Gautham
Menon
is
back
to
Bollywood
with
his
second
offering.
The
director
tasted
a
big
success
with
his
Tamil
movie
Vinnaithaandi
Varuvaayaa,
which
he
later
remade
in
Telugu
as
Ye
Maaya
Chesave.
Now,
he
has
adapted
the
same
iconic
love
story
to
Hindi
as
Ek
Deewana
Tha.
Although
he
has
his
own
dramatic
and
emotional
moments,
he
fails
to
make
the
viewers
completely
absorb
in
the
love
story.
Vinnaithaandi
Varuvaayaa
is
a
beautiful
love
story
and
Gautham
Menon
has
changed
several
aspect
including
climax
to
suit
the
taste
of
Hindi
audience
in
Ek
Deewana
Tha.
Prateik
Babbar's
performance
in
the
main
highlight
in
it.
AR
Rahman's
music,
Javed
Akthar's
lyrics,
Gautham's
story,
MS
Prabhu's
camera
work
and
beautiful
locations
are
the
other
highlights
of
the
film.
Ek
Deewana
Tha
is
a
usual
love
story,
which
has
much
needed
drama
and
emotions.
Gautham
Menon
has
created
some
of
the
very
beautiful
moments
to
viewers
in
the
first
half.
But
his
narration
turns
very
slow
in
the
second
hour
and
a
few
episodes
drive
the
viewers
apart
from
the
world
of
Sachin
and
Jessie.
Sachin
(Prateik)
is
a
BE
graduate
from
a
middle
class
family
in
Mumbai,
but
he
wants
to
become
a
director.
One
day,
he
falls
in
love
with
Jessie
(Amy
Jackson)
at
first
sight.
But
instead
of
having
love
affair,
Jessie,
who
belongs
to
an
orthodox
Malayali
Christian
family,
tries
to
forge
a
friendship
between
them.
What
happens
next
will
form
the
crux
of
the
movie.
Pratheik
Babbar
has
intricate
role
and
he
has
played
it
in
an
authoritative
style.
The
Dhobi
Ghat
star
has
delivered
a
matured
act.
Amy
Jackson
also
looks
charming
and
she
has
carried
off
her
part
splendidly.
Others
like
Manu
Rishi,
Sachin
Khedekar,
Babu
Antony,
Ashwin
Kakumanu,
Samantha
and
Ramesh
Sippy
have
done
justice
to
their
respective
roles.
AR
Rahman's
musical
score
is
the
major
attraction
in
the
technical
front
and
the
his
composition
'Hosanna'
is
pick
of
everyone.
MS
Prabhu
has
contributed
some
stunning
visuals
and
he
has
wonderfully
captured
the
scenic
beauty
of
Kerala.
Manu
Rishi's
dialogues
are
commendable.
However,
editor
Anthony
Gonsalves
could
have
cut
short
the
length
of
the
movie.
In
a
nutshell,
Ek
Deewana
Tha
is
good
romantic
thriller
and
this
can
be
good
for
this
Valentine's
season.
Producer:
Gautham
Menon
Director:
Gautham
Menon
Cast:
Pratheik
Babbar,
Amy
Jackson,
Manu
Rishi,
Sachin
Khedekar,
Babu
Antony,
Ashwin
Kakumanu,
Samantha
and
Ramesh
Sippy
Music:
AR
Rahman
Story first published: Friday, February 17, 2012, 16:14 [IST]