The much touted Valentine movie of the year Ekk Deewana Tha is a Hindi remake of the Tamil version Vinnaithandi Varuvaaya, which was also directed by Gautham Menon. Ekk Deewana Tha takes you back to the good old 70’s and 80’s - cliche ridden love stories where the lead pair would suffer silently for their love and triumph in the end against all odds. While, those decade old movies still bring a smile to your face, Ekk Deewana Tha sadly leaves you feeling pain and pleasure at the same time. A 2 hour and 20 minutes self learn course on detachment. As dismissive as it may sound, this is only the tip of the iceberg to begin with.

Gautham Menon has presented a threadbare, flogged to death love story as it is and by doing so, hopes against hope for his prosaic love stories to emerge successfully in the end. While opting for a tried and tested story is not blasphemous, the challenge lies in giving a new face to the age-old tale. And this is where Ekk Deewana Tha fails to rise up.

The film is about an aspiring filmmaker and unemployed dreamer Sachin (Prateik Babbar) who gets knocked into space when he bumps into a celestial Mallu-Catholic girl Jessie (Amy Jackson). After a bit of stalking, he proposes. And predictably, she rejects on account of avoiding inter-caste hassles and for their age difference (she’s a year older). Sachin refuses to give up and takes stalking to monumental heights by landing up in Kerala, her native place. After some dancing, few jokes and couple of fight sequences, Jessie still doesn’t give in.

By now, you are restless for Jessie to give in or at least take a firm stand on anything so that we can get on with our lives. Bottom line is that it's a slow screenplay where the director hopes to convey the couple's despair with their inability to come together. For a scenario like this, performances must be flawless to engage the viewer. And here also, Ekk Deewana Tha fails miserably. While Menon can certainly handle dramatic and emotional moments with poise, the script and the acting lets him down. Barring a few countable moments, the trials and tribulations in the film are repetitive and devoid of euphoria.

Prateik and Amy are equally challenged in their acting skills and portray joy, suffering, betrayal and other suitable feelings with the same facial expressions. So much so, that at the end of the film, you are confused between pain & pleasure. Given their limited acting abilities, they just do not come through as a couple.

The film is also painfully long and could have been trimmed. Rahman’s music, except for a few numbers, doesn’t really reach stratospheric levels. The film boasts of some stunning visuals and full credit for it goes to M.S. Prabhu, who captures the scenic beauty of Kerala with panache.

Ekk Deewana Tha goes on in circles and is replete with a stretched out story line and insipid acting from the lead pair. An agonizing trip that one can avoid, an absolute Can't Watch!