STORY: Battling the ghosts of his tumultuous past, Sooraj (Randeep Hooda) seeks redemption. He distances himself from the world until a chance encounter with Jenny (Kajal Aggarwal) gives him a sense of purpose. Abandoning his loneliness, he starts afresh but fate has different plans for him.

REVIEW: Bollywood seems to be enamoured by Korean films of late. Do Lafzon Ki Kahani is a Hindi remake of a Korean film too. Incidentally, the protagonist here bears an uncanny resemblance to a hooded John Abraham’s mysterious character in Rocky Handsome, which was also a Korean remake. Unfortunately, this film is as lacklustre as the John starrer.

Set in Malaysia, Deepak Tijori’s clean and old school take on romance is refreshing in times of Hindi cinema riding high on PDA. But endearing it fails to be. While Marathi blockbuster Sairat nailed that raw emotion and beautifully portrayed what falling in love feels like, Tijori’s drama falls short of achieving that feat. His characters cease to be interesting beyond a point.

Randeep still manages to infuse life into his brooding character in an understated way. Guilt-ridden and bruised, he essays his role with conviction. He’s a fine actor and deserves better.

On the contrary, as a visually impaired chirpy girl, Kajal fails to leave a mark. In her defence, the writing is way too sympathy seeking for your liking. Either someone has sinned, disabled, dying or in pain and yet nothing makes you weep, which is the biggest tragedy.

Also, too many cliches muddle the story, for instance opposites attract. He is a boxer, she likes Hindi daily soaps. She talks, he listens and her optimism overcomes his sadness. But none of this makes you feel for the characters. Pace is another issue. The story crawls to its conclusion sluggishly.

The only portion that manages to impress is Hooda flexing his muscles in the boxing ring as a MMA fighter. We wish it would have taken precedence over the ineffective mushy love story. The music of the film stands out too.

Tijori’s film has its moments but it’s way too tedious to be called Do Lafzon Ki Kahani.