Shubh Mangal Saavdhan!!- Attention Please!

Source: IMDb.com

After watching Bareilly ki Barfi, I was wondering if Ayushmann Khurrana should have a release in the same genre just weeks apart, but this has really surprised me that he has done extremely well in both without seeming trite and boring. It is perhaps a mighty coincidence that Bhumi Pednekar and Seema Pahwa too have 2 movies (Toilet Ek Prem Katha, Bareilly ki Barfi respectively)running parallely  in almost the same genres and doing reasonably well. The one thing that really prompted me to go watch the movie was the fact that it was the remake of a Tamil movie Kalyana Samil Sadham, and that too remade by the same director R S Prasanna. Hats off to the bold and experiential subject of the film and the overall sweet "moral of the story" that it leaves you with. Not to mention the incredible performances by the lead actors and the well chosen support cast and the well- thought-out hindi adaptation

The story is a romantic comedy,  about  Mudit and Suganda both engineers who are engaged and to be married. It is just before the wedding that Mudit discovers he suffers from erectile dysfunction (called gents problem in the entire movie, so hereon) and  the story is a comic take on how he, his friends, fiancé and in-laws are all trying to help him out of his gents" problem

An amazing supporting cast and I am in Love with our new onscreen hit Mom Seema Pahwa, way to go! she has as much of an impression on you as much as the leading actors of the film or may be more. Bhumi has already discovered herself and understands her strengths as an actress. She can really play the girl next door and also keep it really REAL. She is got both the Delhi accent and the Body language perfect for this role. The screenplay has been well adapted for the Hindi / Bollywood Audiences and this is really important when you are working on a subject which may have variant impacts/ meaning to different cultures.

The actor, I am trying to find is Mr.X (I couldn't find his name online anywhere!! Please help here on the comments) who plays Suganda's father has also done an outstanding job alongside Brijendra Kala who plays her Uncle. They are beyond adorable besides just comic

I am very happy and extremely proud of the directors that are bred in the south, and have written about my admiration of for Mr. Maniratnam & Balki before . Now R.S. Prasanna joins my list of favorites . There was another movie recently called OK Jaanu, that was a remake of OK Kanmani , which was again an amazing Tamil movie, but it just didn't hit it with the audience, perhaps because of a different director and weak screenplay adaptation. 

I am little unhappy and I will tell you why, I may sound rhetoric and preachy in the next few lines but I really have to say this-  I saw Children below 13, some even 3 or 4 years old in the movie theatre and it did disturb me that as Parents who are multiplex audiences (educated!!) would bring their kids to a movie with this subject, irrespective of the censor boards decision. I do agree that it was all about the "gents' problem (No one uses the actual words)" and very subtly put too but do you really want to take away  innocence from the Children this soon. So please do watch this movie but leave your Children at home. At a burning fever,  but for the love of movies, this one is the soothing, healing and a "feel good movie" that I needed to watch for sure. Go and Enjoy!

Bareilly Ki Barfi- So Sweet & Good

                                                                                                                       Pic Source: IMDB

This movie is beyond refreshing and took me back to the era of movies directed by Hrishikesh Mukherjee -  so light, so entertaining and yet so simple. Having said that it is “simple”- This does not take away from the authenticity and the honesty in the script writing, detailed art direction, and brilliant casting, acting or the remarkable dialogue writing. The screenplay and the art direction, including the costumes are kept so real to the plot, in that you will not see fancy décor, designer clothes, unnecessary grandeur, yet everything is done in great taste.


The plot is based in the small town of Bareilly, where the female protagonist Bitti Mishra  resides. Bitti is the only child of her parents who is “too modern” and Independent for the likes of the town that she lives in . Bitti works in the electricity department, is  tomboyish,  in that she has male friends, smokes casually, drinks, watches English Movies and likes to break dance. Due to her openness, she is unable to to find a groom which causes tension in the household. It is then that she decides to leave her town and goes to the railway station where she aimlessly wanders and buys a novel from the book stall. The character of the protagonist of the novel turns out just like her, the delighted Bitti, changes her mind and goes back home on a mission to find the Novelist whom she believes will be her true love and a match. Ayushman Khuranna (Chirag Dubey) plays the beaten up lover who wrote the novel but published it under a friend’s name (Pritam Vidrohi )so people do not judge him knowing it was his true story. The story takes hilarious turns and keeps the audiences laughing scene after scene. I would recommend you keep your EARS REALLY OPEN- the dialogues are just too unique, in their wittiness is a lot of local flavor and slang, this could be a little fast hence, just pay attention as this is really hilarious


Nitesh Tiwari (also the writer/director of Dangal) has scripted the movie so well, and director  Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari has done a fabulous job of direction- The best quality of this successful duo is definitely  detailing, meticulous planning and execution which is evident.  Ayushmann Khurrana is the present  Day “Amol Palekar” the” boy next door” fits him so well in this one and also in his past movies like Dum Laga Ke Haisha. Kirti Sanon too comes across as well trained actress, very well done for just a few films so far. The icing on this cake is the supporting cast -Rajkummar Rao (Pritam Vidrohi ) an actor par excellence and the dear adorable and loving parents of Bitti Mishra played by Pankaj Tripathy and Seema Pahwa are a perfect fit and splendid actors. Seema Pahwa’s strength has been in the real treatment she gives to each of her characters she has ever played, right from her debut TV series Hum log back in the Doordarshan days.


This is not a Big Budget Naach Ganney wala movie but simple, light and fun,  yet the music and songs are quite nice. This was so refreshing and right after watching Jab Harry Met Sejal, it has restored my faith in good cinema and honest film making. Go watch it! your popcorn will taste better :)