Rating : 8/10
Release Date : 5th June, 2015
Time : 170 minutes
Director : Zoya Akhtar; Writers : Zoya Akhtar, Reema Kagti, Farhan Akhtar (dialogue); Music : Shankar, Ehsaan, Loy
Starring : Anil Kapoor, Shefali Shah, Ranveer Singh, Priyanka Chopra, Anuskha Sharma, Farhan Akhtar, Rahul Bose, Zarina Wahab, Ridhima Sud, Manoj Pahwa, Parmeet Sethi, Khushi Dubey, Divya Seth Shah, Pawan Chopra, Ayesha Raza Mishra, Sarah Hashmi, Dolly Mattoo, Ikhlaque Khan
Members of which Indian community are most likely to throw a lavish foreign cruise party to celebrate their anniversary, inviting family and friends, when they are crippled by debt ?
That same community, their mannerisms, dialogues, behavior, conversations are absolutely nailed, almost perfectly. And that is what is most enjoyable about the film – the close look at a dysfunctional family and their equally crazy relatives and friends. The story otherwise isn’t much and the ending is…well, it would need a lifeboat to rescue it…
(From separate conversations)
Auntyji 1 : (recovering from her daughter’s broken engagement) : Maine na Mata ki Chowki rakhi hai
Auntyji 2 : Teri maid phir bhaag gayi hai ? Yaar, what do you do with your maids ?
Auntyji 3 : (when scolded to get a life, after spending too much time match-making) : Yeh paagal ho gayi hai ? Hummein job kaun dega ?
Auntyji 4 : (when asked to have a drink) : Nahin, mujhe arthritis hai so I cant hold a glass for long
Auntyji 4 : (about above Auntyji, at another point in time) : Inhein asthma bhi hai!?
Auntyji 5 : Aise Delhi main thodi dance kar sakte hain, log kya kahenge
Anil Kapoor : Head of the family. Self-made man. Reminds everyone about it constantly. Has an eye for the pretty ladies. And business trips with them. He is very good as the the testosterone filled dad, prone to getting his own way. And is central to the best scene of the film, a medical emergency
Shefali Shah : Wife. Advisor in tough times. Doormat (to be trampled upon) at others. Prone to eating. Chocolate. Especially when nervous. She was the actor of the film, communicating volumes through her eyes and expressions. Didn’t have too many killer dialogues but one stood out, on the topic of marital incompatibility – “Husband hai, judwan bhai nahin”
Ranveer Singh : Happy go lucky. Infectiously funny. Loves to fly. Isnt good at handling Dad’s business. Has tried. Is being asked to marry daughter of rich friend. To do his bit for the family business. Ranveer does what he does best – brings tons of energy to his role, which seems written for him – and looks, acts, behaves his part. The puke jokes were brilliant!
Priyanka Chopra : Super successful, has set up her own business. Married to the wrong guy. By her parents. Used to being over-looked by them for her brother. But for some reason, it still hurts. After a long while, Priyanka gets a role where she isn’t just eye-candy. And boy, does she do it justice. That guilty look after a sudden, stolen kiss…
Rahul Bose, Priyanka’s stiff hubby, does excellently in a negative role that, strangely, lacks layers. Zarina Wahab as Rahul’s mom is great too – especially with her various ailments. Manoj Pahwa is very good as a loud, happy friend (Oh, yaar, apni biwiyon ko itne saal jhel liya hai, yeh kya baat hai). As are the various wives and other uncles. Special mention of Khushi Dubey as a wise-cracking young ‘un (Beta, agar saj ke nahin baithoge, to ladka kaise phasega ?) and Riddhima Sud, who does a super job as a bimbette type. As an exasperated Ranveer tells her, when she is caught out once, kissing the wrong guy – “There are 500 rooms on the ship!”
Anushka is good in her role as Ranveer’s love interest. Farhan is effortlessly excellent in his brief role – again, he doesn’t seem to be acting but just being himself (Tum itna smart hote huay itni stupid kaisi ho sakti ho?!)
It desperately stretches out. Has an unnecessarily convoluted end. The songs were ordinary, though the background score was great. Thought the whole thing about the dog as a narrator was contrived. But it gets its characters right for the most part. And nails the Punjabi ethos, complete with its extravagance, large heartedness, hypocrisy, male dominance and above all, the intrinsic humour…
30 comments:
These typical Punjabi auntijis... I tell you... Excellent review... Parh ke mazaa aa gaya.
