Life Partner

Rumi Jaffery made his directorial debut with the disappointing'God Tussi Great Ho', thankfully his 2nd outing 'Life Partner' doesn't remind of his previous work.

First things first: Don't watch 'Life Partner' with huge expectations, chances r you might turn it off. If you watch it with limited expectations, your bound to have a good time... to an extend!

The first hour doesn't work, that's mainly because the story hardly moves. The film takes off when Prachi Desai enters the scene. The second hour is interesting and has a silly, but gripping climax.

The music is good, with every song keeping the mood alive. While the Rumi Jaffery's writing is faulty at times. As a director, he does what his script demands.

Performance-wise: Prachi Desai, undoubtedly is the life of 'Life Partner'. She looks damn cute and delivers a natural performance from scene A to Z. The second in command is Fardeen, who excels throughout. Tusshar is decent, while Genelia D'Souza hams. Anupam Kher, Vikram Gokhale and Darshan Jariwala are perfect in their parts. Veteran Comedian Jagdeep does a hilarious cameo as Fardeen's ill client. Amrita Rao is wasted. And last but not the least Govinda. He's first-rate in an extended special appearance.

On the whole 'Life Partner' may not be the best film to watch on a Sunday, but not the worst either! Average.

This movie brings back some memories of an era that has gone by and one which consists a message that has been added in with some humour.. Three friends, one involved in selling spices, the second who works for an International company and a third, a divorce lawyer – who will stop at nothing to get some business, don't have any marital problems until they tie the knot and its when they approach marital life from different angles and how they handle the situation that each one of them is in that makes it interesting.

Starring Govinda, Genelia D'Souza, Tusshar Kapoor, Fardeen Khan, Prachi Desai, Anupam Kher and Amrita Rao, this is directed by Rumi Jaffrey, while Javed Akhtar pens the lyrics and the music score is by Preetam.

It's nice to see Govinda back in a role that he is good at – comedy and serious and in a role that demands both comedy and serious as do Fardeen Khan and Tusshar Kapoor and Genelia D'Souza.

Gone is the era which showed marital problems and couples splitting up but Rumi Jaffrey brings back that era and has also added some humour, though it is restricted, to this and this is what makes it worthwhile to watch. A couple of songs, which have been penned in by Javed Akhtar, are worth listening.

This is one movie that can be said that is one that can be watched with family members at any time.

Rumi Jaffrey after the disaster GTGH last year returns with a family type comedy film

The film isn't a comedy as the promos showed instead it tries to balance a comedy and a relationship based comedy

The film starts off with some comedy scenes but actually gets better when the characters get married and many of the gags work Tusshar- Prachi episode though straight out of TV serials yet works as it looks real while Fardeen- Genelia episode is also handled well though at times the comedy is too much The film however ends very badly as if the director wanted to hurry up the film The Amrita Rao episode looks too sudden and also the end looks too contrived

Rumi Jaffrey seems to have improved a bit Music is okay

Amongst actors Govinda works till he plays a casanova it doesn't suit him and also his styling looks made up yet he does a good job in his short role Fardeen Khan though too loud and winny at times does a good job in his role, he is improving Tusshar too though does annoy with his expressions in comic scenes does well in serious portions Prachi is a natural, maybe because of her experience playing such roles on the idiot box Genelia however goes OTT and shreiks so badly with her annoying voice she makes JTYJN performance look a classic Amongst rest Anupam Kher is okay, Darshan Jariwala is very good Vikram Gokhale is likable

There are different types of comedies. What the audience has been subjected to for over a year now has been the inane slapstick comedy that causes irritation, instead of evoking laughter. Subtle humor has been the hallmark of Kishore Kumar, Amol Palekar and Vinay Pathak's films. Then there are those comedies which may be witty, yet silly and genuinely funny at the same time. If your taste in such comedy could devour Partner and No Entry among recent examples, then acclaimed writer Rumi Jaffrey's 'Life Partner' will tickle your funny bone while also providing you with some rational drama that often jumps to melodramatic levels. Nevertheless, the film is better than one would expect…..

Karan (Fardeen Khan) plays the lover boy whose love marriage turns him into a house-man of sorts, Bhavesh (Tusshar Kapoor) plays the orthodox Gujju who will abide by the archaic customs established by his conventional father (Darshan Jariwala) while Jeet (Govinda) plays a relentless divorce lawyer to whom marriage is the biggest mistake that one can make. In a turn of events, Karan marries his spoilt rich girlfriend, whose father's negligence in training her led to her disastrous experiments in the household. Bhavesh goes to Gujarat to find a suitable bride but ends up marrying his father's childhood friend's daughter Prachi and Jeet disappears from the screen momentarily.

Genelia's disasters at home and excessive indulgence with inactivity frustrate Karan who is working hard to maintain their lifestyle. Prachi's father (Vijay Gokhale) is an open-minded rich Gujarati businessman who is deeply rooted to the culture but respects the independence and choices of his daughter. His principles are in direct conflict with those of Bhavesh's father and it leads to some realistic and likable scenes. While the film doesn't clearly take sides for or against marriage per se, it is Govinda's witty dialogue that makes you want to do so.

The film is well written by Rumi Jaffrey and he successfully breaks away from the stereotypes of inane slapstick comedies to give us something more to reflect upon. The screenplay and editing truly hammer the film but the appropriate usage of witty dialogues draw correct emphasis on situations rather than those double meaning retarded jokes we have been subjected to.

Pritam's musical score consists of a garba melody, Aage Aage that reminds us of some hit folk song and Kouke koyaliya which has been rendered in such a horrifying manner by Shreya Ghoshal that it bec0mes enjoyable for a while…. Only for a while. Govinda has not had been able to replicate Partner's success over the past couple of years but when it comes to a comic interpretation of society's stresses, there is hardly a better actor for Jeet's role. His performance comes with his trademark style of hilarious expressions, distinct dialogue delivery, one-of-a-kind dancing and exemplary comic timing that elevates a funny dialogue to a higher level. Fardeen Khan gives one of his best performances in the type of role that he is becoming increasingly comfortable with. Tusshar does not give one much to write about but he does justice to his character and he takes the joke on his sister and father in good humor! Anupam Kher and Vijay Gokhale are maestros in their business and therefore, as reliable as always. Among the ladies, Prachi Desai stands out with her convincing performance as a modern housewife yearning to break apart from the strange traditions that threaten to destroy her married life. While Life Partner may not be the best comedy of all time but surely, it is, of recent times. Worth a watch to rid the mind of all the hyped concoctions of the so called 'new cinema' and totally unlike many 'leave the brains at home' type Govinda movies that we have seen before.

• 6.52 on a scale of 1-10.

I just have one question? How do they make money with this kind of garbage - This is Bollywood at its worst.The acting the OTT scenes - the rich spoilt main characters as per usual lately. I mean are all well off Indians behave this way? - I mean take some responsibility of a serious subject - the ending I mean, is laughable - what on earth are these writers/producers on? I carried on watching it (on DVD) to see how bad it could get. Gobinda is as annoying as ever and Fardeen (anyone know why he shakes his head as though hes got some nerve damage?) Fardeen and Gobinda are two prime Idiots who are trying to resurrect their career by playing their fantasies as playboys. Dulha Mil Gaya, this and also Money Hai to Honey Hai - very similar poor directing/story/acting. Every film seems to have a night club scene.

Back to the film - it does not make sense at all - with characters changing their life long views at a drop of a hat and suddenly everything is great.

Avoid