Review: Uncooked plot and lack of chemistry between Imran and Kangana makes Katti Batti a dull movie

Rating- *1/2

Katti Batti is a romantic comedy directed by Nikhil Advani and produced by Siddharth Roy Kapur of UTV Motion Pictures.  

From the trailers, we could make out that the film is about a live-in relationship where the guy is committed to marry but the girl isn’t. Does this film fulfil the claim of a fresh love story? Let’s find out.

The film opens to flashback footage of a virtual wedding between Maddy (Imran Khan) and Payal (Kangana Ranaut) who are living-in together. The two are drunk and Maddy is seen using tomato ketchup as sindoor. We are then shown a scene from the present where Maddy is being rushed to the hospital for having considered phenyl. Reason: Payal breaks off with Maddy.

Madhav aka Maddy is a lad from Mumbai lad who is shown to have studied architecture in Ahmedabad. He falls in love with a Delhi based girl Payal. Somehow, they get into a never-lasting affair turned to a live-in relationship. College days shown in the film are very unreal. So much so, that you suddenly find the college life of Karan Johar’s ‘Student of the Year’ more realistic in comparison.  And if college scenes seem unbelievable, the office scenes are utterly implausible. For instance, there is Vinay (Abhishek Saha) who is a little strangely attached to Maddy. Years later, they are still best buddies, now working in the same architecture firm. Maddy and Vinay keep fighting each other, using the most unrealistic conversation for office-goers right in the middle of the office and nobody reacts!

Coming back to the present, the lovelorn Maddy is upset and is trying to patch up with Payal in every obsessive way possible. He tries to get her phone number from her friends and tries to chase her by hook or by crook. When he’s not doing that, he’s feeding his turtle ‘Milkha’ (what an ironical name for a turtle) or staying with his phone. He then goes to Delhi and meets a complete stranger Roger who heads a band called FOSLA (Frustrated One Sided Lovers Association). By now, Maddy has mastered the art of being the most irritating and obsessive lover on screen. I don’t want to comment on the rest of the film. Watch it only if you’re too curious. Not that there are great surprises lying in the film for you.

Katti Batti fares badly in almost all divisions and the writing tops the list. The characters are badly written and so are their lackluster dialogues. Further, the chemistry between the lead pair is as bad as the script, if not worse.

For those ever hopeful ones who were awe struck by Kangana Ranaut’s brilliance in Queen and Tanu Weds Manu series, you may be hugely disappointed. The only thing new about Kangana in this film is her new hippie look with numerous wigs, a tattoo, some anklets and some bangles.

Nikhil Advani has hit the nadir twice in this year, first with Hero and now with Katti Batti. Of the two, Hero may be a better choice. If you still want to watch a Kangana Ranaut film, revisit her old films to make best use of your time. 

  

-Reviewed by Dolly Bolly