Baar Baar Dekho is hardly even a bird's eye view of the new generation's choices and desires. Its philosophy lacks strength and gloss takes the centre stage right from the beginning.But, if you stop taking it seriously then it may provide you some happy moments in exchange. At the box office, the film's narrative will appeal only to the selected multiplex audience while the masses will find it difficult to relate to the movie.In all, watch Baar Baar Dekho if you swear by the newer, fitter, leaner, hotter Katrina Kaif and her abs. There's nothing much to watch otherwise. I would go with 2.5/5 for this great but failed attempt.

After the disappointment of "Freaky Ali", I was hesitant as to whether I should watch "Baar Baar Dekho" though I have to admit I did like the trailer which seemed interesting. The lead pair i.e Siddharth Malhotra & Katrina Kaif made a cute couple & the movie seemed to be a take on relationships with Farhan Akhtar & Karan Johar involved in it as producers. With the US Open Final wrapped up much quickly than expected by Stan The Man, I didnt have much to do & hence decided to check out the flick.

Jai (Siddharth) is a mathematician who was recently offered a position in Cambridge to do research on vedic mathematics. He had a steady relationship with his childhood sweetheart Diya (Katrina) but when she expresses her desire to take their relation to the next level & proposes to him, he develops cold feet. Eventually he blurts out his reluctance to tie the knot on the eve of their marriage which breaks Diya's heart. He finally sleeps off wondering what the next day lay in store for him after this sudden change of events. Surprisingly, he wakes up only to realise that it's been a couple of days since they got married though he doesnt recollect any of it happening. The very same thing happens yet again the next day but this time he was almost 10 years into the future. Was it just a dream or did he actually suffer from memory loss & why was this happening to him???

From the manner the film pans out, there is an undeniable similarity to "The Time Traveller's Wife" & also seems to be inspired from "A Christmas Carol". This might be the debut venture of Nitya Mehra but she comes with a great deal of experience having worked as assistant in projects like "Life of Pi", "The Namesake" etc. It has been scripted by Sri Rao with the screenplay drafted by himself & Nitya. The storyline as such is fine but the execution wasnt quite upto the mark especially for sequences showcasing the distant future. There is no moral preaching here which was the problem with movies that dealt with marital discord except for a subtle message that the small things in life is what actually matters. On the technical side, Ravi K Chandran impresses with his visuals while the music tracks done by a host of individuals was soothing to the ears. The make up department ought to have done a much better job as this seems like the efforts of some paltry budgeted drama company.

Both Siddharth Malhotra & Katrina Kaif have done reasonably well as the protagonists especially when the movie focused on their present ages. But the older they became, both of them struggled to portray it convincingly as it appeared more like they just wore make up with no significant change in body language. It's been a while since Sarika had appeared on screen & she has done a fine job along with Rajit Kapur. As for the rest such as Ram Kapoor, Sayani Gupta, Taaha Shah etc, they have done their parts adequately.

Verdict: The movie will surely have a decent opening in the multiplexes though it will suffer in the single screens. However, realistically speaking I dont think this will be able to accomplish much apart from break even as it's a type of movie which wont be palatable to many. In short, it wont hurt to watch it ek baar !!!

Rating: 2.5/5

Regards...Ben

Debutante Nitya Mehra juxtaposes elements that are generally associated with science fiction, fantasy, and romance, and carves out a story that looks and feels very familiar to the audience at large.



Jai (Sidharth Malhotra) is a Mathematics professor who is in a ridiculously long and maintained relationship with Diya (Katrina Kaif), a modern art painter who is never shown using a paintbrush, even once. Jai wants to continue the relationship with his childhood sweetheart, but considers his career more important. Since he is also slightly unorthodox and possibly agnostic, he kicks up a storm with the pandit (priest) regarding the "saath phere" ("seven rounds around the holy fire which generally bonds marriages in Hindusim"). And we are told that this might be the cause why he dozes off after a life-changing tiff with Diya later that day and ends up waking up on his honeymoon, ten days later.



Baar Baar Dekho is essentially NOT a time travel flick. Rather, it is a partly science fictional and fantasy narrative involving a man who is partially cursed by a Hindu priest to teach him a lesson why the "saath phere" is important and why he should also focus on the small things in life. Jai flip-flops between his life, specifically touching the years 2023, 2034, and 2047, which makes him realize what he's been missing out and how his life would turn out to be if he continues to "not focus on the small things in life." Science fiction kicks in in terms of swanky, modular cars, sleek architectures, and good-looking technology. Having said that, it is also a romantic drama in part where Jai and Diya romance, and engage in matrimony, also unsuccessfully trying to embrace realism.



The film starts off very jubilantly, with a ballad-like, tuneful song serenading the audience to the lives of the protagonists as they grow up to be the bearers of the story. It is a delight to watch Malhotra and Kaif maneuver their characters effortlessly, supported by well-directed co-stars whose primary attribute is an all-smiles, if not exaggerated, faces. Ms. Mehra writes the romance well, but falters in the second part when Jai has to learn lessons and apply them in his life to make things right. While the story is definitely inspired by Frank Coraci's Click (2006) and Harold Ramis' Groundhog Day (1993), one wonders if it reaches any of the levels broken by those two classics. Conclusively, the story is neither novel nor awe-inspiring.



