Friday 1 September 2017

SHUBH MANGAL SAAVDHAN MOVIE REVIEW

Much like Aamir Khan, Shoojit Sircar and Phantom Productions, just to name a few, producer Anand L Rai has, over the years, earned the healthy reputation of backing crowd pleasing yet content-driven films whose intentions go beyond raking in the box office moolah. And even while his latest outing Shubh Mangal Saavdhan doesn't beg to be taken seriously, it's by far the most enjoyable film of 2017.

If you've seen the trailers, you'll know what the film is about and though the topic might be a tricky and sensitive one, never once do the makers resort to vulgarity to deliver cheap laughs, relying instead on mining laughs from the most unexpected of situations. Sure there are double meaning jokes alluding to the 'gents' problem but it's wrapped in such side-splitting dialogue and executed in such good humor, you can't help giggling away to glory.

Ayushmaan and Bhumi share an unmistakable chemistry and they're sincere enough to create relatable characters. A major chunk of the comic heft is carried by the rest of the cast. It's a madcap family without even the slightest hint or semblance of levelheadedness and the actors practically inhabit these roles with their sharp comic timing. It is this eccentricity which debutant director R.S. Prasanna (who's remade his own debut Tamil film by the name Kalyana Samayal Saadham) taps into so effortlessly, nicely fending off mawkishness by keeping it crisp and lighthearted, leaving you with precious little time to harp on about the absurdity of the whole premise.

The star of the movie, hands down, is writer Hitesh Kewalya. His quick-witted dialogue left me rolling in the aisles almost throughout the film. The biggest achievement is that he's created so much out of so less.

If I had to nitpick, there is a gratuitous cameo for the very talented Jimmy Shergill, the climax is a bit of a let down and the story itself doesn't have much steam to survive even the merciful duration of less than two hours.

I'm still going with 4/5 for Shubh Mangal Saavdhan. It's insane, zany and charming, but most importantly has its heart (if not anything else :p) in the right place. It's as if the phrase 'laugh riot' was invented to describe this film.