Film Review: DUM LAGA KE HAISHA

Ayushmann Khurrana is excellent in his role as Prem

Cast: Ayushmann Khurrana, Bhumi Pednekar, 
Director: Sharat Katariya

THE STORY

The film is set in 1995 Haridwar. Prem (Ayushmann Khurrana) runs a music tape shop along with his father. He’s barely managed to scrape through school till Standard VIII. He lives with his parents and a paternal aunt who’s separated from her husband. Prem’s father arranges his wedding with Sandhya (Bhumi Pednekar) from an educated family. She’s a B.Ed and likes Prem when they meet for the first time. He doesn’t like her at all as he finds her too fat for his taste. Of course, they don’t get the opportunity to find out anything more about each other. 

His father leaves Prem with no choice but to marry Sandhya. Ashamed of his new wife, Prem refuses to live with her and hates the idea of even introducing her to his friends. Sandhya is confused. It’s when she hears him talk badly about her to his friends that she gets to know the depth of his hatred. She leaves him to go back to her parents, filing for a divorce. The court orders Prem and Sandhya to try living with each other for six months before taking a decision. What happens in those six months? Will Prem and Sandhya decide to continue as man and wife or will they separate forever? 

MY PERCEPTION

The story is not so bad. And I am glad that the film ran for 111 minutes, a bit less than two hours. Better yet, we watched it during the week and spent only Rs. 130 per ticket. Considering all the above points, I didn’t regret the experience. 

As for the film, Ayushmann Khurrana is excellent in his role as Prem, hemmed in by his parents and his environment; confused by his own mind and lack of education; finally feeling compassion for the woman who’s married him. Congratulations!

This is Bhumi Pednekar’s first film as an actress. She’s really good; casual, smart, educated and very comfortable in her plumpness. 

The rest of the characters come together to form a good film. The last sequence when Prem carries Sandhya piggyback for a race, giving the film its name, is too tough to swallow. Even if Prem was a practised marathon runner, it would be an impossible thing to do. Unless, he’s been carrying heavy sacks over many years. Some thought could have gone into creating this.

VERDICT: You can watch the film if you have a lot of time in your hands, like soft, slow romances, and don’t mind spending the money. Otherwise, watch out for Dum Laga Ke Haisha on TV. It’s not long in coming!  

*Silly
**Shaky
***Smart
****Snazzy 
*****Super 

Film Review: SHUDDH DESI ROMANCE

They had a fabulous combination of actors and still managed to botch up the film. That needs talent, I am sure! 

Cast: Sushant Singh Rajput, Parineeti Chopra, Rishi Kapoor, Vaani Kapoor
Director: Maneesh Sharma

I thought Shuddh Desi Romance was the tagline and kept searching for the name of the film for a while before I realised that that was the movie title. I was keen to see it as it is starring Parineeti Chopra and Sushant Singh Rajput. Vini was also keen on seeing it and we managed to catch it along with a friend a week later on Friday, the 13th at 11 pm at Cinemax Sion at one of the mini theatres.

THE STORY

Raghuram aka Raghu (Sushant Singh Rajput) gets cold feet at his wedding to Tara (Vaani Kapoor) and runs away just before tying the knot. There is a reason to it. He meets Gayatri (Parineeti Chopra) on his way to the wedding and feels the instant chemistry.

Later, he meets Gayatri again a couple of weeks later. Soon, they are living together. After some time, they decide to get married. Again, Raghu is nervous at the mandap, but this time it is Gayatri who runs away.

There’s more, but I will not bore you with it. If you still feel you would not mind watching the film, you can catch it at the theatres. If not, there’s always the idiot box where you can see it a couple of months down the line.

MY PERCEPTION

The film is actually made from a short story – I am sure – that has been expanded into a film that runs for 2 hours and 20 minutes. The same sequences and dialogues repeat over and over. If the film had been any slower, a snail would have beaten it at the race.

I could so relate to the concept of the fear of permanence of marriage in today's youngsters. It is a huge commitment and quite difficult to face when you want to feel free.

They had a fabulous combination of actors – Parineeti Chopra, Sushant Singh Rajput, Rishi Kapoor and Vaani Kapoor – and still managed to botch up the film. That needs talent, I am sure.

Parineeti Chopra was excellent in the role of Gayatri – a woman living by herself, running through boyfriends as she is disappointed with them, every time. She’s independent and fun-loving. She is not able to relate to marriage, as in a permanent commitment.

I saw Sushant Singh Rajput in Kai Po Che. While I did not like the film, the actor was good in it. He’s handsome and dashing and can act very well. The chemistry between Parineeti and Sushant sizzles. Their eye expressions are definitely worth a watch.

Newcomer Vaani Kapoor is quite good, considering that it’s her first film. Her character Tara is also interesting, quite cheerful and could not care less whatever happens.

Rishi Kapoor literally glows in the character of Goyal, a marriage contractor. His second innings in Bollywood promises to be even better than his earlier stint.

Then why did I not like the film?

I couldn’t stand it, in fact. With all these features, the presentation was terrible. It’s like you have the right ingredients to prepare a dish and it fails because of overcooking. The film deserved to be 40 minutes long. There was only that much story and dialogues in it. The rest of the time, everything was repeated. I am sure you get what I mean.

I realised why the theatres are crowded even one week later. A lot of cheapskates land up there to watch the smooching scenes and making lewd comments throughout. There were at least three such guys in front of us and it was obvious that they were not watching the film for the first time. It was just too irritating for words.

I am glad that we could go only to the mini theatre where the ticket costs Rs. 150 per person instead of the usual Rs. 250. But still I feel the film was not worth it.

