He is an architect, she is a hairdresser. He likes things clean, she is a chaotic mess. they are too different to be together, but we know they have to cross paths, get stuck to each other, share ‘senti’ stories and fall in love. There are no Brownie points for guessing the plot here. And yet, Shakun Batra’s romantic comedy keeps you engrossed, gets you giggling and makes you go awww.
Rahul (Khan) is that text-book good boy who drinks his milk, listens to his nagging, socialite Mom (Ratna Pathak-Shah, reprising her Maya Sarabhai act) and never speaks up. Even as he loses his job which isn’t good enough for his overbearing dad (Irani) he lies to his parents and continues to strive for their affections. As he figures out a way to deal with his stress, he crosses paths with Rianna Braganza (Kapoor). A free-spirited Rianna, newly single and jobless, asks Rahul out for a drink which turns into a drink too many and in a reprise of many-a-Hollywood films, they get married in a Vegas chapel. Rianna, jobless and hence homeless, shacks up with Rahul until she takes off for a vacation back home in Mumbai.
As she teaches him a thing or two about ‘living it up’, the next step for Rahul’s boring, seedha-sadha heart is to start doing cartwheels as Rianna — reminiscent of Jab We Met’s Geet — spikes his hair and takes him to massages. As the first half winds up with a corny sequence, we expect the film to start going downhill. But it surprises you with even quirkier, funnier characters — Rianna’s family. What I particularly love about EMAET is that it has those intense emo moments and just before they get too hammish, there’s a comic moment to break the intensity.
The film is a breath of fresh air from sci-fi, heists and action films. The story of the film doesn’t waver or go off-the-track much and yet it sticks to the typical rom-com format. The film offers you the same old same old in a brand new package. And hello, why is nobody making a film with Ratna Pathak-Shah with a Maya Sarabhai-esq character as a protagonist yet?
Verdict: Go watch! Immediately!