Laga Chunari Mein Daag   Producer: Aditya Chopra and Pradeep Sarkar Director: Pradeep Sarkar Starring: Jaya Bachchan, Rani Mukherjee, Konkona Sen Sharma, Abhishek Bachchan, Kunal Kapoor, Anupam Kher, Amey Pandya, Baby Shriya Sharma, Hema Malini, Murli Sharma, Kamini Kaushal Tinu Anand, Harsh Chhaya, Sushant Singh, Taraana Raja, Suchitra Pillai, Ninad Kamat Music: Shantanu Moitra Lyrics: Swanand Kirkire Genre: Drama Recommended Audience: Parental Guidance Approximate Running Time: 2 hours and 30 minutes Film Released on: 12 October 2007 Reviewed by: Shruti Bhasin  - Rating: 4.5 / 10   Let us know what you think about this review Music Review

Its important not to beat around the bush…Laaga Chunari Mein Daag is a slow and boring film that will not appeal to most viewers. I was surprised to see that Pradeep Sarkar, whose first film Parineeta (2005) was engrossing from start to finish, had directed this snooze fest.

It immediately reminded me of the 1970s film Aaina, starring Mumtaz and Rajesh Khanna, though of course, there are major differences.

Laaga Chunari Mein Daag begins in Banaras, where we are introduced to 2 vibrant sisters, Vibha (Rani Mukerji) and Chutki (Konkana Sen Sharma). Their parents (Anupum Kher and Jaya Bhadhuri) are in financial difficulty and having a family battle. Vibha, being the eldest, decides to go to the city to find a high paying job and prove she can be just as good as a SON. Unfortunately, she sees nothing but failure and circumstances lead her into being a high-class call girl. She is ready to make this sacrifice to fund Chutki’s education and make her parents live an easier life.

Once Chutki finishes school, she comes to city and quickly finds a great job and falls in love with her co-worker (Kunal Kapoor). Vibha, also has a chance of being with Rohan (Abhishek Bachchan), but feels she doesn’t deserve love.

The drama continues when Vibha is blackmailed and she allows herself to be burdened even further. She wants to make sure that Chutki gets married without any commotion over her secret life. Does the marriage take place successfully? Does Vibha have a chance of having love and being accepted for who she really is? Have you seen enough Hindi movies to know the answers?

I detest watching a movie, where after 15 minutes, you can predict the rest of the plot (thanks to the revealing previews). Where is the element of surprise? It’s hard to empathize with the characters, especially with the justification for Vibha to think that she needs to sleep with strangers to make her family’s life content. What is she really trying to prove? What about her happiness? Is being a call girl the only job left for beautiful women who can’t find anything else?

Laaga Chunari Mein Daag has only one interesting portion; it’s when Chutki finds out her sister’s secret life as Natasha. It’s a shame because the movie had a lot of potential but falls flat.

You can’t think of anyone else but Rani Mukerji to play such a tortured character; she sleeps through her role and hardly smiles. Konkana Sen Sharma adds a lot of spice to Chutki and she is fun to watch on screen with each passing film. Kunal Kapoor is enjoyable and Abhishek Bachchan is very limited in his cameo. Anupum Kher is alright and Jaya Bhadhuri is wasted as a crying mother. Finally, Tinnu Anand and Sushant Singh, as the sinister relatives, are annoying and unnecessary to the plot.

Technically, the only thing worth mentioning is the nice cinematography in the first half. Music is better as a soundtrack than in the film, however Hum To Aise Hain is a peppy song to introduce the main characters. The screenplay is filled with flaws and too melodramatic to keep our interest. Pradeep Sarkar loses track of the main story and what comes out is one of YashRaj Films worst movies of 2007.

You need a lot of patience and sanity to sit through Laaga Chunari Mein Daag…save your energy and watch something else!