The Night Was . . .

Here’s what Netflix has to say about Chalo Ishq Ladaaye:

Pappu (Govinda) has a loving relationship with his grandmother (Zora Sehgal), although she sees him as a man-child, grown up but still a kid at heart. When Pappu falls head over heels for Sapna (Rani Mukherjee), will his new love be able to coexist with the first and (before now) only woman in his life – his grandmother? Co-stars Sanjay Suri, Mink and Kader Kahn.

Well, they got the character names right, but that’s about all. Sapna is a famous actress, based closely on Rani; she’s certainly played all the same parts, as posters from various Rani films are seen throughout the movie. Pappu is “Fan Number One”; he sends Sapna anonymous letters every week (which for some reason this is seen as endearing rather than creepy) and sings in a band devoted to covering songs from Sapna’s films. Pappu lives with his domineering Grandmother, who berates him, slaps him, and takes every rupee he earns, giving him Rs. 50 a week in allowance. When Pappu decides to marry his childhood friend Bobby (Mink Singh) Grandmother refuses her consent. Bobby tells Pappu that the only solution is to bump off Grandmother, but Pappu can’t bring himself to do it.

Meanwhile, Sapna has problems of her own. She’s always dreamed of marriage, at last is engaged to Rahul (Sanjay Suri). When she walks in on Rahul with another woman, though, her dreams are crushed. Sapna threatens to kill Rahul and then storms out. Hours later, a drunken Sapna literally runs into Pappu. They discuss their mutual problems, and Pappu has an idea - they could switch murders! No one would suspect him of killing Rahul, or Sapna of killing Grandmother. A drunken Sapna agrees to the exchange, but when she wakes up she’s forgotten all about it. At least until she gets a phone call from Pappu, saying that Rahul has been taken care of and now it’s her turn . . .

You may think that the plot has been lifted from the Hitchcock classic Strangers on a Train, and you’re close. Chalo Ishq Ladaaye is actually based on the Danny DeVito/Billy Crystal black comedy Throw Momma From the Train. It’s a strange choice for Bollywood; the plot revolves around trying to kill an elderly family member, after all.

In addition to the murder thing, Throw Momma . . . is also an extended meditation on the writing process. Crystal’s character is suffering from writer’s block, and DeVito’s is just a bad writer. For both characters, the real happy ending lies in discovering (or re-discovering) one’s voice as a writer. None of that is in CIL. Instead, there’s some really strange (and to an American audience used to reports of celebrity stalkers, creepy) subtext about the relationship between a star and her fans. Sapna is intrigued by Pappu’s fanatical devotion; the film seems to be subtly (and at one point, blatantly) telling fans, “Keep hoping. This can happen to you, too!” And of course it can’t, since CIL is just a movie.

There’s an innocent attitude displayed throughout, of course; Pappu is merely a devoted fan, and doesn’t start stalking Sapna until after she fails to hold up her end of the pact. But given how closely Sapna is based on the famously single Rani’s public image, and given that Govinda is a phenomenally unlikely object of romantic desire, the whole thing seems . . . odd.

Latent creepiness aside, there are some genuinely funny moments here, mostly thanks to Zohra Sehgal, who steals the entire movie. Gulshan Grover is nicely sinister as the police officer investigating Rahul’s disappearance, assisted by a surprisingly competent Johnny Lever. Kader Khan chews the scenery as Sapna’s hapless assistant. Govinda recycles his usual schtick, while Rani does a good job playing an idealized version of herself.

Chalo Ishq Ladaaye tries to be a black comedy and a romance and a loving tribute to fans, all at the same time. The end result is more than a little disjointed. Zohra Sehgal is great, though.