Perhaps one of the best-written, and packaged comedies in recent times, this one, for me, might actually be slightly better than the producer's previous comedies, Tanu weds Manu (TwM) 1 and 2.
I was a little nervous going in, having reduced my expectations only to Abhay Deol's return after a hiatus of sorts.
Penty was alright in 'Cocktail', but her comeback thru this was kinda muted, and the trailers also did not do any justice to what the movie was gonna be about.
Well, overall, for me, this one was a pleasant surprise, and there are 3 absolutely-fantastic (purely contextual) sequences that are worth the price of your tickets, in spite of the other cliché-ridden plot points / plot turns.
SPOILER-Alert on those 3: 1 has something to do with a para(n)tha, the 2nd has to do with Madhubala (non-comic, subtle dramatics for those paying attn) and the 3rd one has something to do with aadhey-idhar-jaao-aadhey-udhar- jaao (to the uninitiated, that immortal Asrani sequence from 'Sholay')....
However, it has to be said that the climax/resolution is something that, quite possibly, will be considered out of place for a mainstream flick. The importance it attaches to who we think of as secondary characters (Ali Fazal and Momal Shaikh, the lady who plays Abhay Deol's fiancée) is refreshing, especially from a mainstream trope standpoint.
Little things stood out, like the consistent refrain that one character's parent has to say all thru, and the way it loops back when another character says it, was simply too good to behold, and definitely is one of the best examples of how the writing paid attention to what is otherwise discarded as a detail too small to pay attention to.
All supporting characters are fantastic, but special mention must be made of Javed Shaikh, Kanwaljit Singh (Buniyaad, Satte pe Satta, Rustom), Ayesha Raza, Piyush Mishra (who takes a cliché-ed role, and makes it his own, evoking the most guffaws all thru the flick - he's never been better, and I'd love to see him chew scenery the way he did in this one), the always-genial-and-can-turn-menacing-inamoment Manoj Bakshi. And I somehow feel that Ali Fazal's performance is gonna be overlooked, but kudos both to the casting, his characterization (courtesy both the writing and the execution) and his amazingly subtle/understated performance. he just disappears into his role, taking a character no one can root for, and makes us, yes, root for him (observe the para(n)tha sequence). Special mention must be made of Jimmy Sheirgill, who embraces his now-created-yet-thankless-type, from TwM1 and 2, and makes it his own, and still comes up with a fantastic performance (following his understated/underrated/under-appreciated work in 'Madaari' earlier this year) that is quite memorable, at least to those who look for finer nuances in similar characterizations, portrayed by the same actors. Not sure there has been something like this in the recent past.
'Zara si Dosti' was my pick among the numbers, especially due to its heartfelt lyrics. unfortunately, that was the only number that stood out, though the background score sounded better-than-average.
Not sure how much of a hand he had in it, but Aanand Rai more than makes up, IMHO, for the disappointing ending that I thought he;d saddled TwM2 with, with a whopper of a choice towards the end in this one. Keeping it real is where it's at, for those who're paying attention.
I'd definitely watch this once again on the big screen, at the next opportunity, and recommend the same for those who like their cinema to be smarter-than-average-yet-not-too-heavy.
Great effort from the team.
I was a little nervous going in, having reduced my expectations only to Abhay Deol's return after a hiatus of sorts.
Penty was alright in 'Cocktail', but her comeback thru this was kinda muted, and the trailers also did not do any justice to what the movie was gonna be about.
Well, overall, for me, this one was a pleasant surprise, and there are 3 absolutely-fantastic (purely contextual) sequences that are worth the price of your tickets, in spite of the other cliché-ridden plot points / plot turns.
SPOILER-Alert on those 3: 1 has something to do with a para(n)tha, the 2nd has to do with Madhubala (non-comic, subtle dramatics for those paying attn) and the 3rd one has something to do with aadhey-idhar-jaao-aadhey-udhar- jaao (to the uninitiated, that immortal Asrani sequence from 'Sholay')....
However, it has to be said that the climax/resolution is something that, quite possibly, will be considered out of place for a mainstream flick. The importance it attaches to who we think of as secondary characters (Ali Fazal and Momal Shaikh, the lady who plays Abhay Deol's fiancée) is refreshing, especially from a mainstream trope standpoint.
Little things stood out, like the consistent refrain that one character's parent has to say all thru, and the way it loops back when another character says it, was simply too good to behold, and definitely is one of the best examples of how the writing paid attention to what is otherwise discarded as a detail too small to pay attention to.
All supporting characters are fantastic, but special mention must be made of Javed Shaikh, Kanwaljit Singh (Buniyaad, Satte pe Satta, Rustom), Ayesha Raza, Piyush Mishra (who takes a cliché-ed role, and makes it his own, evoking the most guffaws all thru the flick - he's never been better, and I'd love to see him chew scenery the way he did in this one), the always-genial-and-can-turn-menacing-inamoment Manoj Bakshi. And I somehow feel that Ali Fazal's performance is gonna be overlooked, but kudos both to the casting, his characterization (courtesy both the writing and the execution) and his amazingly subtle/understated performance. he just disappears into his role, taking a character no one can root for, and makes us, yes, root for him (observe the para(n)tha sequence). Special mention must be made of Jimmy Sheirgill, who embraces his now-created-yet-thankless-type, from TwM1 and 2, and makes it his own, and still comes up with a fantastic performance (following his understated/underrated/under-appreciated work in 'Madaari' earlier this year) that is quite memorable, at least to those who look for finer nuances in similar characterizations, portrayed by the same actors. Not sure there has been something like this in the recent past.
'Zara si Dosti' was my pick among the numbers, especially due to its heartfelt lyrics. unfortunately, that was the only number that stood out, though the background score sounded better-than-average.
Not sure how much of a hand he had in it, but Aanand Rai more than makes up, IMHO, for the disappointing ending that I thought he;d saddled TwM2 with, with a whopper of a choice towards the end in this one. Keeping it real is where it's at, for those who're paying attention.
I'd definitely watch this once again on the big screen, at the next opportunity, and recommend the same for those who like their cinema to be smarter-than-average-yet-not-too-heavy.
Great effort from the team.