Honeymoon Travels Pvt. Ltd.

Honeymoon Travels Pvt. Ltd. Movie stills

Sometimes, small films in terms of canvas, budget, cast] have a lot to say than supposedly big films. HONEYMOON
TRAVELS PVT. LTD., directed by Reema Kagti, is one such film!

One might be tempted to ask: Can HONEYMOON TRAVELS PVT. LTD. be clubbed with films like DARNA MANA HAI,
DARNA ZAROORI HAI and SALAAM-E-ISHQ? Sure, HONEYMOON TRAVELS PVT. LTD. talks of six couples and their
individualistic stories, but each of them are woven in one thread. Let’s get one more thing right: This one’s
not inspired by BOMBAY TO GOA either. The similarity ends when a bus-full of passengers embark on a journey to Goa.

Honeymoon Travels Pvt. Ltd. is a Bollywood movie, released on 23 February 2007.
Plot
Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.
The story is about six couples, who are on their honeymoon with the Honeymoon Travels Pvt. Ltd. bus and their trials
and tribulations during the four-day-journey. The couples are:
Oscar Fernandez (Boman Irani) and his wife Nahid (Shabana Azmi) who have just recently married. They are middleaged
and the target of constant mock from everyone else. However, they intent to have a great journey and not be
bothered by their difficult pasts. This is their second marriage. Oscar's first wife committed suicide and Nahid's husband
and 2 children expired in a car accident. Oscar is Nahid's first husband's business partner. After a chance meeting with
Oscar's estranged daughter in Goa, father and daughter mend their relationship.
Partho Sen (Kay Kay Menon) and Milly Sen (Raima Sen), a couple from small town Bengal.
Pinky (Amisha Patel) and Vicky (Karan Khanna), hailing from Dehli. They couldn't be more different, as Pinky is very
extroverted and Vicky is the opposite. When Vicky sees Bunty for the first time, he develops feelings for him but isn't able
to express them.
Madhu (Sandhya Mridul) and Bunty (Vikram Chatwal) have most recently married. They differences draw from the fact
that he is a NRI, a non-resident India, while she has lived in Mumbai, India, for her entire life. Bunty is a closet
homosexual and his parents want him to marry the daughter of a family friend but out of anxiety he contacted Madhu
over the net and came to India and married quickly. Madhu had a recent failed relationship with a man, who she left after
discovering that he had a wife and child already. She found Bunty on the internet and married quickly to forget that pain.
Hitesh (Ranvir Shorey) and Shilpa (Dia Mirza) are both from Gujarat and both of them question the nature of their
affiliation, as they wonder if love or marriage is more important in life. During the first half hour, Shilpa runs away with her
love, Arjun Rampal. Shilpa and her love board the Honeymoon Travels bus returning to Mumbai, while escaping from
contract killers sent by Hitesh's father.
Aspi (Abhay Deol) and Zara (Minissha Lamba) seemlingly the most perfect couple of them all. They've never fought in
their life with each other. And unknown to each other, each of them hide a secret i.e. they are superman and
superwoman respectively in reality.
As the bus continues it's journey, it is followed by a mysterious man, dressed in black clothes, wearing a helmet -
someone who has still an open business with one of the passengers.
Review :
Sometimes, small films in terms of canvas, budget, cast] have a lot to say than supposedly big films. HONEYMOON
TRAVELS PVT. LTD., directed by Reema Kagti, is one such film!
One might be tempted to ask: Can HONEYMOON TRAVELS PVT. LTD. be clubbed with films like DARNA MANA HAI,
DARNA ZAROORI HAI and SALAAM-E-ISHQ? Sure, HONEYMOON TRAVELS PVT. LTD. talks of six couples and their
individualistic stories, but each of them are woven in one thread. Let’s get one more thing right: This one’s
not inspired by BOMBAY TO GOA either. The similarity ends when a bus-full of passengers embark on a journey to Goa.
HONEYMOON TRAVELS PVT. LTD. holds your interest at most times because of its unpredictable plotline. The stories
seem straight out of life and the characters are identifiable. If you haven’t encountered people with similar traits,
you may’ve heard of them from someone for sure.
HONEYMOON TRAVELS PVT. LTD. is Reema Kagti’s debut vehicle, but there’s clarity in her vision.
It’s a difficult task to narrate six stories in 12 reels/2 hours and Kagti does it quite well. A few moments linger in
your memory. Yet, there are times when you feel that the debutante could’ve given a truly satisfying culmination
to a few stories.
In a nutshell, HONEYMOON TRAVELS PVT. LTD. is a notch above the commonplace. You don’t expect the
moon when the lights are switched off and the reels unfold, but it does succeed in bringing a smile on your face when the
