Band Baaja Baraat (2010, Hindi)

Cast: Ranveer Singh, Anushka Sharma

Cast in the same mould as the so-called modern twist to the classic Bollywood love story, this plot isn't unfamiliar. In a chance meeting at a wedding he crashes, Bitoo (Ranveer Singh) a maverick college lad takes a romantic liking to Shruti (Anushka). Pragmatic Shruti though hasn't the time for love--she dreams of pursuing a career in wedding planning. Faced with the unsavory prospect of returning to his village to farm, Bitoo opts to stay on persuading Shruti to take him on as her business assistant. Soon they become partners successively scoring bigger gigs and influential customers.

Hiccups emerge along the way between the two when after a night of partying, things get intimate. While Shruti starts to fall for him, the feeling isn't mutual. Hurt, Shruti ends their business relationship. They part ways but individually their business endeavors fall flat until they realize the strength of their coming together. A simple well-executed plot, spiffy direction, and sharp dialogues make the two plus hours of watching endurable. The movie centers around the culture and local speak of suburban Delhi, which make the lead characters that much more realistic and endearing. Ranveer in his debut role strikes a confident rapport on screen and looks like a better carbon copy of Ranbir Kapoor with better histrionics. Anushka fits her role to a T, playing the sensible, spirited Shruti without fuss.

Rating: Three and a half stars.