Movie Review: ‘I Love NY’ is a Stinking Pile of Muck

What can be worse for a movie than its own actors shunning it like a shameful mistake, says movie reviewer Stutee.

Poster of I Love NY starring Sunny Deol and Kangna Ranaut.

I would like to describe ‘I love NY’ as the most unloved and unwelcomed film of the year. What can be worse for a movie than its own actors shunning it like an unwanted illegitimate child; a shameful mistake that they would like to hide from the rest of the world. Fate however had other plans and after considerable delays (the film was supposed to be released on Dec 30, 2013) Kangna and Sunny Deol’s dirty little secret is finally out.

Why would I then want to review a film that doesn’t even have the backing of its own stars? Well for one, any film that has the brilliant Kangna Ranaut cannot be ignored. Secondly, to see Sunny and his “dhai kilo ka haath” on the big screen after a long time. And finally Kangna – Sunny together make for an extremely interesting pair. Or so I thought. With my reasons intact and my curiosity piqued I willingly submitted myself to 2hrs and 15 mins of arrant mental and emotional abuse.

What on earth is wrong with Sunny Deol? Really! He was never this bad…or was he? The ordeal starts with Sunny’s lackluster voice narrating to us his bovine existence in Chicago and a life and city he keeps calling “standardised”. But his puffy face, lethargic dialogue delivery, ‘I am my own grandfather’ type body language betray a man who unlike Terminator Schwarzenegger is not just old but also obsolete.

There are a whole gamut of emotions we feel while watching this film – horror is one of them at what has become of the once robust Sunny Deol. He is unbearable and that’s me putting it mildly. This is also when the next emotion takes charge of us - that of pity for Kangna Ranaut. To see her still manage to shine in a film that gave her the worst dialogues, costumes, hairdo and role. There is pity and awe for Kangana’s acting prowess and also for veteran actor Prem Chopra who plays Sunny Deol’s dad in the film. He is so good in such a bad film!

But the overpowering emotion is that of rage. Pure good ol’ anger when you realize that the assistance of not one but two directors was solicited (Radhika Rao and Vinay Sapru) to make this stinking pile of muck. A story so ridiculous that it chokes you with its own stupidity. A full grown mature man Randhir Singh atrociously played by Sunny Deol who can’t handle a couple of drinks, gets so hungover that instead of going back home in Chicago he flies off to New York and parks himself on the bed of stranger. Was he high or in a coma? The stranger in question Tiku Verma (Kangana Ranaut) is then supposed to be pursued because - hey, they share the same house number…isn’t that a sign from the divine to also share the rest of their miserable lives together? But of course!

My curiosity got the better off me but wise is the person who learns from somebody else’s mistakes. Be warned. This film is injurious to heath. I hate I love NY so I’m going to give it just half a star. Phew!