Strangers Ali Zafar and Aditi Rao Hydari meet in London and spend a day together. They promise to meet again in New York, but don’t. When they do meet in Paris, they end up in bed but Aditi walks out on Ali. What happens then?
Business rating: 1/5 (One star)
Star cast: Ali Zafar, Aditi Rao Hydari.
What’s Good: The performances.
What’s Bad: The very restricted appeal of the script; elements of the screenplay which are not convincing; the lack of hit music.
Verdict: London Paris New York will not work too well in India.
Loo break: Not really.
Watch or Not?: Watch it for a different movie experience.
London Paris New York Review: Script Analysis
Anu Menon’s story and screenplay are so class-appealing that the masses would not even be able to relate to the drama. Even among the classes, it is only a small section which would find the film interesting and there are several reasons for this. For one, almost the entire film revolves around just two characters, making it a monotonous watch. There are some aspects of the screenplay which won’t go down too well with the audience. Nikhil and Lalitha getting so close to one another in a matter of a few hours looks unpalatable. Even worse than this is the fact that in spite of having seen Nikhil in bed with another girl, Lalitha ends up sleeping with him in Paris. If she had to walk out on him, why did she get physical with him in the first place? Getting physical may not be such a big thing for a section of the audience but even they would wonder why she was so desperate to have sex with Nikhil when she had not been able to forgive him for his sexcapade in London. The angle of Lalitha having recalled that incident only after she saw the movie he had made, looks like a very convenient appendage, and not a very convincing one at that! Again, it is not explained why Lalitha gives Nikhil such a warm welcome when he comes to meet her in New York. She had walked out on him in Paris and it’s not clear what has changed after that for her to be so happy about meeting him. The writer has simply not bothered to show if Lalitha later regretted her action or if she simply chose to let bygones be bygones. Probably, the biggest drawback of the love story is that the viewer’s heart just doesn’t go out to the two love birds.
Furthermore, the screenplay of the film is not too convincing. It is not very clear if Nikhil and Lalitha have fallen in love or are just fond of one another after their day out in London. Dialogues, penned by Anu Menon and Ritu Bhatia, are appropriate to the demands of the story and screenplay.
London Paris New York Review: Star Performances
Ali Zafar acts well and is very natural. Aditi Rao Hydari is also good and performs ably. Dalip Tahhil and Mantra are alright in bit roles. The others lend ordinary support, having hardly anything to do.
London Paris New York Review: Direction & Music
Anu Menon’s direction is good for a debutante but, like her script, the film has very restricted appeal. Ali Zafar’s music is fair. Woh dekhne mein and London se Paris are quite nice but the absence of a hit musical score is sorely felt. Song picturisations (by Adil and Feroze) are routine. Dhruv Ghanekar’s background score is alright. Sameer Arya’s cinematography is very good. The foreign locales have been beautifully captured, giving the film a good look. Editing, by Shyam Salgaonkar, is alright.
London Paris New York Review: Komal Nahta’s Verdict
On the whole, London Paris New York may be a medium-budget film but its appeal is so limited that recovering even the limited investment would be an impossible task.
