Article Updated 08 April, 2006 03:27:32 AM IST   Shaadi Se Pehle By Prema K. ©2006 Bollyvista.com   'Shaadi Se Pehle' is one of those films that you are meant to watch after leaving your brains outside the cinema hall. The film works for the dialogues and good performances. But we have to admit that unfortunately the film does not live up to our expectations of being a laugh riot. However, it's genuinely funny in parts. But it doesn't keep you hooked like some of the recent comedies. Ashish Khanna (Akshaye Khanna) and Rani (Ayesha Takia) fall in love with each other. Ashish's childhood friend, Rohit (Aftab Shivdasani) also likes Rani but Ashish manages to woo and charm her. After opposition from her family, the two get engaged to each other. All would have been well had it not been for Ashish's slightly funny nature. He's a hypochondriac and keeps popping pills to cure all his imaginary ailments. One day, he even overhears his doctor (Boman Irani) discussing one of his patient's illnesses. Ashish misunderstands it to be his case and is shattered to hear that he has cancer. He thinks it's unfair on his part to marry Rani knowing fully well that he's to die soon. Along with his friend-cum-colleague (Rajpal Yadav), they work out a plan to make Rani detest him and call off the engagement. Ashish walks in drunk into her house. When this fails, he walks in with his arm around a sexy young thing in skimpy clothes. The occasion is a condolence meeting for a distant uncle of Rani's. Unfortunately, even this doesn't work. Finally he begins to flirt with the sexy international model Sania (Mallika Sherawat). A heartbroken Rani dumps him. Surprisingly Sania falls in love with Ashish for his innocence and introduces Ashish to her brother, Anna (Suniel Shetty), as her prospective husband. Ashish is worried, more so because Anna is an underworld Don. He has to carry on pretending to be Sania's boyfriend if he doesn't want to be shot by Anna. But finally a frustrated Ashish tells Sania the truth and even tells her about his illness. A depressed Sania tries to commit suicide and Anna wants to kill him. Now comes the twist in the tale. Ashish's doctor clears up his misunderstanding about his illness. Anna forces him to marry Sania while Rani is getting engaged to Rohit. True love triumphs in the end and the lovers meet. The humour interlaced with the love story, tends to go overboard at times. But some sequences are really funny like the one between Akshaye and Rajpal Yadav in the beginning of the film, Akshaye and Suneil, and Akshaye and Boman Irani. The performances- Akshaye Khanna does not let you down. He's good with his expressive face and smile. But he's also made a sincere effort to look bad in the film. Why? Agreed that he's playing a nerd, but he should have gone easy with his wig and clothes. But good or bad looking, he's a delight to watch on screen for his acting potential. Mallika Sherawat is perfectly cast as the seductress while Ayesh Takia fits in well in the girl-next-door role. Suniel Shetty is funny. Ditto for Boman Irani. In fact, their interaction scene is very funny. Aftab Shivdasani has a small role but does it well. Rajpal Yadav is excellent as usual. Anupam Kher is funny in the bits that he makes an appearance in. Gulshan Grover and Vijayendra are wasted. The film has its share of funny moments but doesn't make great impact. Himesh Reshammiya's music is not great at all! Let's wait and watch the fate of the film at the box office. *** (Three stars) *poor; **average; ***good; ****very good; *****excellent   close   Print this Article http://www.bollyvista.com   http://www.bollyvista.com/article/a/29/6460