Customer Reviews

Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic - DVD

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This is a much better movie than the previous two reviews state. Americans do not do well with movies for adults that have kids in them; it's like adult movies want to forget kids exist. Not in India. They do much better with issues for women, families, and children. Plus there's a great song in the scene from San Diego Zoo. Forget that the plot is far fetched or there is magic in it. This is far better than the tv series Bewitched with its similar tricks. Some of these are hilarious, especially when the kids try to get the best of Geeta. And they really put God on the spot in the end.

I passed this one over quite a few times before risking it. I knew it was for kids and had some magical special effects. I didn't mind that. What put me off were the comparisons drawn with Mary Poppins and the picture of Rani Mukherjee as an angel rising a bike down a rainbow. I thought it would be too cloyingly sweet for me.
Actually I preferred it to Mary Poppins and it wasn't too sweet. They got the pitch about right for adult accessibility too. Even the few animations they threw in the first half weren't over-cute. The kids were also real enough.
The plot in brief is a businessman with repressed emotions kills a couple in a car accident. The court rules he takes the couples kids in and must do his best with them or go to jail. The kids hate him for their parents death so wont make that easy. He has no idea how to relate to kids - or get close to anyone. 'God' (played by Rishi Kapoor) sends down an angel to sort out these relationships and she (Rani) comes posing as their nanny.
The music is catchy and the dances few. The kids are very good. Rani is appropriately cheesy - as the part requires. I'd read Saif was playing a negative/hard stereotype but I actually thought he was going for withdrawn/repressed and did that fine. Rani and Saif have been paired together before and they always do well together.
I quite enjoyed this within its genre (i.e. a movie made for family and kids) and, unexpectedly, we found it above average given what it was. Ratings elsewhere on the Net tend to give it average to above.
Be reassured that the cycling down the rainbow isn't the tone of the movie and doesn't last long as a concept! Better than expected!

THODA PYAAR THODA MAGIC (translates to "A Little Love, A Little Magic") is an okay Bollywood family flick. If you're a fan of Saif Ali Khan, then this is worth checking out, although Saif isn't really shown to his best advantage here. But much of that has to do with the dour role he's stuck with. Saif in real life is a fun and funny dude. It's hard to see that side of him in this one, not until near the end of the movie. If you're a fan of Rani Mukerji, then you'll probably want to give this one a try, as well. But, to be honest, I thought this one would be better.

When stern, high powered entrepreneur Ranbeer Talwar (Saif Ali Khan) becomes the guilty party in a fatal car collision, the judge's unorthodox ruling is that, for punishment, Ranbeer be given custody of the four children he had just orphaned. The children, however, crave revenge for their parents' deaths and aim to harass Ranbeer straight into prison (which Ranbeer is headed for, should the judge find out that he'd been neglecting or mistreating the children).

Things take a turn towards the celestial when an angel is tasked with fixing this mess. Rani Mukerji plays the irrepresible Geeta, the angel assigned, who's sort of half Mary Poppins and half Maria from THE SOUND OF MUSIC. Geeta passes herself off as the children's new nanny and very quickly commands their attention with her warmth and judicious use of magic. However, it still would take an outing to Los Angeles for events to come to a head.

While giving a nod to the charms of THODA PYAAR THODA MAGIC, I still can't get that enthused about it. The kids are likable and carry the film to a certain extent. Rani Mukerji livens the screen, yet her angel/nanny character doesn't bowl me over. I can't quite pin it down, but I think it's partly because Geeta resorts too much to the crutch of magic (to which, by the way, the kids accept a bit too matter-of-factly). Also, I'm not sure if I'm really down with Geeta's plus and minus points system as an explanation of how God works his mysterious ways.

The romantic arc is underdeveloped and comes late in the game, but you do get a sense of what's what when it's mentioned early on that angels cannot cry because they aren't meant to feel pain (and, really what hurts more than love?). This is the third film to team up Saif and Rani (fourth, if you count Rani's special appearance in KAL HO NAA HO), but this is probably the one where they have the least chemistry. Again, it's all to do with their roles. There isn't much character development for Geeta; it's hard to take her seriously as a real person. Saif, for his part, isn't given many chances to show off his quirky appeal, although he's sweet with the kids (in the later scenes). It's weird, too, seeing him gigged out in corporate suits.

If you want to see these two Bollywood superstars demonstrate some pretty great chemistry, check out Hum Tum DVD 2004 and Ta Ra Rum Pum (2 Disc Set).

Thumbs up, by the way, to Amisha Patel, cast against type as the frivolous girlfriend. Usually, she plays the sweet, boring love interest. Veteran actor Rishi Kapoor has a brief but meaty supporting part as God.

The special effects are cute and should call out to the whimsical in you. There are musical numbers showcasing a dancing dinosaur, ninja crabs, armored lobsters and seahorses, and a bombarding flock of birds. There's even a sequence in which Geeta and her four charges hang out with Gandhi.

THODA PYAAR THODA MAGIC boils down to a film that the younger kids will enjoy. Folks older, though, will find much here that is predictable and contrived. This one's okay, but you'd do better to go to the original source. Last I heard, Mary Poppins (40th Anniversary Edition) is still a classic.

I have yet to watch a Kunal Kohli movie I've liked, and yes, that includes his superhit Fanaa. For me, the problem with Kohli's films is his poor understanding of pacing and timing. Scenes and dialogues go on forever. Perhaps other audience members might find that acceptable, but I have better things to do with my time than staring at my watch every two minutes.

Thoda Pyaar... is probably one of Kohli's worst culprits too. Forget upbeat and crispy, this tale had my kids bored to tears and they gave up on it after 30 minutes. Walked straight out of the room and did not return until it was over. I'm glad they abandoned it though, because the Lazy Lamhe music video was shamefully embarassing and very age inappropriate for little kids.

Rani and Saif sleep-walk through the movie.