Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani

The latest home-made chocolate from the Kapoor mansions is back, and this time, he's accompanied by the satin-esque charm of Ms. Kaif. Unfortunately, the box of gags that he came in wasn't kept pest-free enough. The holes are visible, and the stuff is not.

The story is set in the sleepy little town of Wellington. Wellington is a place whose citizens don't see much unhappiness. That's because it's hard to see when you're fast asleep. Which is what we, too, should have done right at the beginning of the flick - fall asleep fast.

What spoils this picture of uncomplicated bliss is Prem (Ranbir Kapoor), the President of the local Happy Club. Prem is a happy-go-lucky sort of guy. And in Prem's case, that means that you'd be lucky if you can be happy around him. Now Prem's father wants him to do something of consequence. This is good news - it's not just you, even he wants the film to end soon.

But unfortunately for Prem, the ending has been scheduled a good couple of hours later, and he can do nothing about it. So, to kill time, he falls in love with the heavenly-looking Jenny (Katrina Kaif). He woos her for the first half, but before he can propose, she gives him a shocker. She informs him that there's someone with a worse accent than hers - Rahul (Upen Patel) - and that they're an item. The problem is that she's a Christian, and Rahul is the son of a Hindu hardliner who's waiting for the elections.

The 2 are all set to elope with Prem's help. But Rahul turns out to be so dumb that he needs practice to be able to total 3 numbers, and classes before that to help him realize there are 3 numbers indeed. So he gets kidnapped by his politician father's own men. Prem then helps Jenny out, all the while swallowing his feelings for her. On the way, he has to contend with an indignant father and some kidnappers.

Ajab Prem... has plenty of slapstick, and mostly of the kind that can be easily witnessed at your neighbourhood pre-school. And the plot could have done away with all the cliches, like the inane kidnappers, for example. For real non-stop moronic comedy, you must rent Andaz Apna Apna, any David Dhawan movie, or Blue.

The movie is replete with situational jokes. But it's okay to miss them when they pass by. Didn't the makers miss including a laugh track? Prem's character curve has some shades of Wake Up Sid, when he tries to impress the polished Jenny. That's all the depth you'll find in the script.

The story - that of a boy going all out to get the love of his life hitched to the love of her life - is something we've all seen before. But it would have gone down better if there was some solid characterization for the heroine as well, and not just for the hero. For now, the makers are settling with Upen Patel's abs and accent for the solidity.

Speaking of beefcakes, Salman Khan's cameo with his clever lines about Kaif is one of the more entertaining scenes in the film. Among the others is the priceless scene in which Prem covers up one of Jenny's mistakes - by wearing a woman's top, declaring that it's the latest fashion and that he's wearing it for an interview.

But there are some things that keep you from charging at the theatre owners with a club. Like your civilized neighbours. Or the fact that you're charging at yourself with a club. But most of all, Ranbir's unrelenting zing and Katrina Kaif's well-established charisma are the elements that work. Smita Jaykar and Darshan Jariwala, who play Prem's parents, do a brilliant job as well.

Pritam scores some soul-stirring songs, and a couple of fun numbers as well. Tera Hone Laga Hoon is one of the film's best tunes. The visuals are expectedly glossy, and the songs have been shot innovatively.

On the whole, this one is hardly a laughathon. It's strictly for those who've exhausted everything on their to-do list, including making decent conversation with their fingernails.