Starring Shahid Kapur, Vidya Balan, Vishal Malhotra, and Juhi Chawla. Directed by Aziz Mirza.

Those expecting Kismat Konnection to have some of the indefinable magic of Shahid Kapur’s last hit, Jab We Met, will be sadly disappointed. Despite being set in Canada and having a female lead with brains and a social conscience, this new offering fails to inspire.

The movie centres around Raj Malhotra (Shahid Kapur), an architect who spends his time unsuccessfully hustling for work with his loyal college pal, Hiten (Vishal Malhotra). Enter his lucky charm, Priya (Vidya Balan), whose mere proximity reverses his destiny. She is an advocate for a community centre, ostensibly located in downtown Toronto, that is scheduled to be torn down and developed into a mall. Predictably, this is the project that could be Raj’s big break. This formulaic plot is rationalized by the insights of a psychic played, with undeserved enthusiasm, by Juhi Chawla.

Unfortunately, Kapur and Balan have no perceivable chemistry. Balan, who is more of a classic Indian beauty, seems out of place in this Non-resident Indian role. Kapur, perhaps weary of the limitations of the romantic comedy genre, appears to be acting by numbers in this movie. The plot, while using Toronto as a backdrop, is not anchored to the Canadian context at all. In fact, one really has to suspend all knowledge of architecture, Canadian city planning, and political culture before seeing the film. For example, a protest rally is broken up by the police who then smack Raj and Hiten with their batons. This is likely more common with the Indian police than the RCMP. (Perhaps it would have been more believable had they been tasered?)

The limp plot is not helped by the gratuitous insertion of random song numbers, glaringly out of place non-Indian extras with inexplicable accents and many shots of Toronto’s grey city centre. This film might work for those who have fond memories of falling in love in Toronto. But for the rest of us, it isn’t worth the price of a theatre ticket.