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It's no secret that Bollywood is currently going through an unimaginative era, preferring to churn out Hollywood remakes instead of investing time and effort into developing unique screenplays. And it's a reflection of just how lazy some Indian filmmakers have become when they choose to adapt movies that flopped stateside. A prime example is Dharmesh Darshan's Aap Ki Khatir, a bland Asian comedy that bears an uncanny resemblance to The Wedding Date, starring Priyanka Chopra and Akshaye Khanna in roles originally played by Debra Messing and Dermot Mulroney.

The plot is just as plain and simple. Single chick Anu (Chopra) hires a Mumbai escort (Khanna) to accompany her back to London in the hope of making hunky ex-boyfriend Danny (Dino Morea) jealous at her sister Shirani's (Amisha Patel) wedding. Besides hapless caterers and overbearing aunties adding to her stress, things get even more out of hand when, yes you guessed it - family skeletons start tumbling out of the cupboard and the paid for beau begins to fall in love with her. Cue predictable laughs as our heroine attempts to differentiate her feelings between past and present love interests.

"NOTHING NEW OR LIVELY"

While a refreshing change from the overindulgent melodrama that usually dominates Dharmesh's films, Aap Ki Khatir fails to make the grade as a rib-tickling romantic comedy. It's not so much the lead pair, who work hard to provide a few timely laughs, but the fault of writer Sunil Munshi who doesn't bring anything new or lively to this version. Even the tiny twist in the tale isn't enough to stop the wedding party from crashing out. Give this one a miss unless you are a sucker for matrimonial mayhem.

In Hindi with English subtitles.