Box office battle: Pick 'Sanam Teri Kasam' over 'Ghayal Returns' this friday

Democratic rules may or may not apply to Indian politics. But they sure as hell apply to the Indian box-office​. This week, we get two completely contrasting films; co-director Vinay Sapru-Radhika Rao’s Sanam Teri Kasam and Sunny Deol’s  Ghayal Returns. We already prefer one over the other. So before Friday dawns upon us, here are 5 reasons why the rom-com (Sanam Teri Kasam) seems a better bet than the bone-cruncher (Ghayal Returns): Fresh faces Two very talented new faces in Bollywood, who have have already proved their charm and staying power in other parts of the world, are a part of Sanam Teri Kasam. Harshvardhan Rane, who has already made a name for himself in Telugu cinema and Mawra Hocaine, a natural, show stopper from Pakistani cinema, get together in the film_._ They look smashing as a pair. [caption id=“attachment_2606232” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Stills from Ghayal Returns and Sanam Teri Kasam.[/caption] A force to wreck with Sunny Deol in and as Ghayal? Sounds very 1990s, and it is. Many of the target viewers today were not even born then. Who gives a flying flick about an angry young predator from 26 years ago? No thanks, Ghayal Returns sounds as outdated as Sunny Deol’s biceps. Sound of music On the other hand the connectivity with the title Sanam Teri Kasam is instant. It was the title of Kamal Haasan’s second Hindi film. Released in 1982, the songs composed by R D Burman are still dewdrop fresh. It had won R. D his first Filmfare award. In the new Sanam Teri Kasam, Himesh Reshamiyya has dared the unthinkable: he has composed a title song with the words Sanam Teri Kasam even with RD’s spirit looming over the task. Sunny side down Once a major star, today reduced to a shadow of himself, Sunny Deol has not seen success in a long time. It is unlikely he will make a comeback with Ghayal Returns. The film looks tired, hackneyed and, worse, unexciting. The fact that Deol has directed the film himself is of no help. We’ve seen Sunny’s directorial abilities in Dillagi. The last Ghayal was directed by that master storyteller Raj Kumar Santoshi whose career has also sunk without a trace. But that’s another story. Valentine’s day special Sanam Teri Kasam has the correct romantic vibe to it. Co-directors Vinay Sapru and Radhika Rao have directed some of the most romantic songs in our films, including ‘Tere mast mast nain’ from Dabangg. Ghayal Returns on the other hand, has no songs, no love, no chemistry between the lead pair, unless you want to look at Sunny Deol and Soha Ali Khan together and weep over how good their parents, Dharmendra and Sharmila Tagore, looked together in Anupama, Mere Humdam Mere Dost, Satyakam and Chupke Chupke.