Laaga Chunari Mein Daag

Hindi movies were never well-known for logic but with Laaga Chunari Mein Daag, Pradeep Sorcar takes this equation to the next level. I mean, his ‘twelfth-class-not-passed-salwar-kameez-clad’ heroine progresses from singing “jeb mein hamri duhi rupaiyya” to earning millions as a high-profile escort in a matter of minutes. And even worse, her parents gleefully decorate their home with the money she sends (“aangan mein marble hi lagaana”, she tells them), without smelling a rat.
OK, first things first… To save her parents from penury and an uncle who threatens them with a court case, Vibhawari (or Badki, as they call her) sets off the Mumbai looking for a job. Now being the ambitious girl that she is, she starts looking for jobs in a call centres and government offices. Now remember that she hasn’t even passed the twelfth standard and cannot speak English… And then surprise, surprise, she comes across some big bad wolves and in forced into prostitution. A friend gives her some amazing advice (like how she can make big bucks by becoming a prostitute…err…an escort), some beauty tips and a new name. In the next scene we see the village belle Vibhawari transform into the skimpily-clad Natasha. And then before we can say “What the hell” she is on a plane to Zurich as some rich businessman’s ‘PR Associate’ mouthing some profound dialogues on how patents are used by developed countries to exploit the poor ones. And the devoted audience is nobody else but a very good-looking Abhishek Bachchan, a, ahem, famous patents attorney. Again surprise, surprise, he falls in love with her, because, he later tells her, she was chanting the Hanuman Chalisa. Yeah whatever… So what we get next is a paid for tour of Switzerland. If you haven’t fallen asleep yet, you come to know that Vibhawari’s sister Shubhawari (oh yeah) has come to Mumbai for a job in an advertising agency where she meets and falls in love with the gorgeous Kunal Kapoor. They decide to get married. Now guess who turns up at the wedding? Good old Abhi! He happens to be the groom’s brother. Well, he proposes marriage to Vibhawari who is compelled to refuse. When she tells him the reason for her refusal, he mouths some clichéd dialogues like how he respects her and had known the truth all along. And so they get married and live happily ever after.
So you see, the movie is nothing but all the usual plots mixed and matched to cook up some melodrama. Melodrama is the essence of Hindi movies but when things go OTT it risks being completely ridiculous. And this is precisely the problem with this film.
But to be fair, one must credit the film with some great acting. Rani Mukherjee, Konkana Sen and Jaya Bachchan are very, very good. And though the male cast is not very present they do make their mark felt and look good.
All in all, the movie will appeal only to hard-core Hindi melodrama lovers.