lights are turned on after the end credits.
HONEYMOON TRAVELS PVT. LTD. is about six married couples on a package honeymoon to Goa. This vacation is a
subsidized option for a lot of dreamers on the brink of their new life.
The film opens with six couples, a guide, a driver and a handyman riding in a bus from Mumbai to Goa. The narrative
humorously unfolds different stories that explore the nature of love and human relationships. Woven into the hectic fourday
honeymoon schedule is a radio show. The jockey plays the role of an omniscient narrator and discusses individual
characters, revealing secrets about them and their past.
From the time the bus leaves Mumbai, a man on a bike follows them all the way to Goa. This mystery man is dressed in
leather and a helmet throughout, until one day…
Six stories. Twelve people. Varied emotions. That’s the apt way to describe HONEYMOON TRAVELS PVT. LTD.
Let’s dissect the six couples one by one…
* Shabana Azmi – Boman Irani: The reasons that bring these two lonely people together are justified. The turning
point in the story -- Boman accidentally meeting his daughter in Goa -- gives the story an interesting twist. But the
daughter’s re-emergence [she complains of her boyfriend two-timing her] in the end looks amateurish. However,
what elevates the story are the delicate moments between the two adults.
* Kay Kay Menon – Raima Sen: This one stands out. It’s perfect. The pangs of jealousy [when
Raima’s sari opens up as she enjoys a sea-sport] or Raima’s suggestion of having their own home is a
reflection of the current times, what with more and more people believing in the concept of nuclear families.
* Amisha Patel – Karan Khanna: This one takes you by complete surprise. Again, the twist in the tale -- Karan
getting attracted to Vikram Chatwal -- catches you unaware. But why doesn’t Karan listen to his heart? If the
writer had the guts to show the attraction between two males, why didn’t she take this story to its destination?
Why strand it midway?
* Sandhya Mridul – Vikram Chatwal: Fine writing elevates this story. Vikram’s admission that he’s
gay comes as a bolt from the blue. But, as mentioned above, the story between Vikram and Karan deserved some
culmination. Sandhya’s previous relationship is beautifully restructured and sensitively handled.
* Abhay Deol – Minissha Lamba: Very cute. Blows your mind to see this perfect couple. You are awestruck until
you discover that they aren’t ordinary mortals. They possess super powers and have the potential to be desi
Superman and Superwoman. Yet, despite the unbelievable factor, the sequences between them are cute.
* Ranveer Shorey – Dia Mirza – Arjun Rampal: Starts off very well and reaches the crescendo when Dia
elopes with Arjun. But their re-entry in the final reel and the forced stunt-n-chase looks straight out of 1970s Bollywood
masala film. Ms. Kagti, why this ghisa-pita angle to this triangle? Also, Ranveer deserved more footage!
Over and above these stories, there’s a story involving the bus driver and his nephew. The driver is a drug
peddler and the nephew has to pay a price for it. So far, so good! But the subsequent romance between the nephew and
a foreigner [who nurses him back to normalcy] is hard to digest.
Director Reema Kagti shows promise as a storyteller. She knows the grammar of film-making right and has handled a
number of sequences smartly. But it’s the writing that could’ve been stronger. The sequence involving
Shabana and the bus driver [Darshan Jariwala] in the end is brilliant, but the ending seems slightly abrupt. Vishal-
Shekhar’s tunes are catchy and hit the right notes. ‘Sajnaji Vari Vari’, ‘Halke Halke’
and ‘Pyaar Ki Yeh Kahani’ are numbers that sync well with the narrative. The choreography of
‘Pyaar Ki Yeh Kahani’ [filmed on Abhay-Minissha] is splendid. Cinematography is arresting. Dialogues
[Anurag Kashyap] are well-worded, especially the lines delivered by Shabana in the end.
The ones who leave an impression are [in this order] Shabana Azmi [superb], Kay Kay Menon [brilliant], Boman Irani
[first-rate], Sandhya Mridul [excellent], Raima Sen [natural], Abhay Deol [admirable] and Minissha Lamba [likeable].
Amisha Patel does an average job, while Karan Khanna is nurturing into a fine actor. Vikram Chatwal is strictly okay.
Ranveer Shorey is wasted. Dia [looks very pretty] and Arjun are also relegated to the backseat. Darshan Jariwala is up to
the mark.
On the whole, HONEYMOON TRAVELS PVT. LTD. is a decent entertainer that has something worthwhile to say. At the
box-office, this one’s for the multiplexes completely. Its business in Mumbai, Delhi and South should be the best!