Celebrating romance

This girl has amazing talent. Electric! Something akin to Jaya Bhaduri when she initially burst into the screen with ‘Guddi’ and ‘Uphaar’. It needs a kind of talent to take on a sugar candy script and then gnaw at the viewer’s emotions without going overboard. It needs a kind of understanding of the craft to energise a script strewn with clichés and still navigate you through unexpected highs. Thus far she has been the extrovert who was willing to shout: Pareshaan Pareshaan, share a live-in relationship in a small town. The Punjabi kudi is a Rockstar in the real sense of the term and watching her is delightful in ‘Hasee Toh Phasee’.

Also what makes the film likeable is that director Vinil Mathew treads the old big fat Indian wedding in the back drop but by and large keeps away from the regular events and deals largely with the emotions that the principle characters of the film go through. Even the big fat wedding is well stylised and does not suffer the overdose of over bearing uncles and aunts. They come in as props to keep the style going and the background together as a piece.

The story line is simple: Nikhil (Siddharth Malhotra) cannot get things right and is failing in everything he touches. As the son in a family of bureaucrats and police officers, he is the unsuccessful event manager, always trying to raise money. Engaged to Karishma (Adah Sharma), he has seven days for the wedding. Dad (Sharat Saxena) is in on his own trip of investigations. His Pa-in-law (Manoj Joshi) makes known his scepticism at his daughter choice for a life partner and sees him as some kind of a looser who is always sponging on him.

Karishma in the midst of her work cannot take care of a guest who has just arrived and has to be kept away from the limelight- Meeta (Parineeti) who earlier ran away with the cash in the family when another of the many siblings in the family was getting married. Meeta is a drug addict- but a genius who made it to the IITs and can solve any tech problem. She is a genius who is not recognised by the high octave family. Having disowned her, they do not want her around at the ensuing wedding. She has returned to see dad and also take back another instalment of the booty to pay up some research investor in China (a weak link in the story). Slowly, Nikhil ends up spending more time with Meeta and finds her endearing and even warm and loving. Chemistry and cupid add to the challenge and there you go … leaving it to Vinil Mathew to take you through a climax that could have been edited to the advantage of the narration.

Watch the film if you are willing to see people in different hues and understand that life is about space and difference. Watch it if you like a film that spends some effort on the little things albeit at the cost of the larger picture. Watch if you still believe in cuddles and monsoon rains and vadapaav.

Also watch it for a wonderfully restrained performance from the lead pair who deliver far beyond the expectation of what they carry in terms of experience. Siddharth Malhotra does not put a wrong step. He carries a lot of restrain and is yet correctly star material. Watch out this guy. He could surprise us in the future. Manoj Joshi is wonderful as the dad. Yet the film truly belongs to Parineeti. As the gal who treads a path out of the ordinary and is still carrying in her baggage, guilt, apart from her pills, she oozes a sensitivity that travels beyond the screen and reaches out to your heart.

The film deals with emotions without being sanctimonious about it. It deals with two people who go through the challenges and meet it within the framework of acceptable cinema. It unfortunately has it flaws that could well have been avoided- like the long drawn climax for instance and surely the Punjabi song which jars the narrative which is otherwise stylised.

For once it is Phasee to haase.