This rolling stone doesn't gather much Maus.....am

Spanning three continents and ten years starting 1992, Mausam starts off on a convincing note. Shahid Kapoor's Harry hangs out with friends, tricks the village elders, falls for Aayat (played by Sonam Kapoor), all this while awaiting his sarkari letter. In these parts, he's very likable and so is the movie. But soon, a temporal and transnational leap happens, followed by many more such leaps.

Mausam relies on national tragedies and an international one to establish the movie's timeline, similar to something that Saat Khoon Maaf had done.

The tension in Kashmir forces Aayat to move to Mallukot at her aunt's (played by Supriya Pathak) place. It's here that Harry and Aayat just begin to fall in love. The best scene in the movie is when the lovers quietly exchange chits to express their thoughts to each other, just so that Harry's sister who's sleeping right in between them doesn't wake up. Aayat accepts his inky notes, puts them in a glass of water and barters them with her hennaed replies.

Unfortunately, the Babri Masjid demolition takes a toll on this Hindu-Muslim romance. Aayat vanishes overnight without leaving behind so much as a note to inform Harry as to where she is. And from then on, the movie runs into rough weather, literally and figuratively.

Balle balle is replaced by ballet, rural gaucheness by urban refinement and India by Scotland.

Harry, a stern-looking air force pilot meets Aayat, now a graceful dancer after seven years. But this time the Kargil war distances the lovers. Soon enough, there is a mention of 9/11. Somewhere in between, there are references to the Bombay riots.

With so many incidents crisscrossing the movie's script, it progressively begins to lack logic. It is impossible to understand why the lovers don't even attempt to leave behind notes or messages to each other before parting.

The final portion of the movie set against the Gujarat riots turns out to be the funniest. A Ferris wheel, a child, a white horse and a paralyzed hand contribute to the humor.

While Shahid as the mustachioed pilot tends to get droning, Sonam is sincere but average when it comes to acting her part. Anupam Kher and Supriya Pathak have nothing much to do. Aditi Sharma as Rajjo is perfectly cast as the woman who secretly harbors feelings for Harry despite being married to his friend.

Binod Pradhan's cinematography makes the Punjab and Scotland parts look beautiful. Rabba main to mar gaya and Ik tu hi tu hi prominently stand out among other Pritam compositions. Pankaj Kapur's directorial debut doesn't match his standards as an actor.

This mausam call for a mausambi juice instead.