Mp3 - Mera Pehla Pehla Pyaar Movie Review: Mp3: Mera Pehla Pehla Pyaar: A tame love story

Director Robby Grewal's directorial was Samay, starring Sushmita Sen, a suspense thriller which although did not create ripples at the box office, proved that Robby was a skilled director. For his second film, he shifts gears completely and this time takes on a young, school romance as the subject of his film and chooses to work with newcomers this time around.

The teens are a period of much turbulence as we all know and Grewal's take on take on that generation is much inspired from those cute, saccharine sweet Hallmark cards which may not go down too well with those expecting a more realistic love story; but then again that's what school romances were all about right? Otherwise there is nothing really wrong with the film. Except perhaps for the second half, where the script goes haywire and mush reigns supreme. The first half of the film moves well.

Mp3 is a school romance and the first half of the film introduces the lead protagonists and the bunch of teenagers who form their friends. There are the usual pranks and the usual teenager talk. The lingo bit is done quite well. The initial romance is also quite teenager like, with all its endearing clumsiness. The director has not erred in capturing teen speech etc. Unfortunately, there is a sense of familiarity about the whole thing. We've all seen it before. And better.

The protagonist Rohan (played by newcomer Ruslaan) and Ayesha (Hazel), the new girl in school meet in not-so-pleasant circumstances. But they gradually fall in love. Thankfully, there are no opposing parents or rich-poor divide here. The misunderstanding and the ensuing separation is created by something very trivial but it results in the girl making off to Paris. Rohan has to go to Paris and meet his ladylove, whose dream it is to be kissed under the Eiffel Tower for the first time (because that's what had happened to her mother as well). The rest of the film deals with the desperate measures that Rohan and his friends take to ensure that he reaches Paris.

The lead pair are quite pleasant to look at and perform adequately. Ruslaan is quite confident and Hazel is pretty enough. The two look good together but there is no real chemistry happening here. The film is very young teenager take on romance so there is lot of 'sweetness' to it which neither galls nor does it gladden. It just is.

The music by Vipin Mishra is no great shakes. Music could have played a great role in romance. And it's impossible to think of romances in Hindi films and not have great music to fall back upon. Unfortunately, there isn't memorable number in the album. Nothing that one can take back home.

The film, amidst its several flaws, displays Robby's versatility in genres and although the screenplay is frail, Robby handles the newcomers well and also succeeds in taking you back to you school days and reminding you of the innocence and purity of first love. A good story teller, Robby makes use of the various locales and one can only wish he had a better story to tell.