'Ek Main aur Ekk Tu' and the Evolution of the Bollywood Romantic Comedy

Romantic comedies in Bollywood have experienced a major resurrection in the past decade. While comedy and romance have always been a major part of the Bollywood tradition, there has been an upswing in quality, a change in tone and a more progressive outlook on topics like sex, family and the place of the youth in the world.

When I saw the Kareena Kapoor-Imran Khan film Ek Main aur Ekk Tu (2012), I thought it was yet another fresh, imaginative, funny film in the tradition of recent Bollywood rom-com hits like Band Baaja Baaraat (2010), Wake Up Sid (2009), Love Aaj Kal (2009), Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na (2008), Aisha (2010), Bachna Ae Haseeno (2008), I Hate Luv Storys (2010), Jab We Met (2007), Salaam Namaste (2006) and the film that started the trend Hum Tum (2004) among a few others.

While I hesitate to call this emergence of sophisticated romantic comedies a full-fledged "Golden Age," the last 8 years or so do have all the markings of one. There is a shift towards imaginative filmmaking, nuanced scripts with imperfect but three-dimensional characters, innovative soundtracks and perfect casting. That shift in Bollywood filmmaking began I think with Hum Tum, itself a loosely adapted Indian remake of the 1989 romantic comedy classic When Harry Met Sally.

Ek Main aur Ekk Tu continues the trend set by Hum Tum, Wake Up Sid, Band Baaja Baaraat and the rest. It tells the story of two people, straitlaced architect Rahul (Imran Khan) and free-spirited hairstylist Riana (Kareena Kapoor) who happen upon each other in Las Vegas, get drunk together and wake up married. The film spans the two weeks it takes for the annulment to go through and the pair get to know each other, help each other out and become friends.

The movie takes a typical rom-com setup--an uptight guy and a Manic Pixie Dream Girl forced together by alcohol and coincidences (mostly alcohol)--and infuses it with energy, wit and richly drawn characters. Now, okay, before you start screaming JAB WE MET!!! at me, I admit there are a few similarities between this film and the earlier one.

But EMAET is sort of a wiser, more cynical version of Jab We Met. While JWM's Geet was optimistic to the point of naivete, Riana is damaged but stronger for it. She's seen the worst of the world but hasn't lost her resolve to survive against it. Kareena Kapoor plays Riana with the same energy, winking sense of humor and intelligence as she did with Geet but this time around, there's a lot of pain and suffering behind the jokes, the sarcasm, the party-girl attitude. I could easily picture Riana at 22 being the same as Geet but now she's 27 and she's experienced a whole lot. In some ways, I like EMAET more than Jab We Met for that reason.

Imran Khan plays his character with a repression that's about to burst open; he's innocent but dying to lose that preciousness and break from his strict parents' set of rules and expectations. He finds that chance with Riana but their journey isn't as straightforward as Geet and Aditya's (Shahid Kapur) was in Jab We Met. While the premise isn't exactly unique, the execution should be praised for avoiding conventions. Even the ending defies all romantic comedy traditions that came before it without being clever for the sake of being clever.

Another new direction that these Bollywood romantic comedies are going is a move towards more progressive attitudes about love, sex, family and friendships. Riana's open and liberal family is a direct contrast to Rahul's strict and buttoned up family. Riana's family reminded me a lot of Shruti Kakkar's (Anushka Sharma) family in Band Baaja Baaraat. In that film, Shruti's family had no problem that she was platonically sleeping in the same bed as her male business partner Bittoo (Ranveer Singh). Same goes for Sid's (Ranbir Kapoor) parents in Wake Up Sid, who seemed to be okay that he was living with a young woman (Konkona Sensharma).

Another way these new-age romantic comedies defy convention is the way they present their musical numbers. While they all have at least one full-fledged song and dance number, for the most part they utilize the musical montage. Even when the movies do the full-fledged song and dance number, it's on their terms. Take for instance the subtly subversive "Aunty ji" from Ek Main aur Ekk Tu:



In a more traditional movie, the big number would probably go at this point in the narrative. Post-intermission, when the hero admits to himself that he's in love with the heroine and now we're meeting her family (think "Mehndi Lagake Rakhna" or Saif/Karisma in "Mhare Hiwda Mein Naache Mor").

But there are a few interesting things about "Aunty ji." 1) The song isn't a love song between the two leads, nor does the song have any thematic relation to the movie at all; 2) the song itself is depicted as an already hit song and everyone already knows the lyrics and signature steps; 3) the song may or may not be a sly joke about how Kareena Kapoor is older than Imran Khan both in real life and in character; and 4) the song is photographed with amazingly fluid camerawork, the choreography is exciting but simple and the video is energetic and zany to match the big band Amit Trivedi-composed song.

Speaking of "bands," Band Baaja Baaraat (a weak transition, I know) is perhaps the best example of this new trend of young filmmakers taking Bollywood traditions and making them their own. The love song, "Aadha Ishq" (embedded below), is a great example of this. In a more traditional film, the song would be an full-on dream sequence but the song seamlessly cuts between Shruti's romantic fantasies and real life (Band Baaja Baaraat is nothing if not an incredible achievement in film editing). In her fantasy, she and Bittoo are happy and in love. In real life, however, Bittoo's inevitable rejection of her is written all over his face. He's uncomfortable around her but she's too blinded by puppy love to notice.



It's a brilliant setup: juxtaposing the sweet and romantic Bittoo in Shruti's dream world with the awkward and hesitant one in the real life. It isn't until Shruti experiences a truly romantic, filmi moment in real life--and Bittoo, finally seeing that look in her eyes, rejects her wordlessly--that the two worlds collide and heartbreak wins. This song, which normally would have broken the flow of the narrative, allows for the plot to advance while also giving the audience some insight into the main characters' feelings and mindset.

Both "Aunty ji" and "Aadha Ishq" take well-worn Bollywood conventions--the big dance number and the love song--and play with them to create a new form of musical storytelling, one that both fulfills expectations and defies them.

That's really what these new romantic comedies are about. The genre itself is not inherently surprising. People go see romantic comedies in order to see a typical romance play out with likable leads and some dashes of comedy. But these young filmmakers take that expectation and weave some nuanced and subversive tales without even calling attention to their own cleverness.

With Hum Tum planting the seeds all the way back in 2004, the Bollywood romantic comedy has grown and morphed into one of Bollywood's most progressive and interesting genres. Ek Main aur Ekk Tu is the latest example of a new-age romantic comedy that acknowledges Bollywood conventions but refuses to bend to it. I certainly hope the genre continues to grow so we can see how these young filmmakers can push the envelopes while working within the system.