Film: MP3 (Mera Pehla Pehla Pyaar)

Director: Robby Grewal

Producer: Percept Picture Company

Cast: Ruslaan, Hazel, Kanwaljit Singh, Manoj Pahwa, Gaurav Gera

Rating: 2.5/5

It’s about those times in school and college that one keeps referring to… Puppy love, impressing the opposite gender, ensuring you have a one up over your friends; we have all done it at some point in time. MP3 is an adorable reminder of that.

Rohan Sood (Ruslaan), is the least bit studious, his school is his playground. Thankfully enough he has a father who caters to his fancies. Ayesha (Hazel) joins the same school, having returned from London. Cupid does his job and they after many fleeting encounters begin to fancy each other.

But then what is love without some misunderstanding thrown in? The cute couple quarrel over something someone said and Ayesha leaves for France. The only rational option left is for Rohan to make up for it by telling her he loves her… under the Eiffel Tower. Off he goes, but then one thing leads to another and in the city of love, he cannot find his love.

It is the level of freshness that makes you smile. This one takes you back the days when school was where we headed each day. The screenplay in itself is well executed. Unlike a lot many movies, the kids in this film behave their age and their actions reinforce that.

The character styling and conceptualization is yet again notable. You see yourself recalling those actions on screen or thinking about what your kid is actually doing. This level of involvement is what keeps the yawn away. Each character is etched with such believability that the ‘but’ factor does not arise.

Since the film is all fun, the light nature of the dialogues, work in its favor. The lines convey the innocence of the characters and the fun element of the school days.

However, though the film scores on its well etched characters, decent performances and a delightful screenplay, there are a lot of loose ends as well. To begin with the camerawork is very mediocre. The camera moves at random and fails to capture the moment clearly.

The editing is the biggest letdown in the film. Good editing could have taken the film up by many notches. There is no build up, even in the last twenty minutes of the film, which is ideally meant to have you ecstatic, leaves you with just a smirk. The music does not help either. While the music captures the youthfulness of the film, its placement in the film is neither justified nor enjoyable.

The editing is sour, however the bountiful freshness in the film is brough by the actors. Ruslaan does exceedingly well, just as his friends do. Hazel too fills the screen with freshness, but then until the second half puts up an average performance. Singh, Pahwa and Gera play their short roles well; one would have liked to see more of them.

This week a host of films are competing to win the box office glory. While MP3 is not going to bag the medal, it will certainly do a decent business. If a positive word of mouth spreads, expect to see a whole lot of students standing at the ticket window.

If you have the hours to spare, then MP3 proves to be a cute reminder of fun filled times.