Nitya Mehra’s directorial debut Baar Baar Dekho has the perfect recipe for a typical Bollywood movie - good looking cast, sizzling chemistry between the pair, catchy music, exotic locales and a love story. What it does miss is that magic or 'super spark' that one would have expected after watching the trailer and promos over the last couple of months.

Jai Verma (Sidharth Malhotra) and Diya Kapoor (Katrina Kaif) are your quintessential rom-com movie couple - absolute opposites, but still so much in love. Jai is a mathematical genius, a man of logic and solutions while Diya is an artist, extremely happy-go-lucky and all about living in the moment. As credits roll out, the film opens with the beautiful and soulful “Kho Gaye Tum Kaha”, sung by Jasleen Royal and Prateek Kuhad. The song has been penned by the latter and really does warm the tingles of your heart.

The movie takes its audience through a 30 year journey of Jai and Diya’s life, as they experience the circle of life. While the first half focuses on all the things that could go wrong in their relationship, the second half takes a cheerful turn. There is a bit of back and forth in time, while Jai tries to make things right. The movie is not focusing on science fiction or time travel, but just highlights the ups and downs in any relationship experienced by a couple (even if you aren’t as beautiful or charismatic looking as these two).

Of the performances on screen, Kaif looks gorgeous through her 30 years of life, even at her 40 something, the woman is a stunner. Malhotra emotes and performs well. Must give Sid some serious credit, as a large part of the film rests on his young shoulders and needless to say, he does good justice to his role. Sayani Gupta [her last release - Fan] playing Chitra, was a bit of a surprise spark. Although she had very little screen time, she did her bit of leaving a mark. 

The music was bang on, as expected and everybody looked great. Baar Baar Dekho has it's share of wonderful moments that stay with you. But overall, it falls into the category of films that takes some time to settle into the system. We would say, go and dekho ek baar. That's it!

Verdict: Baar Baar Dekho is a foot-tapping, beautiful looking one time watch, that brings with it some fine performances!

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How different is Baar Baar Dekho from other romantic films that you have done in the past?

It's an extremely emotional love story, which is told in a new way and is not a linear story. While most people are talking about the time travel part, it's not as much about that as it is about Jai and Diya's relationship. It spans from the time they are 8, all the way up to turning 60. Baar Baar Dekho explores the different stages of relationship an individual goes through - right from dating, to getting married, settling down with family and the problems faced during all these phases. The film is definitely gonna be a new experience for the audience. 

Fan Question

What was it about your character (Diya) that attracted you the most and made you take up this film?

Thank you for the question, guys. I have always believed that when the story and character connects with me, it has the potential to connect with others as well. I think Diya is certainly one of the best characters I have played on screen. She is extremely relatable, someone who every girl or woman can associate with. Also, I can relate to Diya in more ways than one. Like I said, the main reason I took up Baar Baar Dekho was the fact that several moments in the film were very close to my life and relatable. I could connect to Diya's feelings in the film. For me, Diya is one of the most challenging, deep and emotionally expressive characters that I have played till date.

Do you think the physicality of an actor plays an important role in making a character memorable?

Physicality, costumes and glamour gets a lot of attention during the promotional stage. Since the trailer and songs are almost around 2 mins long, these things quickly catch your eye and helps make an instantaneous connect. But, when you see the film, the audience walks out with emotions and the character's overall personality. Not just the physicality.

Diya is one of the most challenging, deep and emotionally expressive characters that I have played till date.

Looking back at your journey in Bollywood, is there any phase where you felt you had hit a low or did not perform as per expectations? If yes, how did you work on getting back on track.

Honestly, it's extremely difficult to dissect your own career. But, if I look back at my journey, the only thing I have done is work hard and allowed destiny to play it's role. I am a big believer in destiny. There was probably just a small phase where I wasn't able to focus on my work, and I know that very well. But, I believe that it's important to give your best in everything that you do. I have done my best in every film or project that I have worked on. It's important to know that there will always be someone out there who will be better than you. But, you should go home knowing that you had given your best. Your competition should always be with yourself. The moment you think that things are not going as per your expectations, you must pull yourself up and start working hard towards your goal. I always believe in this!

If you could go back and change something about yourself, what would it be?

I would go back and tell myself to worry less and not stress too much. I tend to take too much stress sometimes. I have realised that one must learn to be easy on themselves. You may have done your best and probably, something may have gone wrong here or there. But, that's okay! Sometimes, it is necessary to let go. Be easy on yourself and others.

So, does failure affect you in anyway? Does it leave you feeling stressed, especially about your next films?

I don't stress over failure. If a film doesn't work, that's the way it is. It was probably the wrong choice or a film that didn't connect with the audience. There are people who say things like, "Oh! It was a commercial success." or  "That was a glamorous hit." Personally, I think there are just two ways to look at a film - either it's a hit or a flop. In my career, I have done some films where the audience hasn't felt a connect. And I completely respect that. For me, the audience can never be wrong. The productive way to look at failure is to learn from it and see how you can make things better next time.

Fan Question

If given a chance, which moment from your life would you like to relive or dekho 'baar baar'?

 That's an interesting question, Rita. But, I try not to hold on to one moment for long or get attached to it. So, I can't really pick any one moment as such. But, I think my career and the whole experience in this film industry has been mostly of immense happiness. So, that would definitely be the one (smiles).

The moment you think that things are not going as per your expectations, you must pull yourself up and start working hard towards your goal. 

Image Credit: GQ India magazine

Fan Question

You recently took the plunge and joined social media. What made you choose Facebook for your social media debut?

Honestly, I realised that it was necessary for me to have a platform where I could connect with my fans and have a voice. Otherwise, a lot of times, certain sections of the media decides to throw up a lot of things about you, which they think is very newsworthy. Almost everyone is now on a social media platform, so I too felt the need to have a place where I can share something, whether a trivia or piece of news. So, that's how Facebook happened. Twitter is definitely a part of our next plan and is very much on our agenda. My team is looking at it, but I don't really know when it will happen. 

Love,
The Dancebee