For my first review we have Laaga Chunri Mein Daag. When I saw the trailer for this I thought to myself, Rani = Prostitute = Instant Classic. How wrong I was! It turned out that Rani isn't the most convincing of hookers (or maybe that was what they were aiming for?) and apart from the see through black sari (which needed a much more prominent role) she kind of sucked as a lady of the night! Actually maybe I should be a tad careful when I use the word 'sucked' in this review due to the subject matter! 
Innuendo aside here's how the story goes. Rani and sister Konkona Sen Sharma live an idealistic life in Banaras with father Anupam Kher and mother Jaya Bachchan. They may not have much money but they are happy. Unfortunately Anupam cannot provide for his family and curses the fact that he has landed with two daughters. When things take a turn for the worse, Rani takes it upon herself to be the son her father never had. She decides to head off for the bright lights of Mumbai with her fathers words that she will return a failure ringing in her ears. Rani sets off with high hopes and lands on the doorstep of a 'friend' who does nothing to help as Rani fails to land a job. Eventually Rani is introduced to some dude (his name escapes me) who is the head of a call centre. He tells Rani that she hasn't got the qualifications as a call girl (oops mind the pun!) but had other uses and that she could land the job if she spent the night with him! She walks off in disgust but later returns knowing that this is her only hope of landing a decent job. Cutting to the chase it turns out the guy is a fraud and after he uses her he tries to pay her off. She leaves distressed knowing her innocence has been stolen forever. With nothing to lose her friend trains her to become a high-class hooker! Before you know it, Rani is rolling in cash and bails her family out of financial meltdown. This then causes the bad guys (her uncle and cousin bro) to get suspicious so they begin to investigate. Meanwhile Rani meets with Abisheikh and love blossoms but before the two get together, Rani gets a phone call and vanishes.
Still with me? At the interval Rani's sister arrives in Mumbai as she has landed a job at a marketing company. Rani hides the truth from her sister as she continues her work. Meanwhile Konkona meets and falls in love with her boss. Later on Konkona's boss (Kunal Kapoor) asks for her hand in marriage whilst the bad guys find out that Rani is a hooker. Rani pays off her cousin hoping he keeps quiet but he's the bad guy! Course he's not going to keep it locked. Anyway the sister’s head back to Banaras where they prepare for the wedding when Kunal introduces his brother, none other than Abisheikh! He once again chases Rani and the love re-blossoms (can love re-blossom?) and when Abisheikh asks for Rani's hand in marriage she has a decision to make - follow her dreams and ruin her sisters marriage or sacrifice herself for her sibling. This is Bollywood so you can guess which option she took! But before the two lovers can be reunited, the bad guys show up looking to cause trouble. Luckily the two grooms step in to save the day.
So there you have it, LCMD in a nutshell.
What was good? The performances of Rani Mukherjee and Konkona Sen Sharma are superb and the two seem to have an excellent chemistry with each other. Anupam Kher and Mrs Big B also played their part. And the story was engaging even if it was a little too far fetched!
What sucked? The climax lacked any real drama and when the bad guys turned up to cause trouble, they gave up pretty easily! Other things that really bugged me were some of the portions of storyline. For instance, rather teach her English, why did Rani’s friend teach her to become a hooker? Surely she could have tried other jobs before she stooped to that level? Even though she was a lady of the night, her father forgave her instantly? No whooping to her backside? No speeches about how she killed the family’s honour?! And finally, Abisheikh knew she was a hooker but still thought she was as pure as the River Ganges? Although that might not be such a bad metaphor as part of the Ganges is so polluted the fish have 3 eyes!
Having said that, the story moved along at a decent pace and the actors made the film work. Not as bad as some would have you believe, a definite time pass flick that will keep you entertained throughout.
3 out of 5
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