Yes, I realize that this is a Bollywood film, but as a long-time fan (since the end of 2002) of Fawad Khan (and Entity Paradigm), reviewing this movie for me is wholeheartedly necessary!
I watched the movie with a big group on Friday night, opening day. I kept my expectations low, mostly because I'm well-aware of the slightly overacting nature of Sonam Kapoor and because the film genuinely just did not look interesting to me. But the Fawad fan in me had to venture out simply for support. And so I did.
While I may have gone into the film with the thought of solely supporting Fawad, I came out of the film having thoroughly enjoyed it. While the movie itself was nothing outstanding or out of the ordinary, it was a cute, nice movie following your typical "Disney" path and formula.
The story revolves around a physiotherapist Dr. Chakrovarty (Sonam Kapoor), who is hired on to treat an aristocrat ("the king" type) who is wheelchair bound. Her interactions with the royal family form the basis of the story, namely with "Prince" Vikram (Fawad Khan).
A love story at heart, Khoobsurat is also about familial bonds and family relationships.
What really worked in the movie's favor were the performances. Not only the performances of the main lead, but the performances of the entire ensemble cast are terrific.
Sonam Kapoor was cute. I thought her antics would begin to grate on my nerves in the 2nd half, going by the reviews I read beforehand, but they didn't. This role was perfect for her and her persona. I almost believe this character was written with Sonam (and her acting style) entirely in mind. She was very likable.
Fawad was Fawad - always perfect and giving 100% to whatever role he plays. Fawad became Vikram (or "Viku"). He's an absolute natural and I don't see this role hindering his Bollywood career, regardless of whether it's a success or a flop. He's a perfect package. What I am happy about is that he isn't intending on staying in Bollywood and is already working on getting started on his Pakistani films. Rather than criticizing Fawad for working in Bollywood, we should be praising him for doing us proud, sticking to his principles (well-executed staged kissing scenes considering Fawad refused to kiss!) and bringing back that knowledge to our own film industry to apply to future projects.
The supporting cast, as I said, was great. Kirron Kher as Manju was hilarious and while Kirron Kher can go over the top at times, that was perfect for this character! Ratna Pathak was incredible in her role as well, balancing her stoic expressions and need to control things with her softer side. Aamir Raza Hussain also deserves applause for his portrayal of Shekhar Singh Rathod, making him a highly lovable character.
The three drawbacks of this film (Yes, there are some):
#1: The film could've easily been half an hour shorter. Some sequences were unnecessary.
#2: The songs were entirely unnecessary and did nothing to move the story forward. Rather, they slowed the pace down. This should've been a song-less venture.
#3: Regardless of their good performances, Sonam and Fawad didn't share any real chemistry. Forced kissing moments and lines like "Tumhe dekh ke ganday khayaal aa rahe hain yaar" were used to get the point across. These two were great in the movie, but that "spark" simply wasn't there - though the two did look nice together. It worked in this particular movie, because it just seemed very "Disney."
That's it! Overall, the movie was a very enjoyable experience. I had a good time, I laughed a lot and just really found the movie to be "cute." I'd recommend this whole-heartedly!
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