RomCom? That too the typical Bollywood one with an airport scene at the climax!
Will it be worth watching? Read on!
HOW IT ALWAYS STARTS!
Yes, when I say the typical Bollywood rom-com, I mean it… The movie starts with a song, an intro song of our hero, the song with lyrics ‘Ek baar hi kiya toh pyaar kya kiya, Pyaar hota kahi baar hai’. Now you can guess, it’s the same Ranbir from Bachna Ae Haseeno, Yeh Jawaani Hai Diwani and so on. Needless to say, he is rich & that’s due to belonging to an affluent family like always. Bollywood gives it so we never have a plot twist where money is the issue for the middle-class Indian girl & hero is unambitious yet cool (not a serious guy, a fun guy image).
By the way, even Shraddha is introduced by dancing on an item number and we have a few other such party songs which just add to the entertainment quotient, the story would remain the same otherwise. Hey, it’s T-series, that’s how they got into producing films, their main business shall continue, right?
The hero falls in love immediately because she’s beautiful (& hot) and dances well maybe, that’s enough to justify true love in our films. He chases her, he wants her, she is interested but to do timepass nothing serious (because aaj ki ladki, cool & independent dikhana hai & it’s a Hindi film). So they have the timepass (even sex) and he’s still chasing her which proves his true feelings (logic given by him not me). Another love song, the family meets, taken blessings, she’ll change her mind, he still wants her, blah blah.
BUT DON’T BE DISHEARTENED YET!
If you’ve followed the director Luv Ranjan & his writer Rahul Mody (nothing political in the name), they are masters of a particular game & win it yet again (plot twist in my review today, ha-ha). So here’s a Delhi-based rich Punjabi business-class family where even Dadi drinks, all is cool and all of them are hilarious characters. I believe it’s difficult to entertain despite giving all cliches of a rom-com and this one has a lot of freshness.
The game, to have man vs woman, to point out the mind games toxic people play in love & how they do it. You always have certain scenes in their films giving some nostalgia (Your mind saying, ‘Ye mere saath bhi hua tha’). Wish it was given more screen time than the love story though. The main plot of this man finding out that his girl wants him to break up & how he plays with the information, such quirky ideas are their forte.
The funny Punjabi family which has worked in a few & fallen flat in many films, these guys have mastered it. The comic timing of the script, the punches, and the subplot of the best friend & his life are all pretty entertaining. Also, the reasoning of both protagonists is fairly logical & relevant to today’s relationship which helps to call it a decent storyline.
THE NEGATIVES
Oh, the cliches! The cheesy love story & nibba-nibbi flirts… The guy going crazy despite him being a pioneer of a business to get you a breakup from your partner smartly, then the guy has to be sensible enough to not fall so madly & easily for any girl he saw dancing. The Thumka song was somewhat not acceptable to the plot but commercial film toh entertainment ke liye karna padta hai (producer’s demand maybe). Boney Kapoor? (Again, producer’s demand maybe). The first half has everything you have seen, like a hundred times, thankfully it doesn’t continue that way.
WHAT HELPS IT FROM NOT BEING A MAKKAAR ENTERTAINER?
Kudos to the casting team as well, I would have been bored to watch Kartik & Nushratt doing it again. Any bad actor would have ruined the film in the first half itself & you wouldn’t want to go any further. Nevertheless, the pairing here is fresh, both Ranbir & Shraddha are good actors to play their respective parts. Ranbir as the heartbroken lover boy again but hey, it works for him. Bassi (stand-up comedy fame) as a friend is fairly good, and so is Dimple Kapadia as the hero’s Punjabi mom, the Dadi, the sister, and the niece, all have acted well. The only big complain is why Boney Kapoor? Umm, maybe to prove to us why Arjun & Jhanvi can’t act.
The background score & music is another positive and I’m glad, ‘Pyaar hota kahin baar hai’, ‘Tere pyaar mein’ are fun numbers and you have ‘O Bedardiya’ (well written & well sung). The trio of Pritam, Amitabh Bhattacharya & Arijit Singh yet again delivers what’s expected.
TO LOOK FORWARD TO…
The high points are the individual cameos of Kartik & Nushrratt, so smartly placed to entertain you, the quirky ways to bring up something personal like Ranbir reminding ‘RaAlia’ as a famous pair, Kartik preventing Shraddha from giving a monologue on ‘Problem yeh hai ki’, Nushrratt telling the plot of ‘Sonu ke Titu Ki Sweety’ as her previous broken engagement is a delight for the audience. And have to mention the airport scene, so risky to choose as the climax in a 2023 movie but it’s just hilarious!
To conclude, I’d say the punchlines, decent performances & good music are the expectations from the trailer and it’s all delivered here. Not a no-brainer, but nothing out of the world as well (you know it’s not directed by Nolan or Spielberg, expect accordingly & you’ll enjoy it). For an immersive and interactive experience, explore entertainment options on free cam sites to enjoy live performances.
Verdict – 3 of 5***