Malhotra is clueless throughout the film despite being a Mathematician who was last seen watching Ron Howard's A Beautiful Mind (2001). His character is half-baked, while Kaif gets into a type of character that she is evidently very comfortable in. She is charming in the first half. Ram Kapoor and Sarika both are pleasing. Shout out to Rohan Joshi for debuting, and Sayani Gupta for laddering up.



The film, if at all, teaches one to consider the small things in life and take merry in them, rather than working toward the big things, which may be too elusive and unworthy. Family is important than one's job as our Jai finds out the hard way, even though he knows how much 546 multiplied by 48 is. I know, that's what Mathematicians in Cambridge do, right!? Multiplication!



All in all, Baar Baar Dekho will work for an Indian viewer because there is enough dance and romance to get him through the first half. Even if he understands the concept, the second half is slightly boring and formulaic, with no importance given to his patience level, who may be forced to think why he didn't go for Sohail Khan's Freaky Ali (2016) instead.



BOTTOM LINE: Nitya Mehra's Baar Baar Dekho is a film about a man's fantasy which is caused by his ignorance to make him understand what life is. But, you know, one man's fantasy is other man's... Wait for DVD, and then rent it.



Can be watched with a typical Indian family? YES

Baar Baar Dekho is a romantic drama by Nitya Mehra. Although this is her debut as a Director in Hindi Film Industry, she was assistant director to films viz. Life of Pi and The Reluctant Fundamentalist. Baar Baar Dekho reiterates one of the biggest philosophies of life i.e. to learn to live in present. We, human beings, have a tendency to either cling to past or future; either we find ourselves stuck in the past or we get worried about the uncertainties of the future. And amidst all these, we forget the most basic thing, i.e. to appreciate the present, not to take our present for granted. We also ignore to value what we have in our present, be it our relationships / family, be it small moments of joy, laughter etc. And by the time, we realize that we have left our people, our happiness far behind, we long for another opportunity to undo certain actions of ours of the past. But the truth is, life does not give one a second chance to rewind in the past and change the actions and choices made. Then, what remains with us is a sense of regret and loss. The film also showcases how important it is to balance personal and professional lives.

Baar Baar Dekho begins with the birth scenes of Jai and Diya in two different continents followed by a song showing the growing up of these two children. They meet at eight and become great friends thereafter. Jai and Diya grow into adults (Sidharth and Katrina) and their friendship turns into love. Diya is vivacious and a great artist. Jai is a Maths professor, who is very much passionate about Vedic Maths. He has also done research on Vedic Maths and submitted his theses to Cambridge University. His life is driven by calculations and logics and he aspires to go to Cambridge University for building his career. Diya, half British, is in love with India and family. She loves Jai and wants to settle down with him in India itself. Diya ends up proposing Sidharth. Though Sidharth loved Diya, he is uncertain about the fate of their relationship. He is afraid thinking that marriage might change their equation. But finally decides to marry Diya. Ram Kapoor, who essays the role of Diya’s father, Sarika (Jai’s mother), Taaha Shah Badusha (Tarun, Jai’s brother) and all others are excited about Jai and Diya’s marriage. Jai finds himself absolutely lost amidst all preparations. He takes out his frustrations at Diya. Diya gets disillusioned with Jai’s dilemma.

The film moves further through various events. Time clock moves ahead by days, months, years. What happens to Jai and Diya with the passing timeline and time leap? How do their lives change ? What all choices Jai make in his life and how his choices impact his relationship with Diya and also with his and her families ? Whether Jai gets a second chance in his life to choose a different set of actions than his previous ones ? Is Jai able to fix things ? How Jai goes through self-actualization process ?

There is no doubt that the film is based on a great concept and philosophy of life, but it suffers in the execution. The film lacks passion, brightness, humour. The film could have also shown the beauty as well as complexities of relationships in a much better manner.

Sidharth as Jai is good, Katrina is cold in her performance, lacked her passion of Newyork and Dhoom 3. The chemistry between Sidharth and Katrina is not established properly in the film. Sarika’s prosthetics looked bad in some scenes. Rajit had a small role but is good. Ram Kapoor is also ok.

As far as the music is concerned, although ‘Kala Chashma’ is ruling as a blockbuster song, the songs ‘Sau Aasman’, ‘Dariya’ sound very good.

Dialogues which are good: Badi baton pe nahi, choti baton pe dhyan do (Focus on small things and not on big things); Balance ke bagair koi equation perfect nahi hoti (No equation is perfect without balance).

Baar Baar Dekho is indeed based on great philosophies of life i.e. to live in present, to enjoy the small moments of life, and to have work-life balance. It also reiterates that one cannot afford to live life only on the basis of logics and calculations, but emotions and sensitivities have to be kept alive. With such a beautiful concept, the film should not have faltered in execution, the storytelling could have been more passionate.