Pal Pal Dil Ke Paas Movie Review, Release Date, Star Cast, Story
Pal Pal Dil Ke Paas Movie Release Date:
20th September, 2019
Pal Pal Dil Ke Paas Star Cast:
Karan Deol as Karan Sehgal
Sahher Bambba as Saher Sethi
Kallirroi Tziafeta as Karan’s mother
Swarit Sur as Young Karan
Suresh Sur as Karan’s Father
Ritika Thakur as Aditi
Kapil Negi as Aditi’s Father
Mahesh Pillai as Kukreja
Diksha Bahl as Vaishali
Anuradha Kalia as Nimmo Aunty
Pal Pal Dil Ke Paas Movie Review:
In 1983, Dharmendra launched his elder son Sunny in the love story BETAAB, which proved to be a huge success in every way. After 36 years, life comes full circle as Sunny Deol now prepares himself to launch his elder son Karan Deol with Pal Pal Dil Ke Paas. Sunny is not only a producer but he also wears the hat of the director. The film has been in the making for a long time and has been shot in the virgin areas of the Himalayas. So does history repeat itself with Pal Pal Dil Ke Paas and does it succeed? Or fails to touch the hearts of the audience? Let’s analyze.
Pal Pal Dil Ke Paas is a love story set amidst the beauty of the Himalayas and the ugly politics of Delhi. Karan Sehgal (Karan Deol) lives in Manali and is the owner of the very popular Camp Ujhi Dhar. When he was 10 years old, he lost his parents in an avalanche while looking for the elusive snow leopard. The most expensive trekking package offered by Camp Ujhi Dhar is Rs. 5 lakhs and includes solo trekking with an expert. Delhi-based vlogger Saher Sethi (Saher Bamba), who has just taken a break from her boyfriend Vinny (Akash Ahuja), signs up for it as an excuse to avoid relatives visiting her home. The expenses are borne by her company for which she vlogs. Saher is known to malign hotels and tour companies with her acidic vlogs and is set to do the same with Camp Ujhi Dhar. She believes in charging Rs. 5 lakh is like robbery by the camp in broad daylight. Karan himself takes the responsibility of taking Sahar on a 5-day trek. Initially, she hates Karan and says negative things about him in her daily vlogs. On the other hand, even Karan doesn’t think too much about Sahar. But gradually both fall in love with each other. Saher changes her mind and realizes that Trek is the best thing that has happened to her. She returns to Delhi and keeps in touch with Karan. She breaks up with Vinnie, angering him. But he doesn’t show up and pretends to be calm with her decision. Karan, unable to survive without her, reaches Delhi when she signals to him that she misses him too. They express their love for each other. Vinny decides to execute a devious plan to bring Saher back into his life. The scheme involves his elder brother Sushant Narang (Akash Dhar), who is contesting elections, and the son of Ratna Narang (Meghna Malik), who has been in politics for two decades. What happens next becomes the rest of the film.
The story of Jaswinder Singh Bath and Ravi Shankaran has been beaten to death and is very simple. It is shocking that such a story has been accepted today. Jaswinder Singh Bath and Ravi Shankaran’s screenplay is also poor, especially in the second half. The first half is also nothing special but the mountaineering bit makes it watchable. The dialogues of Jaswinder Singh Bath and Ravi Shankaran are also not memorable.
Sunny Deol’s direction is simple and decent. He executes the mountaineering sequences very well in the first half. Furthermore, he does justice to the scenes and locales at his disposal. Unfortunately, since the script itself is so weak and outdated, his execution fails to save the film. He tries to enhance the appeal of the film with action and even a sequence on the racing circuit. Then there’s a bizarre snow leopard sequence, but it works because he directs it well. But these factors may not be of much help when the script itself is not up to the mark.
PAL PAL DIL KE PAAS has a very bad beginning, showing Karan’s childhood and his present life. Saher’s entry scene is also convincing and the attempt to be funny goes awry. Interest is determined after the trek begins. The best scene of the film is when Saher faints due to altitude sickness and Karan carries her on his back and treks down a steep slope. Rest of the scenes are fine and the interest remains due to the locations and trekking factor. The second half begins with the track ‘Dil Ud Patang’. Things then go downhill as there is no such story in the second half. And whatever the story is, it is very cliche and routine. In addition, it is very predictable. The action scene piques the interest and personally, it works. But as part of the film, it will not be liked by the audience. The ending is very simple and disjointed.
Karan Deol makes a genuine effort but still, it falls short. He is very raw and still needs guidance to be a good actor. The scene in which he is running has a strange smile on his face and it gives the impression away. Trying to roar like his father in action sequences will work with front benchers though. Saher Bamba meanwhile does very well and his on-screen presence is superb. Akash Ahuja is fine as the villain. Kamini Khanna (Saher’s grandmother) is cute and laughs in a funny scene. Meghna Malik leaves a huge impression. Akash Dhar, Simone Singh (Saher’s mother), Sachin Khedekar (Saher’s father), Nupur Nagpal (Natasha), Vijayant Kohli (Kapil Gupta) and Kaliroi Tjiafeta (Karan’s mother) are decent.
The music is fine but some songs are shot well. ‘Pal Pal Dil Ke Paas’ comes at a turning point. ‘Ho Ja Awara’ is the best because of its filming. After this comes ‘Dil Ud Patanga’. Because of Karan’s acting, ‘half too much’ is not able to work. ‘Ishq Chaliya’ is forgettable. ‘Maa Ka Mann’ is very soulful but comes at a very disjointed point in the film. The background score of Raju Singh and Rishi Rich is quite exciting.
The cinematography by Himman Dhameja and Ragul Dharuman is superb. The locations of Himachal Pradesh have been shot beautifully. The entire team must be given credit for shooting the film in locations that have never been seen before on celluloid. Not only the mountain scenes, the second half has also been shot well. Resul Pookutty’s sound design adds to the impact. Amardeep Behl and Tina Dharmase’s production design is eye-catching. The costumes of Niharika Khan and Vishakha Kullarwar are very glamorous, especially the one worn by Sahar Bamba. Vikram Dahiya’s action is spot on. Prime Focus’s VFX is quite decent and could have been better in the Snow Leopard sequence. Devendra Murdeshwar’s editing could have been slow, given that the film is too long at 153 minutes.
Overall, PAL PAL DIL KE PAAS has an old story, with just the mountain scenery and Sunny Deol’s direction saved the day to some extent. As a result, the film will have a very tough time at the box office.