VERDICT: Watch it at your own risk!

RATING: ** Shaky

*Silly
**Shaky
***Smart
****Snazzy
*****Super

Film Review: LADIES vs RICKY BAHL

A light romance that was fun from the way go with excellent casting

Cast: Ranveer Singh, Anushka Sharma, Dippanita Sharma, Parineeti Chopra, Aditi Sharma
Director: Maneesh Sharma

It’s been over a week since the film’s release. We had been wondering whether to watch it or not. Last night, Venkat and I decided to go to the film at Cinemax Sion.

THE STORY: Ricky Bahl (Ranveer Singh) goes under various aliases. He has only one purpose – to con young women into parting with their cash. He does not cheat them into physical relationships or any such thing. Ricky studies his targets thoroughly before jumping into the fray. He flatters them and manages to loot them. As Sunny, he becomes Dimple’s (Parineeti Chopra) boyfriend, impresses her parents and loots 20 lakh. He sells a fake MF Hussain painting to Raina’s (Dipannita Sharma) company for a crore and twenty lakh. But what he had not foreseen was Raina’s aggressive nature. She sets out to get in touch with the other women he has cheated and sets up a plan. That’s when the young widow Saira (Aditi Sharma) joins the group. She had been cheated of 10 lakh rupees by Iqbal, another alias of Ricky. Raina, Dimple and Saira get together and hire Ishika Desai (Anushka Sharma) to con Ricky Bahl ala Not-a-Penny-More-Not-a-Penny-Less-style. Watch the film to see how far they succeed.

MY PERCEPTION: The film ran for approximately two hours and was well scripted, directed and edited. The only fault I could find there was the songs that keep cropping up mid-way. But I suppose one has to learn to live with them in Bollywood.

Dipannita Sharma has come a very long way since December 16. She has quite a chunky role in this film and she has performed quite well. With her height, I would presume that Dipannita must be a model. But she has terrible dress sense. The first few scenes were good. Later, at Goa, she was dressed horribly in every single scene.

Aditi Sharma as Saira was excellent. She probably will never make a heroine, but she looked very cute and acted very well.

Of these three women, the first prize goes to Parineeti Chopra as Dimple Chaddha. She was just too good as an irritating Punjabi, rich, spoilt brat. She acted extremely well and her dialogue delivery was just perfect.

Anushka Sharma looked gorgeous and acted very well too. Her on-screen chemistry with Ranveer Singh was superb. Her eyes are too expressive and her dressing sense gets better and better. Keep up the great work, Anushka!

Ranveer Singh was very good in his first film, Band Baaja Baaraat. In this, he is even more polished. He has walked through his role casually and done a fabulous job. Kudos!

I congratulate Yash Raj Films for bringing forth yet another light romance with excellent casting that I thoroughly enjoyed!

VERDICT: You should watch it if you are a fan of Ranveer Singh or Anushka Sharma and especially if you are fond of romances. A light movie!

RATING: *** Smart

* Silly
** Shaky
*** Smart
**** Snazzy
***** Super

Film Review: BAND BAAJA BAARAAT

Cast: Anushka Sharma, Ranveer Singh
Story & Direction: Maneesh Sharma
Rating: ***** Super

This film is from the YRF banner and comes after continuous flops turned out by the film house.

The Story: Shruti (Anushka Sharma) lives in Delhi and is very clear about her aim in life. She wants to become the best wedding planner in the country. She has all her plans made and is keen to undergo the necessary training and experience. Bittoo is a college student who is studying only to escape farming beside his father in his village. He is not at all keen to get back to his village and meeting Shruti brings about a turn in his life. He cajoles her into taking him on as a partner in her wedding plan venture. The two set out at first to train under the best wedding planner in town. But they are disappointed to find that the woman never delivers what she promises. That’s when the two set up ‘Shaadi Mubarak’, a small-time venture. Soon, this gets quite big and popular.

In the beginning of the partnership, Shruti insists that their relationship will never go beyond friendship and that was the only way to keep the business partnership going. Bittoo takes her word as gospel and keeps a friendly relationship. But soon, the equation changes for Shruti when she falls in love with him. Unable to tell him the truth and quite disgusted when he insists that their relationship should not cross the friendship line, she picks a fight with him and they break up. The business falls apart and neither is able to survive in the market working alone.

Watch the film to see how the rift is patched up finally and Shaadi Mubarak returns to its former glory.

My Perception: The movie was very good. Anushka has three hits to her name – Rab Ne Banadi Jodi; Badmaa$h Company and now this one. Each one has a different role that required varying nuances. And believe me, this actress has delivered. She had done a superb job of playing Shruti – fun, emotion, attitude, you name it, she portrays it. Kudos!

Newcomer Ranveer Singh was nothing short of excellent. His casual manner, small town attitude, dialogue delivery, simple behaviour of Bittoo – everything comes naturally. The man could dance his way through the movie. He was just too good. Keep up the great work, Dude!

Music by Salim-Suleiman, choreography by Vaibhavi Merchant and lyrics by Amitabh Bhattacharya were just perfect. The story by Maneesh Sharma was quite uncomplicated and portrayed a simple set of situations typical to India and especially Delhi. It was the way he had handled the picturisation that was par excellence. The presentation was simply superb!

YRF is back with a bang it seems. If they delivered DDLJ all those years ago, they have proved that BBB is a pretty close contender. While it can never squeeze your hearts with emotion the way DDLJ did and still does, it is the next best and suits the modern generation just perfectly.

Verdict: Double Thumbs Up!

* Silly
** Shaky
*** Smart
**** Snazzy
***** Super