ISI LIFE MEIN

Isi Life Mein is a movie which is truly inspiring for the youth. It has all the flavors of what one goes through in college life along with the various challenges that one faces through the years of growing from a youngster to an young adult.

The director Vidhi Kasliwal who is also young has created quite a magical tale of love, hate, strange feelings of awkwardness and lack of confidence which the youth are surrounded by. The element of over-confidence and the effects are also well conjectured in the format of the film which is indeed awe inspiring.

The basic storyline revolves around a group of friends in college and how each one aspires to be different from the other and yet wants to reach for the stars and succeed in life to the fullest. The basic idea outlined in the movie is that there is so much to do and so little time in hand as every dream has to be achieved in this life itself –therefore the title Isi Life Mein.

Rajnandini played by Sandeepa Dhar, is a down to earth girl who has been brought up in very traditional way with a lot of do’s and don’ts in life. As Rajnandini has to shift to the city for pursuing her studies she meets this group of friends who are very different from her friends back home.

The challenges she faces to adjust and with Vivian’s help (played by Akshay Oberoi) she overcomes her inhibitions, only to find out that every youngster has the same problems to face whether he or she comes from the village or from the city.

The movie is a great treat for the mind and the heart and like a breath of fresh air.

Isi Life Mein by Rajshri Productions is lifeless agenda even though the movie makers have tried so hard to make it a wholesome family entertainer.

The romance does not work and neither does the family portions of the movie. The culprit for this is the film writer as supposed.

The movie deals with two young bloods Sandeepa Dhar and Akhshay Oberoi who meet in Mumbai. Akhshay has been living in Mumbai while Sandeepa goes there for her studies and actually hails from Ajmer.

Akhshay is a part of her college and is the head of the dramatics society. Even though love brews in between the two but the actuality does not come forth until the end.

Vidhi Kasliwal the director of this movie has done a good job by pouring in the Rajshri tradition along with the urban-centric themes that are equipped with absolute regularity.

As a part of the movie there is family bonding, desi sentiments and noble intentions that form a part of the movie.

During the first half the flick is slow and the story can be said to take a lot from HUM AAPKE HAIN KOUN but the progress in the story line can be felt during the second hour. But even with the twists nothing much is seen.

The USP of this movie is the production banner and it is like most Rajshri flicks that even this one has extra nice characters that are sugar sweet.

The filming of the songs is good but the music is nothing special. The lead actors of this movie have done a good job and are surely talented without a second doubt.

saccharine sweet romance from Rajshri's posing to be progressive. But the fresh new pair of Akshay-Sandeepa is definitely worth checking out.

Debutant director Vidhi Kasliwal has clearly made this film under the strong influence of her uncle Sooraj Barjatya who coined his own syntax of cinema - of platonic romance and marriage ceremonies. The script is pretty hackneyed and therefore predictable. But the setting, cast and the music is refreshing - making up somewhat - for the moth-eaten plot. Rajnandini (Sandeepa) is a cute teenager from a small town in Rajasthan. She’s kept on a tight rope by her disciplinarian dad (Mohnish Bahl) and restrictive granny (Shagufta Ali, imagine she’s now been reduced to playing daadi roles!) However her liberal minded mom (Prachee Shah) wants to give wings to her gifted daughter’s dreams. So she bundles off her daughter to Mumbai under the pretext of learning
exotic cookery but in reality she admits her to a college for further studies. Well this college is full of prismatic graffiti, vivacious students dedicated to the Dramatic Society. Academics hardly seem to figure anywhere on the campus. The students are casting, rehearsing or promoting their play for most of the time. Into such dramatic setting walks in our sweet, naïve and conservative Rajnandini. Just like the good old 60s, our heroine starts off by confronting Vivaan (Akshay Oberoi), the college stud by refusing to let him into the auditorium because he has no entry ticket. Tsk, tsk not realizing that he’s the head of the said dramatic society!! Well one thing leads to another and Rajnandini ends up joining the drama gang. She even lands the lead role in their next play, Taming Of The Shrew with Vivaan as her hero and director.

Too much fun is happening Isi Life Mein and you know a jerk is just round the corner. And sure enough, the disciplinarian dad drops by to check his daughter’s progress in culinary art and that very day Rajnandini, now known among her friends as RJ, has gone in for a makeover from shorn stresses to a slinky dress! Ouch, dad hauls her over the coals for lack of “sanskar” and whisks her off from the foul company of the mod pals. Back in Rajasthan, he quickly arranges Rajnandini’s marriage to a wealthy groom. But of course, DDLJ style Vivaan and his gang gate crash the wedding celebrations and start ingratiating themselves to the family. Like the girls take over the make-up and hair for all the wedding guests while the boys take over the decoration department. Vivaan searches for fat granny’s slippers from under her bed! And when the ‘ladkewale’ demand for some extra wedding gifts, Vivaan and his gang raise the requisite funds from their own belongings – camera, jewelry and the dramatic society funds. Cute na! That’s when RJ’s dad gets a rude awakening call from his conscience. You see, that’s what the basic premise of the film is according to the young director Vidhi – never mind if they use swear words or not touch their elder’s feet, today’s youth has it’s heart in the right place – they go to any length to help their friends!

Ah all is well that ends well! The teen lovers are finally united. To debutant director Vidhi’s credit, the film flows easy but the script remains time warped. Akshay Oberoi’s melting eyes and Sandeepa Dhar’s natural innocence make them a charming couple. Never mind that they really have no romantic scenes or chemistry in the film, but they fit their parts perfectly. Rest of the gang is nothing like Jaane Tu Na Jaane Na… but it comprises stock characters like the fat friend, bossy girl and the besura singer et al. Shailesh Mahadik and Sheetal Kanvinde’s sets blend in well with the story and Aviram Mishra’s cinematography is picturesque. But Abhay Pandey’s edit should have been much sharper in the climatic scene of staging of the drama, which stretched on endlessly. Music by Meet Bros Anjjan is refreshing, modern and catchy. But on the whole, the Rajshri entrant serves old wine in a new bottle, she doesn’t dare to think out of the box.