Actor Jimmy Shergill seems to have the knack of being seen in the most unlikely of roles, in the most unlikely of films. That he is a talented actor goes without saying, but there is a lot that can be said about his choice of films. Hastey Hastey Follow Your Heart, happens to be one such film, which Shergill's career could have done without. The film, which is directed by Toony is as banal as they come. The problem with the film is that it is so lifeless. Even Rajpal Yadav's triple role and buffoonery does little to redeem the proceedings.
Most films go wrong in their writing department. And that's exactly where the problem lies for Hastey Hastey as well. The story shows a lack of imagination and originality. And the film's screenplay and dialogues are not much better either. The comic angle too does not work well as most of the jokes are tasteless.
The film's story revolves around Neel (Shergill), a student from Columbia University, has a ladylove called Maya (Nisha Rawal). His best friend and roommate is Sunny(Rajpal Yadav). Neel makes a career move and comes to India, ostensibly to set up a call centre business. His girlfriend is not keen on him traveling to India, but he persists and comes to the country, accompanied by Sunny. In India, he is greatly helped by Tanvi (Monishka Gupta), a young executive. She goes out of her way to make things comfortable for Neel and his team. Her reason for doing so: she is attracted to Neel and tries to make her way into his heart. But Neel, whose heart has already been taken by Maya, turns her down. Rejection is something that Tanvi is unable to handle and she flies off the handle and does all that she can to make his life miserable henceforth.
Everything about the film is quite listless beginning from the story and screenplay to the performances. Add to that, the sheer naivety of the plot. The story is put together quite ineptly for it to have the desired effect. The beginning, which consists of the romance between Shergill's character and Nisha Rawal, has no spark. The second half, which has the scorned woman baying for Shergill's blood, is handled in a very childish fashion. And the last bit of the movie, before the lovers fall into each others' arms, seems to be stretched a bit too long, thus loosing any effect it could have had on the audience.
What redeems the film somewhat is the presence of Shergill. He is a sincere actor and tries, with all sincerity, to do justice to his role. He is ably supported by Rajpal Yadav, who adds some spark to the proceedings with his comical act. In fact, his triple role in the film, at least gives Hastey Hastey something to laugh about. The females, Nisha Rawal and Monishka Gupta, do not display much acting talent. Shakti Kapoor and Manoj Joshi too have very little to do in the movie.
What works for the film is the music composed by Anu Malik. There are a couple of numbers which work well and are quite hummable. The best, however, is the title song. The cinematography (Damodar Naidu) is decent. But its weak links are too many to redeem the film at the box office.
