Cineswami analyses the failure of Gautham Menon’ Bollywood remake of Vinnaithaandi Varuvaaya

We are, of course, referring to Gautham Menon’s much-ballyhooed Ekk Deewana Tha, Vinnaithaandi Varuvaaya and Ye Maya Chesave, the Tamil and Telugu originals respectively, were successful at the box office. The Tamil version in particular was refreshing to watch for the strong lead performances of Simbu (or Young Superstar as he likes to call himself) and Trisha Krishnan. And Ganesh as Simbu’s cinematographer friend was an absolute delight, delivering his droll one-liners with a straight face. Alas, as we know now, the Hindi version stinks.  The mood at the film’s Mumbai premiere was sombre to say the least. Menon, in an interview to BollywoodLife before the premiere, was defensive at best. The executives from Fox Star Studios India, who bankrolled the film, had nervous smiles on their faces. Prateik looked like he had a headache and in general the buzz was conspicuous by its absence. Matters got worse once the film began. Around 30 minutes into the film, a couple of senior and well-regarded filmmakers who were VIP guests at the premiere were reduced to looking at each other and gesticulating as if to say “Yeh kya ho raha hai bhai?” (What is happening?)Click here to read more