'Atrangi Re': Hum...Dil De Chuke Sanam without Aishwarya Rai!

What if Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Hum…Dil De Chuke Sanam was a done in a comic vein? That’s what we seem to get in Aanand L Rai’s Atrangi Re where his favourite actor Dhanush is cast as the kidnapped groom to Sara Ali Khan’s reluctant bride who actually wants to elope with, ahem, Akshay Kumar.

The actor is 30 years her senior. This is the kind of star pairing that Dhanush’s father-in-law Rajinikanth believes in. But I guess Akshay Kumar has his own reasons for doing what he wants to. He is the Other Man in this trippy triangle where Dhanush speaks in Tamil to his bride Sarah Ali Khan until she remonstrates him. He then switches to Hindi.

If such inconsistencies abound in the trailer, wonder what the film has in store. To Anand Rai’s credit, the trailer conveys the bustle of a small-town romance. The colours and the crowds, that sense of innocence and romance all are there. While Akshay and Dhanush strike an authentic note, Sarah Ali Khan seems miscast as the rustic girl who claims she has tried to elope with her dream lover at least 21 times.

Is that one for every year that she has spent on this earth?

I may be wrong (I hope I am) but 'Atrangi Re' just doesn’t exude the effortless aura of a well-positioned romantic triangle.

About the film, Aanand Rai says, “Aanand L Rai said, “I strongly believe that you don’t find love, it finds you. The only thing you should learn is to be a little patient. Atrangi Re is all about love, patience and madness. It's a fabulous roller-coaster of fun and emotions."