Fawad Khan-Vaani Kapoor's Aabeer Gulaal, which was released overseas excluding India on September 12, failed to impress critics. The film has been slammed vehemently by critics, saying, "It's an injustice to the talent."
Let's have a quick look at the reviews.
BBC Asian Network's Haroon Rashid called the film "cheap", saying, "I found this to be one of the most frustrating romantic dramas I've watched in a very long time. Not only does it look cheap, but it is such an incoherent, inconsistent storyline, which is such an injustice to the talent that you're working with."
"Fawad Khan is one of the best actors from Pakistan, you will know that he brings a certain amount of natural charm and charisma to whatever role he's doing. This film requires nothing more than Fawad and Vaani to just look good on screen and hope that everything else will take care of itself.... I genuinely have not had such a frustrating viewing experience in the cinema for a very long time. Add to that such poor finishing of the film, it feels like no attention has been paid to the colour grading of the film... Fawad and Vaani weren't the problem, the film itself was a problem," he added.
Slamming the film for its overtime stretch, Gulf News wrote, "Aabeer Gulaal is bloated, padded with unnecessary segues that drag the runtime. Lisa Haydon's cameo is the biggest offender-it adds nothing, apart from reminding us that Bollywood can't resist shoehorning in familiar faces. A tighter cut would have sharpened the storytelling and saved us from mid-movie fidgeting."
Khaleej Times stated that the film leans on familiar Bollywood tropes, failing to leave a mark. "The film heavily dependent on YRF and Dharma universe. Dance competitions (which Vaani obviously wins), medley of retro songs, and nods to DDLJ and Chandni abound - like the rain-soaked dance between Vaani and Fawad echoes Kajol and Shah Rukh KHan in Kuch Kuch Hota Hai. It's nostalgia turned cliche;. One can't help but feel that Fawad deserved better - and so did the audience," read the note.
About Aabeer Gulaal
The film, which could have marked Fawad Khan's Bollywood comeback after 8-long years, couldn't release in India in the aftermath of the Pahalgam attack (April 22). Earlier, the film was supposed to release on May 9. The film, which was shot in London, also features Riddhi Dogra, Farida Jalal, Soni Razdan and Parmeet Sethi. It's been directed by Arti S. Bagdi.