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‘Intu Mintu Londonma’ is true to the spirit of the playground rhyme that inspired its title. The romantic drama basically imagines a make-believe childlike world and just like the rhyme, makes no sense at all. We get por­celains as protagonists in Ishan aka Intu and Meera aka Mintu, who mostly act cute and funny but their conversation is neither interesting nor memorable. Whatever they talk and emote, is so dull and irrel­evant that watching them is akin to spending time babysitting two annoying five-year-olds.

London-based Ishan (Dhiraj Magar) meets Meera (Samragyee RL Shah), the daughter of Nepal’s Ambassador to the UK, at a pub where he plays with his band and also works as a manager. After they are introduced by a common friend, Ishan casually points out to Meera that they have the same coat. Meera gets offended. Later when she sees Ishan put a Nepali topi on an ex-Gurkha patron, she smiles at him, hinting maybe she’s into nationalist dudes and not into someone who wants to elbow in by saying ‘same pinch’. I don’t know.

They meet again, this time on a train when Meera overhears some­one singing in Nepali. She follows the voice and finds Ishan. Their romance builds over a weekend of sanitized hiking and sightseeing. Next morning they go their sepa­rate ways. They lose contact only to meet yet again at a mutual friend’s wedding. The lapse in communica­tion in between their weekend trip and the friend’s wedding is never cleared. Nevertheless, they restart from where they had left.

Soon, Meera’s father (played by journo Dil Bhushan Pathak) gets wind of their closeness. He doesn’t approve of Ishan and to keep from things going south, abruptly announces Meera’s engagement to Major Akash (Saruk Tamrakar) of Nepal Army, son of a close family friend, and takes his daughter to Nepal. The rest of the film takes place in Nepal with the backdrop of Meera’s wedding, where she’s conflicted between choosing her own life partner or the one chosen by her family.

Seasoned choreographer Rene­sha Rai Bantawa, in what is her first directorial venture, outshines in production design and dance. There is too much opulence at offer. Characters are dressed like runway models and Sailendra D. Karki’s cinematography doesn’t shy away to capture the London’s postcard perfect locations. But as one tries to look at the film beyond its cosmetic glare, Rai’s direction falls flat. From her inability to make her young actors internalize their characters to mishandling of dra­matic scenes, she still has to evolve as a storyteller.

The central performances from newcomer Dhiraj Magar and Sam­ragyee RL Shah are poorer than the material at hand. Magar has that Joseph Gordon-Levitt boyishness about him but his pleasing looks is unable to cover up his lacklus­ter acting. His co-star, Shah, on the other hand, is six films older and still finding it hard to peel off her pin-up girl image. It’s time she overhauled her career graph and started looking for projects that would make her come out of the world of bubblegum romances. And Saruk Tamrakar, who makes an abrupt entry post-interval, maintains a stiff body posture to appear like an army man.

‘Intu Mintu Londonma’ is a close relative of ‘Kaira’ and ‘Lilly Billy’ that released earlier this year. These films might have been shot abroad and much care given to make their actors look pretty, yet the story engine is second-rate and rusty. Even with modest commer­cial success, if the Nepali main­stream romantic films keep deliv­ering such disappointments, the viewers would soon stop showing any interest in the genre.

The cinematic world of Anurag Kashyap is normally inhabited by criminals, gangsters, cor­rupt politicians, addicts and serial killers. So his latest film ‘Manmar­ziyaan’ has been pointed out by many as that moment in his career when he came out of his comfort zone to direct a romantic come­dy—a genre so mainstream and overwrought by Kashyap’s stan­dards that nobody would’ve put the director’s name and the genre in the same sentence. But the film isn’t an outright departure, with Kashyap still man­aging to put his trademark stamp of unfiltered and unpredictable chaos on Kanika Dhillon’s screenplay. And this is all done over Amit Trive­di’s hip and pulsating soundtrack.

Set in Amritsar, ‘Manmarzi­yaan’ introduces us to lovers Rumi (Taapsee Pannu) and Vicky (Vicky Kaushal). The film opens with the Mohawk-donning Vicky, as he leaps through terraces to tryst with Rumi at her house. Their small town sees them as a bad influence on their children.

Rumi is a headstrong, outspoken girl, a former hockey player no less. Vicky is a freewheeling bloke, harboring a dream of becoming a superstar DJ. But he is a confused guy, who can easily hop from one passion to another in the blink of an eye.

