Based on a novel written by Chetan Bhagat, directed by Mohit Suri, Half Girlfriend, released today starring Shraddha Kapoor and Arjun Kapoor in the main lead.
Here is the Lifestyle’s reviews on the movie:
Half Girlfriend Cast: Arjun Kapoor, Shraddha Kapoor, Vikrant Massey, Seema Biswas, Rhea Chakrabarty
Half Girlfriend Director: Mohit Suri
Half Girlfriend Rating:
(1/5)
(1/5)
First things first, Half Girlfriend – Dost Se Zyada Girlfriend Se Kam (that’s the full name of the film, yes), it is a quite boring and mind numbing and also torturous film in the name of entertainment it has nothing to give. God knows what chetan was thinking while he wrote this novel and if that was less God knows who gave Mohit Suri brains to direct in into a movie.(sic).
So Madhav Jha (Arjun Kapoor, trying hard to look like a 17-year-old but failing miserably) ‘coming from village area’ reaches St. Steven’s (sic) College for the interviews. He tries hard to impress the panel with his knowledge of ‘samajshastra‘ (Sociology!). After a half-English-half-Hindi speech, Madhav reaches the basketball court for the trials (he’s applied through Sports quota) and spots Riya Somani (Shraddha Kapoor).
He falls in love, at first sight, with next-to-no attention from Riya. He tells her a few basketball moves with which she nails the trials and fist-bumps follow. Madhav and Riya bond over basketball, bad English and worse chemistry. Madhav’s roommate Shailesh (Vikrant Massey in an earnest supporting role) is not very happy with this ‘Riya naam ki sonchidaiya‘ who is making him dance on her pinkie finger.
One fine day, Shailesh decides to ask Madhav to test Riya on whether she loves him or not. ‘Test?’ asks Madhav. The answer is obvious, get her to your room and do the do. When Riya is hit by a bout of headache in the middle of their basketball practice sessions, Madhav takes her to his room, making sure it is visible to his friends and roommate.
The turning point of the novel Half Girlfriend follows, albeit a dilute version of the line ‘Deti hai toh de, varna kat le‘ (‘F*ck me, or f*ck off’, in Mr Bhagat’s words) : ‘Rehti hai toh reh, varna kat le‘
The story then takes turn to Madhav’s hometown Simroan( name changed from Dumraon, again why this take, God knows or maybe Half Girlfriend teamwork, whatever total waste) directly from Delhi. And again New York, this clumsy shifts from place to place lives you messed up with the story.
Too many rainy songs and repeated expressions of Riya Somani together fails to save the movie. Riya Somani’s obsession with walking out in the rain, eyes half-open, is used so many times and in so many places that you will literally kill her in your imaginations more than hundred times.
While writing Half Girlfriend, Chetan Bhagat might have known that it would eventually be developed into a Bollywood film, hence there are half-speeches on patriotism and loving your own language, ‘Hindi’, thrown in into the story. There’s a reference to the ‘Beti Bachao Beti Padhao’ campaign too.
One of the important sequences in the film is Riya helping Madhav to deliver a speech for Bill Gates, in English. There’s Bill Gates‘s face photoshopped on to a random white guy. So when Madhav recites to her ‘We needing’, ‘we wanting’ and what not, and you see Riya nodding –
All of these, however, lose their way and land in Madhav’s journey to find his half-girlfriend.
The redeeming factors of Half Girlfriend, and there aren’t many, are Seema Biswas (who plays Madhav’s mother) and Vikrant Massey (always the dependable friend). The film is peppered with absurdities of the kind that would make you want to slash your wrist. Madhav and Riya climb on top of the India Gate to exchange half-relationship glances first, and Riya’s wedding card later. There are tracks involving Riya’s marriage and the Simraon School which you can’t feel for no matter how much you try.
Arjun Kapoor looks unappealing in Madhav Jha’s character. Lest he can do, the movie’s like that. Riya Somani has that special power to shift the attention from her badly too. Whether she is crying, laughing, enjoying, dancing whatever, she miserably fails to keep you engaged.
By the movie ends, ends your sanity too. You will keep guessing whether the message the movie imparted was of Half-Relationship, or, love, or, women-empowerment, or, contry’s development, or, what?
Watch the movie on your own risk.