Even though this Ajay Devgn-starrer starts on a promising note like many A-rated comedies, it soon fumbles and takes an entirely different route, courtesy a tonal shift in its narrative. The abrupt change of tone might not go down too well with some moviegoers as we see in the De De Pyaar De film review.
Ajay Devgn is suitably cast as a 50-year-old man, Ashish Mehra, who has been in London for several years while the rest of his family that includes his wife, Manju, played by Tabu is back in India. There is hardly any communication between them during this time.
The first half of the movie sees Ashish fall for Ayesha Khurana played by Rakul Preet Singh, a girl half his age. When Ashish decides to introduce Ayesha to his family, Manju gets more than a bit jealous of the young and spirited new love of her husband.
Only if the film had stuck to that premise, all would be a-okay with De De Pyaar De. However, the debutant director, Akiv Ali, introduces a subplot to the movie to give it an overly-melodramatic soap-operatic kind of feel. In doing so, not only does the tone of the narrative shift, it leaves much of the comic potential of the situation underutilized.
To its credit, the De De Pyaar De does not miss an opportunity to make a point or two along the way, like, it is never too late to fall in love again, and sometimes the right thing to do is to follow your heart. However, that does not sufficiently alleviate the film’s problems. Without divulging too much, it is safe to say that this première feature by Akiv Ali will only appeal to audiences who can overlook its overwrought plot and appreciate its slightly humorous first half and a couple of amusing scenes in the second.
For all its social commentary that the film tries to deliver, De De Pyaar De cannot make up its mind if it wants to go all out as a frothy comedy or be a more serious film. In the end, the movie fails to do justice to either. In spite of its shortcomings, De De Pyaar De will still attract the Ajay Devgn fans to give it a shot. Tabu, as always, is dependable, although her character gets somewhat stifled with the other diversions that the plot takes and in the process strips the sheen from the film.
In the end, De De Pyaar De with a runtime of two-and-three-quarter hours, is hardly recommendable. So much of the promise that its premise had for it to be an enjoyable film is squandered away, leaving you to rue what could have been.
(2 / 5)
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