Baar Baar Dekho


Baar Baar Dekho is a 2016 Indian science fiction romance film directed by Nitya Mehra which marks her debut in Hindi cinema. The film stars Sidharth Malhotra and Katrina Kaif. It is heavily inspired from Click starring Adam Sandler.
The film was released in India on 9 September 2016.

Plot

Jai Verma and Diya Kapoor are childhood sweethearts. Jai is a mathematics professor and Diya, an artist. While Jai hopes to get a fellowship at Cambridge University, Diya wishes to marry her long-term boyfriend. Jai reluctantly agrees to marry her, but changes his mind because of the thought of the seven vows and the billion rituals, as well as the fear of divorce. Jai criticizes these meaningless rituals and talks negatively of his marriage. He tells Diya that he has other plans for his bright future and she may not be a part of it. She walks away heartbroken. Jai gets drunk and passes out only to wake up in Thailand on his honeymoon. He discovers that it's been ten days since he married Diya. He has no memory of it at all.
Next up, in 2018, he wakes up in Cambridge, only to find his wife about to deliver their child. He discovers that it has been two years since his marriage. He realises he has been time travelling and has no control over it.
Next time, in 2034, he wakes up, he is a professor at Cambridge University, his dream job. It has been eighteen years since his marriage. To his horror, Jai realises that it is the day when he and Diya are divorced. Heartbroken, he returns home and pleads to return to the past to set things right.
Jai wakes up the next day, in 2023, realizing he is in the past, seven years after his marriage. He juggles many priorities of his family and career. However Jai gives more priority to work and instead of going for Diya's first art exhibition, he goes to his friend Chitra's place to help her with her breakup. Chitra tries to have an affair with Jai. Believing it to be the cause of his divorce, Jai hastily returns home, but his family is unhappy with him.
Jai is however convinced that he has set things right. The next day, in 2047, he wakes up to find himself in his 60 year old self. He finds out that his mother had died and everyone gathered for her funeral. After the funeral, Jai is shocked that he and Diya are still divorced and that Diya had married art gallery owner Nikhil Khanna, her show opener, who enjoyed the love of Jai's mother and children.
Reeling from this blow, Jai comes across the priest who had conducted his marriage, who warns him of the importance of time. Jai is given another opportunity to set things right as he goes back in 2023 on time to the same day, seven years after his marriage. This time, he sets things right. He spends time with his children, does his work well and makes Diya feel special and attends her art exhibition. At the end of the day, Jai is a happy man.
Jai wakes up back into the present, the day after he argued with Diya about his life and his career. Jai rushes back to her, cherishing every moment along the way, also glad to see his mother again, seemingly back from the dead. Jai reconciles with Diya promises to be true to her. The film ends with them marrying and everyone dancing.

Cast

Development

In October 2013, it was announced that Nitya Mehra, assistant director to films Life of Pi and The Reluctant Fundamentalist, would be making her directorial debut with Excel Entertainment on their new project. Aamir Khan and Deepika Padukone were initially attached, but both eventually left the project. Anushka Sharma was also offered the female lead but she turned it down as well. In September 2014, it was officially announced that the film will be co-produced by Karan Johar of Dharma Productions and that Sidharth Malhotra will feature in the film. Later in April 2015, Katrina Kaif was confirmed to feature in the film, opposite Malhotra. The film was initially titled Kal Jisne Dekha.

Filming

began on August 28, 2015, in Glasgow, Scotland, and went for over a month. Filming then continued in Delhi and Mumbai from November 2015 onwards. On February 22, 2016, the team filmed "Sau Aasmaan" in Krabi, Thailand, for a week.

Budget

According to Box Office India, the film had a total budget of 530 million. However, The Indian Express stated that budget was around 350 million excluding the cost of printing & marketing which are generally not considered part of the budget.

Soundtrack

The music is composed by Amaal Mallik, Arko, Badshah, Jasleen Royal, Bilal Saeed, and Prem Hardeep. The first song "Kala Chashma" was released on 27 July 2016. The full music album was released on 3 August 2016. The music rights are acquired by Zee Music Company.

Release

Certification issue

In August 2016, the film was granted a U/A certificate by the Central Board of Film Certification. However, the examining committee of the board asked the producers to remove two visuals from the film which involved sequences depicting an actor wearing a brassiere and another referencing Savita Bhabhi, a popular Indian pornographic cartoon character.

Reception

Box office

India

Baar Baar Dekho released alongside Sohail Khan's sports romantic comedy Freaky Ali and collected 6.81 crore on its opening day in India beating Freaky Ali's 2.55 crore. On the second day, the film showed growth in its occupancy and collected 7.65 crore before its breakdown on the third day where it collected 6.70 crore and reached the first weekend collection of 21.16 crore. The film then started its break down as it collected 8.34 crore in the next four days and with that the film made its first collection of 29.50 crore. In the second week it collected 1.75 crore and then 6 lakh and 2 lakh in the third and fourth week, respectively. The film's net collection was 31.24 crore while its grossing in India was 43.39 crore.

Overseas

The film showed impressive grossing overseas by collecting 6.54 crore, 2.99 crore, and 2.67 crore from North America, UK, and UAE, respectively. The film also collected 50 lakh from Pakistan, 91 lakh from Australia, and 28 lakh from New Zealand.

Critical response

gave the film 1 out 5, calling it "catastrophically stupid," and commenting that "a feeble script is built on constant, relentless revelations with artlessly expository dialogues." Subhash K. Jha from NDTV gave the movie 4/5, and mentioned that there "is plenty to celebrate in Baar Baar Dekho, not the least of its virtues being the ability to deliver marital home truths without sermons or soliloquies." Writing for The Hindu, Namrata Joshi commented that the movie features "passionless performances and cardboard characters" that lack depth. "There are no standout performances, no scenes that can pack in an emotional wallop and the conversational dialogue turns banal beyond a point." The Indian Express gave the movie 1.5 out of 5, noting that "Katrina Kaif’s limited emoting abilities, Sidharth Malhotra’s one-note performance and a banal script" make watching the film once "way more than enough." India Today criticized the performance of the lead actors in the film: "Sidharth Malhotra and Katrina Kaif both seem to think they are in the film to make it look good. There's hardly any acting on the part of either. While Katrina's moments of frustration and sorrow invoke the stray laugh from the theatre, Sidharth's neither-here-nor-there Jai hardly makes an impact."

Accolades

AwardCategoryRecipient/NomineeResult
Filmfare AwardsBest Playback Singer – FemaleNeeti Mohan for "Sau Aasmaan"
Stardust AwardsBest Female PlaybackNeeti Mohan for "Sau Aasmaan"
Zee Cine AwardsBest ChoreographyBosco-Caesar for "Kala Chashma"
Mirchi Music AwardsUpcoming Male Vocalist of The YearArko Pravo Mukherjee for "Dariya"