Their families aren’t antagonists, so much as they are their own ene­mies. As circumstances would have it, Rumi demands a more serious relationship from Vicky, while Vicky gets cold feet. Rumi gives him multiple chances but Vicky fizzles out every time.

In this mix enters Robbie (Abhisekh Bachchan), an NRI banker from England. He is some­one who’ll have mothers swooning over him to marry their daugh­ters. But Robbie falls hard for Rumi the moment a matchmaker shows him her photograph for an arranged marriage. The film then circles around Rumi, who is torn between her first real love, Vicky, and Robbie, who seems to have all the qualities of a perfect husband.

The plot isn’t original. Many view­ers will think of it as an update of 1999’s ‘Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam’ or 1983’s ‘Woh 7 Din’. The freshness therefore comes from the complex characters that populate this film. Rumi for sure is an unlikely leading lady in a Bollywood film. Taapsee Pannu is given lot to do in this role that demands more than just being a simple object in a tug of war between two men.

Pannu pulls off Rumi with such panache that the viewers are able to clearly fathom her character’s mental mess. She shares an elec­tric chemistry with an unrecog­nizable Vicky Kaushal. Kaushal completely disappears in the life of his character, giving him energy and vulnerability. And then there’s the master stroke of casting Abhisekh Bachchan as Robbie, a silent and brooding fellow, and easily likeable.

At a staggering length of 2 hours and 37 minutes, ‘Manmarziyaan’ feels a tad bit too long for a roman­tic film. But Kashyap paces it with cracking music from Amit Trivedi that provides a smooth rhythm. He has lots of fun with the genre and time and again gives us such dynamic visual storytelling cues, for instance, the recurring appear­ance of twin sisters whenever Rumi’s having an internal dilemma. Kashyap’s combination of skills is at display here.

From hammering his actors to fit the mold of their characters to his technically crafted direction, a less worthy director would’ve taken the same material and given it a more regular treatment. But Kashyap takes the familiar and gives it a new toss. Watching ‘Manmarziyaan’ makes you feel it’s a film from a director in top form.

 Located at north Lakeside Pokhara, The Office Bar is one office where you would be more than happy to go every day. At its heart, The Office Bar is a place to chill, with good company and great music. With cozy indoor and relaxing outdoor settings in close proximity to nature, away from the hustle and bustle of central Lakeside, The Office at present is one of the favorite venues for live music in Pokhara.

Not that its food is any bad. Its selection of drinks is also among the best in P-town. Yet The Office’s choice of live music is undoubtedly its biggest draw. Talented local musicians perform in a wide genre of music at The Office, much different to the Nepali and Bollywood repertoire you get in central areas. Underground jazz and blues bands from Kathmandu are regulars at weekends along with travelling for­eign musicians hitting the stage for some jamming. And yes, the prices at The Office are reasonable too considering how expensive Pokhara has become.

 THE MENU

Chef’s Special:

- Baked Fish

- Pepper Steak

- Chicken Kabab Wraps

Opening hours:

1:00 pm to 12:00 am

Location:

Baidam Road, Pkr

Cards:

Not Accepted

Meal for 2:

Rs 1200

Reservations:

9804117934

Located at Lainchaur (right opposite the British Embassy), Curilo is one restaurant that was repeatedly recommended to APEX food sleuths. Owners and managers of popular restaurants sang its praise and suggested we try it because the food there is—unique, organic and hygienic. Curilo’s self-explaining menu offers breakfast, lunch, dinners and in-between snacks, all created carefully by its 5-star experienced chef. Focusing more on quality than quantity, the dishes Curilo’s kitchen belt out are freshly made, with a touch of organic and exotic garnish. Curilo makes its own pastas, bagels, buns and multi-grain breads and also serves an exclusive array of desserts.

Probably the only place in Kathmandu where one can try the “Involtini of mango chicken and pancetta, sage butter, soft polenta,” Curilo is popular among local foodies and expats alike. As one of its regular patrons told us at the restaurant, this is a place where many celebrities and socialites “meet, eat and date.”

 THE MENU

Chef’s Special:

- Quinoa and Goat Cheese Salad

- Lamb ravioli, oyster mushroom cream, truffle essence

- Crème Brulee

Opening hours:

- 8:30 am to 10 pm

Location:

   - Lainchaur, Ktm

Cards:

- Accepted

Meal for 2:

- Rs 2,000

Reservations:

    - 014005079