Puppy Love? No Thank You Doctor, I’d Rather Have The Real Thing!
“All men are like Dogs, you have to train them – then they’ll be loyal” ~ so goes the premise of Akshay Kumar’s the new Bollywood flick ‘Thank You’.
Lovephool doesn’t ordinarily review Bollywood films but after commenting on the movie’s relationship advice for BBC Asian Network, I couldn’t resist an invitation for a private screening Q&A with Akshay to see if there were any relationship gems from the film that would be useful to share.
The film is a comedy-farce-come-emotional-bolly-opera on the impact of relationship infidelity. There are some funny one liners and good performances, notably from Irrfan Khan who plays an overbearing husband that gets his comeuppance, but Woody Allen it isn’t. To be fair, that’s not what Bollywood is known for. It’s about indulgent escapism and the film had promise; making a mockery out of male infidelity and the power of the female upper hand, certainly sounded entertaining.
As a comedy the amusing ‘Men are Dogs’ analogy could have worked well if the women were equally ‘outed’ for being naive and needy. Especially the ‘I can’t live without you so I’ll kill myself if you cheat’ solution to all martial woes. Unfortunately the movie changes pace half way and becomes a slightly awkward melodrama which doesn’t know if it wants to laugh or cry. Fortunately there’s enough music, drama and mayhem to hold it together to the end.
As the Lovephool ‘Love Doctor’ I asked Akshay whether the film had a relationship message that helped couples deal with relationship challenges. Here’s what he had to say:
Joking aside, Akshay’s closing remarks were quite telling. His parting message for those who wanted to have better relationships was:
‘Start with your family and your relationship with your parents. Start the day by valuing and appreciating the people who brought you into the world by remembering to love and honour them.’
Whilst family relationships are far from perfect for many, I think it’s important to recognise that our relationship style and emotional security does come from how we relate to all the significant people in our lives. Perhaps before grappling the complexities of romantic relationships we should reflect in the mirror of our early emotional bonds – that’s where we learn how to build the bonds that foster real trust and understanding. Minus the puppy dog training!
‘Thank You’ is out on general release in the UK from 8th April.