To be on a cruise... With the ocean licking at you on one side and the mountains cradling you on the other...falling sleep to the sound of the ocean lapping the shore..tranquil beauty..
We live in the age of blockbusters, spectacles, superlatives, supermodels, superyachts, supercars, must-see mega shows...these days it is as much about turnstile as it is about curatorial excellence...
That's what one of my uncles did in mid 80's.... Set up an industry, declared it a public ltd.company, money from the shareholders was horded.... After sometime declared it to be a sick industry. Money was never returned to the public.. And the couple went for a world tour.
In fact there was a CBI raid too, and when we were posted in that city, there was another threat of a raid, so overnight their confidential/censored files were shifted to our house.. Have turned into obsessive gamblers, right now too they are in a Casino in Goa..
Daily, evenings used to be a mehfil at their place. Most premium scotch was served, keema, kabab, kaleji... Ab samaj mein aata hai..
Has there been some seismic shift in the fashion calendar ? The answer - The Cruise collection, resort - wear...what a non-stop juggernaut fashion has become.. Brand statement spectacular... Jet-setters off on their sunshine break.. Zoya Akhtar has provided another breathtaking visual feast it seems, with the glorious setting seized on with relish and scattered world-wide in seconds by Instagram.. It fits well with the social class it portrays : people who are desperate to show how up to date and hip they are. Tinselly glitz and glam, people too full of themselves... An ensemble cast of actors..
And haven't we always had this battle of wits between our paternal and maternal sides ! Our humdrum lives...
Anil Kapoor's character : It appears that North Indian Punjabi men take wives because possession is not possible without marriage...they want to rule over them..
This good-fellowship - camaraderie - usually occurring through similarity of pursuits, is unfortunately seldom superadded to love between the sexes, because men and women associate, not in their labours, bur in their pleasures generally..... Where, however, happy circumstance permits its development, the compounded feeling proves itself to be the only love which is strong as anything -- that love which many waters cannot quench, nor the floods drown, beside which the passion usually called by the name is evanescent as steam.... ... .. .
This good-fellowship - camaraderie - usually occurring through similarity of pursuits, is unfortunately seldom superadded to love between the sexes, because men and women associate, not in their labours, but in their pleasures.... generally..... Where, however, happy circumstance permits its development, the compounded feeling proves itself to be the only love which is strong as anything -- that love which many waters cannot quench, nor the floods drown, beside which the passion usually called by the name is evanescent as steam.... ... .. . would one agree ??
Is this film about the chaos of relationships, yet about unruffled continuities ? About how life carries on without clean and clear resolutions... About how parents and children can embarrass and exasperate yet stick around and feel responsible for each other ? About the argumentative families that pick on any little thing to quarrel about.... The frenzied frames, the hyper people..the long suffering aunties who clutter the screen like any noisy family during holidays... Could you elaborate...
Is this film about the chaos of relationships, yet about unruffled continuities ? About how life carries on without clean and clear resolutions... About how parents and children can embarrass and exasperate yet stick around and feel responsible for each other ? About the argumentative families that pick on any little thing to quarrel about.... The frenzied frames, the hyper people..the long suffering aunties who clutter the screen like any noisy family during holidays...
This was not a given... I wonder, are young hearts more resilient ? Do they heal better than an adult ? Do they become stronger or just accumulate scar tissue ?
Kabhi khushi kabhi gum...
Some are taught how to make a chair, some..to lift the chair and some merrily sit on the chair...
Why does romance and coupledom vanish in a marriage ?
Have turned into an eternal mush puppy..
Can I suggest youvsomething approve, I am not good at writing but good at reading.
Isn't review means review and not story telling.
Internet : cause of absolute isolation...
& absolute communication too..
At some point, wondered what it would be like to give free rein to that most repressed of feelings - the desire to...
Why is it difficult for a man to accept his wife's professional success ? It's no mean feat to be the lucky one out of 250+ staff.. Has given an altogether different 'high' ...
Marriage is but a compromise...
"Wisdom comes to us when it can no longer do any good" - Gabriel Garcia Marquez..
We live in such a hypocritical society ! There is a big gap between the declared reality and revealed reality...while cheating men have strip clubs, brothels and massage parlors to go to, then why have female desires been pushed underground ? We treat love and romance so differently...
Unable to get decent hotel bookings at the destination.. Big problem..
There are women who deal with hypoactive sexual desire disorder... Brought on by years of marriage...
I dislike trashy gossip magazines and reading about famous actresses and their romances and breakups and discussing them with colleague as though the celebrities were friends...
Been having a whale of a time...
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