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*may contain spoilers*

It may be hard to digest a film like One 2 Ka 4. With one of Bollywood's most loved jodi's, Shah Rukh Khan and Juhi Chawla, it had such potential. The film could have been an enthralling suspense thriller but instead switches multiple tracks from comedy to romance to mystery, etc. The script never really settles on any one genre and, as a result, ends up being a mish-mash of different plot elements. As many movies look for "inspiration" from Hollywood, this film is no exception and takes it's cue from the buddy cop flick genre, borrowing some scenes directly from the Lethal Weapon series. It teeters dangerously between being a waste of time and being worth watching. Though the writing is second rate, the direction is often choppy, and the action sequences nearly seem like they have been taken directly from a spoof movie, the film redeems itself with gorgeous locales, great music, and good acting.


Shah Rukh delivers a spirited performance, lending dignity to some of the hard-to-digest scenes. He brings a certain vulnerability and sensitivity with masses of charm as Arun. The film is that much more watchable because Shah Rukh really raises it to a much higher level than the film achieves. One of my favorite scenes in the entire movie is a quiet moment between Arun and Geeta in which they are discussing what the future may hold for them. I wonder, however, if it takes a certain amount of courage to portray something as out and out silly as in the "I'm Sorry" picturization.


Juhi Chawla, a veritable goddess of the silver screen, is wonderful, playing Geeta with just the right amount of charisma in every scene. To do comedy is not easy but she is almost perfect in her role, very funny and frankly, I cannot imagine anyone better than her.

Jackie Shroff is competent in a brief but significant role. Nirmal Pandey was simply awful overacting outrageously in every single scene he was in. Perhaps making faces is what acting is all about.

One had high hopes with this film in respects to it's music, and, for the most part, AR Rahman delivers an inspired soundtrack. The composer has concentrated on melody, with the orchestration not dominating the songs. Utilizing the industry's best playback artists like Sonu Nigam, Lata Mangeshkar, and Udit Narayan, the vocals are spot on. However, 'Alley Alley' left me feeling a little weird.


So, in the end, the audience is left with a half-baked, inconsistent script with loopholes galore and nothing to show for itself, except for a fantastic turn by Juhi Chawla and Shah Rukh Khan and great music.