With a title like that, I thought that the film might be a satire on the conventions of Hindi cinema. A parody of hero meeting heroine, dancing around trees and then having a grand lavish wedding that would bankrupt even Russia. "Rules: Pyaar Ka Superhit Formula" is no satire but it does try to twist the Bollywood romance conventions and attempt to come up with something that is afresh.

The story goes like this... Radha (Meera Vasudevan) has been in love with established supermodel, Vikram Verma (Milind Soman) ever since she was 14 years of age. This is a typical celebrity crush but she is determined to make him fall in love with her. As a photographer who has to work with Vikram in the shooting sessions, Radha has a small chance of making this happen. She exploits this small opportunity by using the expert advice of her dadi (Tanuja). Dadi gives Radha five rules to which she should stick to if she desires to win Vikram´s heart. With these five rules, Radha finally ensnares her dream man. Once she has got to her goal though, she does not feel very satisfied. Did she exploit Vikram´s kind nature? Was Vikram forced to declare his love for her or are his feelings genuine?

A very breezy and fun movie, "Rules: Pyaar Ka Superhit Formula" is certainly a change from the crappy love stories that we have been inundated with of late. Along with the main lead, there are a couple of other stories of love that crop up as subplots. One is about a married man who has a mistress and how his infidelity and betrayal is discovered. The other story is about a gay couple who decide to plough on and face the prejudices of their families. The director, Parvati Balagopala, deserves credit for weaving these subplots so well into the film. The portrayal of the gay couple is realistic and the film does not avoid or blush at their intimacy and emotions. The technique of using all the actors (except Milind and Meera) to talk to the camera did not sit very well with me. The only person I enjoyed paying attention to was Tanuja. When she talks to the camera, it is welcome because what she says has a lot to do with the main story. But I felt that all the other characters´ monologues were a distraction and unnecessary. It would have been enough just to see their stories of love and woe acted out.

Speaking of Tanuja, she turns in a lovely performance. The main charm of the film is derived from her character, her thoughts and concepts. Tanuja tunes into this character wonderfully breathing life into the film. This will easily make you forget her mundane turn in "Bhoot". Meera Vasudevan is good but some of her expressions could have been better. As it is her debut, we will let that go. Milind Soman shows that he can act but he does have the added of advantage of doing a role that he must be familiar and at ease with. All the supporting characters do their jobs very well except for Namrata Barua (who plays Vikram´s on/off girlfriend). Her acting is awful! The music by Sandesh Shandilya is catchy and provide delightful interruptions in the film. The best and probably most popular one, “Gore Tore Nain” is used for the opening credits, which allows us to ponder over the rest of the under-rated tracks.

Perhaps the main problem is that the story is quite wafer-thin. Hence to stop the action from slowing down, we are given subplots to keep our attention. It does not always work and the screenplay suffers. Thankfully, the running time is kept short but a bit more work on the characterisation of the people in the story would not have gone amiss. A bit more focus on the main lead would not have hurt. The screenplay does not develop these characters in a way that sees them progress over the two hours running time. In fact, the film threatens to keep them in a rut and their characters are two-dimensional. Thank god then for Dadi. Tanuja has the most complete character in the film and without her, “Rules: Pyaar Ka Superhit Formula” would have been a bore. Clearly, Tanuja rules. As for the director who has made a sparkling but inconsistent debut, will she rule in the future? For what is a male-dominated industry, let’s hope so. She does have talent and the guts to make something a little different. Bollywood must not let that go.

With minimum expectations, “R:PKSF” is enjoyable. For those searching for something a little more, the film can seem half-baked, under-developed and ultimately might not give a completely satisfactory viewing experience.