entertained or disappointed.

एक जवान लड़की अपने से दोगुने उम्र के आदमी को जीवनसाथी बनाने का फैसला करे तो भसड़ मचनी तय है। इसी भसड़ को कॉमेडी, इमोशन और एंटरटेनमेंट के तड़के के साथ परोसती है फिल्म ‘दे दे प्यार दे 2’, जो साल 2019 में आई ‘दे दे प्यार दे’ की सीक्वल है। अजय देवगन, रकुल प्रीत सिंह और आर माधवन स्‍टारर यह फिल्‍म फर्स्ट हाफ में तो हंसाती है, लेकिन इंटरवल के बाद थोड़ी लड़खड़ा जाती है।