Movie Review: EKK DEEWANA THA by FENIL SETA

Off late, the remakes of Southern films are doing a great job at the box office, the latest instances being Ready, Singham and Bodyguard. Ekk Deewana Tha too is a Southern remake but stands out from the rest of remakes as it doesn’t belong to the action/comedy genre but is a true blue love story. In fact, after a hiatus, viewers get a dose of ‘saccha pyaar’ as the guy is projected to be totally and crazily in love with the girl and if need arises, was ready to sacrifice his life as well. And that is the strength of Ekk Deewana Tha besides the fact that it’s been beautifully executed by Gautham Vasudev Menon!

The story of the movie: Sachin (Prateik) has studied engineering but aspires to be a filmmaker. He falls for his neighbor Jessie (Amy Jackson) the moment he sees her. However, soon Sachin realizes that wooing Jessie won’t be easy. After all, Jessie is a Malayali Catholic while he is a Hindu. Sachin is passionate about films while Jessie has barely seen 5 films in her life since stuff like movies and dating is considered taboo by her father (Babu Antony). Also, Jessie is a year older to Sachin. But as they say, love is blind. Sachin is unable to control his feelings for Jessie and one day it leads to physical fight and a full-brown family drama. In desperation, Jessie is told to get married. From the alleys of elite Mumbai, the action shifts to the backwaters of Kerela followed by Karnataka beaches and finally the Taj Mahal, the symbol of love. Watch the film to find out how the deewana woos his lady!

Ekk Deewana Tha begins with an innovative rolling of titles. But immediately, the film goes a bit off-track and it takes a while for viewers to get accustomed to the director’s vision. This is especially when the song ‘Hosanna’ suddenly commences when Sachin had just seen Jessie for the first time! But soon enough, the viewers get drawn into Sachin and Amy’s world. It’s really a treat to witness deewana Sachin going to great lengths for the sake of his love! Moreover, this is a musical film and hence the beautiful songs of A R Rahman compliment the proceedings very well. Hence, even though a song like ‘Dost Hai Hum To’ was unwanted, viewers won’t mind as its quite peppy and most importantly, well shot and styled too!

However, the best part of the film is when Sachin visits Kerela the second time. From the scene in the church to the fight on the street and finally Jessie making a completely honest confession to Sachin…this was the part of the film which was an unpredictable roller-coaster ride which finally culminated in a sequence that instantly brought smile to viewer’s faces! But sadly from here, the film went a bit downhill. The conflict between Sachin-Jessie seemed too unbelievable in this otherwise convincing film. And this really takes a toll on the overall film. Hence, even though the sequence thereafter (the last 20 minutes) was damn lovely, one doesn’t exit the theatre with utmost satisfaction.

Prateik’s persona, body language and personality were tailor-made for the role of Sachin and he indeed gives his best shot. However, somehow it fell short of that outstanding kind of performance expected from him and which he had delivered in films like Jaane Tu…Ya Jaane Na and Dhobi Ghat. But overall, a great job and hoping to see him more in solo-hero films! As for Amy Jackson, she surprises! While everyone expected her to be just another Western import with immense beauty but little talent, she proves that she has in it to handle a complex role like Jessie’s. In real life, she’s younger to Prateik but that doesn’t show up even in once on the screen, even though she’s playing a character older to him! And all the scenes where she had to wear a saree seemed utmost convincing. However, it seemed that an attempt was made to darken her skintone in several scenes…something that didn’t work!

Manu Rishi (as Sachin’s friend Anay) was terrific and he indeed has a significant role to play in the film. Sachin Khedekar (Sachin’s father) was alright. Babu Antony and Ashwin Kakumanu (Jessie’s bro) were excellent and so was the one who played Jessie’s uncle. Samantha Ruth Prabhu (Sachin’s assistant buddy) was nice in the cameo. Ramesh Sippy is extremely likeable. Others do a fine job.

A R Rahman’s music is one of the strong points of the film and one of the chief reasons why the film created excitement. Almost all the songs of the films – Hosanna, Dost Hai Hum To, Phoolon Jaisi, Kya Hai Mohabbat, Sharminda Hoon, Sunlo Zara, Zohra Jabeen and the instrumentals (Aromale included) – are a pleasure to listen. Ekk Deewana Tha will surely be remembered for the songs if not for the content! M S Prabhu’s cinematography was quite exciting, especially the manner in which the locales of Kerela were shot. Manu Rishi’s dialogues were damn effective although at places the dialogues mouthed by Anay were slightly over the top.

Finally, Gautham Vasudev Menon’s direction brings a lot of freshness, especially for Bollywood moviegoers. The director ensured that inspite of countless number of songs and a beaten to death story, the viewer remained engrossed in the film. Also, Jessie was shown a bit confused and although many might have reservations with many decisions that she takes in the film, the director neatly justified it. However, as mentioned before, the conflict between the lovers in the second hour just didn’t work at all and since it was the juncture where the film takes a significant turn, it ought to had been more impactful and convincing. But nevertheless an overall fine job by the director and hoping to see his next Hindi film soon!

Some of the best scenes:
1. The songs Hosanna, Phoolon Jaisi, Dost Hai, Aromale and Sharminda Hoon
2. Sachin meets Jessie at McDonald’s
3. Sachin proposes to Jessie
4. Sachin in Kerela
5. Sachin fights with Jessie’s brother
6. Sachin in Kerela…again
7. The last 20 minutes of the film

On the whole, Ekk Deewana Tha is a sweet feel-good love story that works despite the minuses. Go for it and experience true love!

My rating-*** ½ out of 5!