A brooding, disgruntled, gruffly man with a heart of gold falls in love with a simple girl from a traditional family... quite an unlikely pair? Well, not for Bollywood atleast. But you forgive director duo Radhika Rao and Vinay Sapru just because of their perfect casting. When everything falls flat in the film, the lead pair hold the forte with their effortless chemistry. For a romantic drama, the film has its most essential element right - the love story is impeccable.

Love stories starring new faces are always a risky proposition as there is no way to tell if the audience will accept it or not and though an honest effort has gone into making Sanam Teri Kasam, we cannot help but feel that with a little more finesse, the film could have had a shot at success. Saraswati (Mawra Hocane) is a typical 'Ugly Betty' from a conservative South Indian family, who is dejected after facing countless marital rejections, which is hampering the matrimonial plans of her younger sister.

Guess what? Another tragic love tale joins Bollywood's list of so called love sagas. 'Sanam Teri Kasam' is a sheer portrayal of a predictable story, which is stretched like chewing gum. Directed by Radhika Rao and Vinay Sapru, this 154-minute feature presentation is a yawn fest.

In how many ways do we love Shakespeare's ode to the doomed alliance between two socially unequal lovers? I am not too sure how far back the co-directors of Sanam Teri Kasam, this week's love-lorn saga, would like us to go? Is it Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet or Erich Segal's Love Story? Either way Sanam Teri Kasam is a winsome nugget on love romance and heartbreak, with two very watchable newcomers who are seen helming the rapturous emotions, navigating the nifty numbers (Himesh Reashmmiya) and dialogues, through a coherently charted route to a tragic finale.

Saru, full name Saraswati, is an obedient daddy's girl. Inder is a broody, massively-tattooed loner. And 'Sanam Teri Kasam' , not to be confused with the '82 film of the same name, is a manual of how Not to make a contemporary romantic film. Picture this: a heavy-handed father who thunders, flinging out instructions on how wife and daughters ought to behave. Falling in love with an unsuitable boy, 'aiyyo rama'.

Sanam Teri Kasam would have been a *decent* watch if the makers hadn't stretched it like a rubber band. And if the script wasn't full of Bollywood cliches. I emphasize on 'decent' because the film is seriously regressive. The first half of the film reminds me of hit television serial Jassi Jaisi Koi Nahin. The female protagonist Saru (Mawra Hocane) is a not so good looking nerd, who just can't find herself a guy.

Saraswati (Mawra Hocane) is our 'Jassi' (Jassi Jaisi Koi Nahi) who comes from a strict South Indian Brahman family. Her father wants her to get hitched to an IIT-IIM grad but unfortunately due to her appearance, she is often rejected by her prospects. Saraswati has a younger sister who is waiting for her sister to get married so that she can go ahead too since she already has a boyfriend.

Every good love story has a touch of the absurd. But Sanam Teri Kasam is neither a believable romantic yarn nor are its stabs of stupidity within the realms of the passable. The film is helmed by not one but two directors, and that's one too many, but it's completely directionless. Its asinine and unending narrative convolutions reinforce long discarded stereotypes about gender roles and the idea of beauty.

The 90s saw the rise and rise of music videos. Many of today's stars have, at some point of time, been a part of such music videos. One of the pioneers of such music videos were the impeccable director duo of Radhika Rao and Vinay Sapru. They stepped into directing Bollywood films with the Salman Khan-Sneha Ullal starrer LUCKY...NO TIME FOR LOVE. The duo's latest offering at the Box-Office is in the form of this week's release SANAM TERI KASAM.