Xtreme Vogue Mumbai Desk: Komal Qureshi
Star Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Ammy Virk, Triptii Dimri, Sheeba Chaddha, Faisal Rashid, Neha Dhupia, Ananya Panday, Neha Sharma
Director: Anand Tiwari
What’s Good: The humor and the lead performances, even if the former is quite childish at many points
What’s Bad: The emotions seem superficial
Loo Break: Still, not really!
Watch or Not?: If you like an extended version of the series Four More Shots Please, yes! Or if you are curious about how they have fashioned a sequel to Good Newwz made by the same banner.
Language: Hindi
Available On: Theatrical release
Runtime: 140 Minutes
User Rating:
Saloni Bagga (Triptii Dimri) works in a restaurant and dreams of winning the top award in cookery—the Meraki trophy. But her mother is more interested in finding a nice boy for her. At a party, a chance meeting with Akhil Bagga (Vicky Kaushal) who runs a ‘Chaap’ restaurant, leads to an express romance and whirlwind marriage, which is actually against Saloni’s original ambitions.
A sizzling honeymoon is followed by a quarrel among the newlyweds over Akhil’s interference in Saloni’s professional life, finally fired by a very unpleasant incident at her place of work. Akhil has already irritated Saloni by frequently picking up his mother’s (Sheeba Chaddha)’s call during their most romantic moments on their honeymoon, which he explains is due to his nomophobia (a psychological condition when people have a fear of being detached from mobile phone connectivity) and the loss of his father. But now, Saloni decides that enough is enough and wants to part ways.
Fired also from her job by an irritated boss after she fails to win the Meraki (due to this emotional turmoil), she moves to Mussoorie and gets a job as head chef in a hotel owned by Gurbir Pannu (Ammy Virk). Informed that Akhil has moved on after divorce with Instagram reels as evidence, an incensed Saloni gets romantic with Gurbir and has a physical fling with him. But as it is their anniversary, a still-besotted Akhil surprises her there the same night and she sleeps with him as well. Soon, she discovers that she is pregnant—with twins! And in a rare but established medical phenomenon, Heteropaternal Superfecundation, each twin has a different father. So what happens now?
Script Analysis
Tarun Dudeja and Ishita Moitra’s script is fast-paced and is decent fodder for those seeking vacuous entertainment, as is the case nowadays. The problem lies in developing a story as a sequel to the 2019 film where two parties with similar names have their IVF procedures mixed up. That script had been sensitively written with humor as a constant undercurrent and thus did great business.
Over here, the interested parties (parents of the three lead players) are treated perfunctorily, and the humor is more forced and childish than genuine, like the way the one-upmanship that obviously ensues between Akhil and Gurbir as ‘expectant’ fathers is treated. Yes, the film is correctly non-judgemental about Saloni and in fact focuses on her psychological and emotional needs later, but there seems a forced attempt to whitewash the impulsive and immature Akhil. Again, in the process, Gurbir, overall, is sidelined largely and especially in the climax—due to, literally, no fault of his, as he has been seduced. In an interesting sidelight, he is absent even from the end-credits song.
51 years ago, producer Karan Johar’s mentor, Yash Chopra, in another context, had shown a bold and unconventional ending in his film, Daag, where the hero is shown to now share his life with two women, both of whom could not be faulted for their involvement with him. But here, the script decides to chicken out at the climax.
Also, the humor is not always of a good caliber. Though both Akhil and Saloni, in that sense, are ‘technically’ responsible for the contretemps, poor Gurbir has to bear the brunt, and so, in the fashion of the 1990s films (like Yeh Dillagi and Dillagi), there is as standby waiting for him in the end. Some Dillagi, this!
Also, right in the beginning, we are told that a biopic is being planned on Saloni. Now at all levels, this is the silliest premise of the lot. The medical condition is not all that rare, and Saloni’s life is not all that exemplary. And after all the remarks within the film of what people will think of the three of them, especially Saloni, it is absurd that she is ready to tell all with her biopic!
The script thus emerges as a confused one trying to sail in two boats—the conservative and the unorthodox—at one go!
Star Performance
If such a film is rescued, it is by the involved performances of the three lead players where they all cash in on a script tailor-made for their skills. Accused time and again of nepotism, the banner makes yet another memorable exception with Triptii Dimri being cast in her first true-blue commercial film (after her bold show in a cameo in Animal). With her evocative eyes expressing a lot, she is fully in command of her character and delivers a very confident performance despite the often confused nuances of her character. Even her generous skin show does not seem in the least cheap or crude, and for that, director Anand Tiwari also deserves pats.
Vicky Kaushal, by now, is known for expertly doing the rakish / immature / hyperactive characters that he has become known for, along with his sober ones, and he is superb as Akhil Chadha. Ammy Virk as Gurbir is earnest, funny whenever needed and totally in sync with Gurbir, his character. Neha Dhupia is alright as Saloni’s aunt as her character is underdeveloped. Sheeba Chaddha as Akhil’s mother is competent as well. Faisal Rashid makes for a rather overactive gynecologist. The actors playing Saloni’s parents and grandmother and Gurbir’s father are unknown but do adequately.
Direction, Music
Anand Tiwari’s direction in the series, Bandish Bandits, was amazingly sensitive and deep, but despite great performances, he just did an average job in making Maja Ma. Over here, he goes the Dharma Production’s way of entertaining first and not overtly thinking about the sensitivity and depth needed. But he should have remembered that a true-blue emotional voltage was needed for a worthy sequel of a film that remains a gem from the production house.
The music, as usual, is dominated by a re-creation, “Mere mehboob mere sanam” (from Duplicate) and it says a lot for today’s films’ music. I saw a group of GenZ colleagues dancing to the tune as they walked out of the theater, while the song was being replayed during the end-credit titles.
At a superficial level, Karan Aujla’s “Tauba tauba” is very catchy, but 10 minutes after it ends, I found it had no recall value. And the background score (Amar Mohile) is overdone and intrusive.
The Last Word
Like Four More Shots Please! this is a film to be watched only for its humorous one-liners and amusing situations. The medical condition is just an excuse for its creation and its social implications are not really treated as important, especially given the Indian context. Watch, enjoy and walk out.
Three stars!
