Oooh boy. Where do I begin? I’m a Bollywood fan-girl but my love and appreciation reached its limit here.
Taking inspiration from 1998 superhit, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, Koi Aap Sa makes no pretence about its admiration for the former film, even thanking the director Karan Johar in the opening credits. I have no problem with that except it unsuccessfully tries to channel everything from the narrative to music (is it just a coincidence that the actress who plays the tomboy best friend also has a one-name moniker like Kajol?) There is a big difference between being deliberately cheesy (which makes up some of KKHH’s most memorable moments), as opposed to just cheesy with hackneyed comedy and dialogue, which is the case of Koi Aap Sa.
Produced by Ekta Kapoor, who is a successful producer of TV soapies in India, many parts of Koi Aap Sa do feel like a bad headcase of The Bold and The Beautiful. Tolerable for 30 min, not for 141 min (oops, was that my finger on the the forward button?). The one thing the film does do well and which most Bollywood films seem to excel at is the celebratory wedding scenes. No hushed anticipation and respectful clapping here. Happy weddings Bollywood style are colourful, raucous and usually filled with some gorgeous dancing. Bravo — however such inspired moments are too few and far between.
With nearly 1000 movies produced each year in India, you can do better than pick this TV soap on 35mm.