Movie Review: I, Me aur Main

Director: Kapil Sharma
Cast: John Abraham, Chitrangada Singh, Prachi Desai, Mini Mathur and Zarina Wahab

Cliche, cliche, cliche. I Me Aur Main is a classic example of stereotypes and done-to-death scenes ruining a good story. A fresh concept of a self-obsessed man in a love triangle gets ruined by an inadequate script and inconsistent direction.

The story is the strongest part of I Me Aur Main. Its not everyday that you get a premise where urban themes of commitment phobia, over-driving ambitions and single motherhood add depth to a love triangle. The characters in the film are really well defined too. The strongest character of course being the protagonist John Abraham's. He's a self centered prick and a chauvinist. He stares into the mirror to pep talk himself. But that's all that he ever does. Surely a man vainly in love with himself with a goal of earning fame and money by any means would have more grey shades than John's Ishaan in I Me Aur Main.

The script or screenplay never make enough room for the right kind of drama. Sure you have Ishaan's life going from very comfy to extremely awkward. But at no point do you love him or hate him. Instead the feeling towards his character is "why does this guy have such privileges?" The film film never answers that question. But it does get things right when Ishaan's sister and mother confront him over his irresponsible ways. That's one scene in a 1 hour 48 minute film where romance happens as two people play the piano together. A woeful ratio of good versus bad.

John Abraham is left grappling at the short rope that is his role. Full marks for effort but when the central character can't evoke enough sentiment, it's half the battle lost. Chitrangada Singh and Mini Mathur are good in their respective but short performances. Prachi Desai looks attractive and fresh but her performance doesn't peak at all.

I Me Aur Main could've been a better film. But it's director takes no risks. The team charts a safe path where people's homes look like hotel suites. It's not bad, but how exciting can Vanilla be?