…all of a sudden it starts pouring. She is surprised looking at the rain, as if she has seen it for the first time ever. Cut to some scenes later, it rains again, and she behaves the same – surprised. I failed to understand why. It was only a rain, which I'm sure she had seen at least few times in her 19 years of life (giving her the benefit of doubt).
Yes I'm talking about Riya Somani (Shraddha Kapoor), who plays the lead actress in the film. Cut to the first scene. Madhav Jha (Arjun Kapoor) is in Delhi, and is hoping to get an admission in city’s prestigious Steven’s college. He is good in sports and not in English, but makes his way through the selection. He meets Riya Somani, instantly falls for her, helps her in her Basketball match and expects to be good friends with her. All this happens. They become good friends, hang out as buddies and with time develop a strong attachment for each other. Madhav, who likes Riya, confesses his love. Riya isn’t ready for it yet but respects his feeling and so agrees to be half girlfriend. Days pass by, and there comes a moment where they separate. Do Riya and Madhav meet again? What emotional turbulence do they go through? And… answers to these forms the crux of Half Girlfriend. (I’m not revealing the story for those who haven’t read the book, for there are many sensible people who don’t believe Chetan Bhagat can be an author).
Now to talk about the review – the film is an adaptation of his novel, which is also titled the same. Arjun Kapoor is partly convincing as Madhav and so is Shraddha as Riya. Madhav’s Hindi deserves appreciation as he and his bihari laundas have attempted to make you laugh and do a certain degree, achieve the same. But, the supporting actors Vikrant Massey and Rhea Chakroborthy make a mark, than the leads. The fault here is not with the actors, it is the script that is to be blamed. The story lacks fun and depth. Mohit Suri is known for making appealing emotional drama, but here with Half Girlfriend, he strangely seems to have lost the track. Just like all his other films, the music of Half Girlfriend too is its most interesting aspect.
I believe in cases of adaptations, the makers have an added pressure of delivering the film with a conviction as there are preset notions and levels set by the bestseller. In this case, Mohit and his team chose an appropriate cast, but the narration and the screenplay took a backseat. Cliché dialogues, oscillating narration and all the other factors related to writing add to the disappointment. Infact, there is a scene about Bill Gates and it is meant to be serious, but sadly, due to the technical flaws, the scene loses its soul, leaving the audience ROFLing watching Gates.
This week in Indian cinema, focuses a lot about Hindi, and if you had to really invest time in watching a film, I’d suggest choosing Hindi medium. Half Girlfriend is a half baked love story and nothing besides the music is good here. It wouldn’t be wise to watch a film only for that. If you still insist, choose saavn (or any audio music app) and not a multiplex.
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