Full marks for effort and laughs but fails to satisfy
SHUBH MANGAL SAAVDHAN Direction:RS Prasanna Actors:Bhumi Pednekar, Ayushmann Khuranna Rating:
T his is definitely a step forward for Bollywood. Ayushmann Khurrana and Bhumi Pednekarstarrer Shubh Mangal Saavdhan breaks barriers all over the place, with a bold tell-it-likeit-is take on erectile dysfunction.
The film is a remake, by director RS Prasanna, of his Tamil film Kalyana Samayal Saadham. Its setting is the funfilled milieu of a north Indian wedding; its supporting cast is strong — including Beijendra Kala and Seema Pahwa.
All of which gives it a great start. But what should have been an outstanding watch, just isn’t. The movie aims to be funny, but there aren’t enough laughs. It aims to draw us into this mega family drama, and yet none of the secondary characters is fleshed out. Shubh Mangal Saavdhan is the story of Mudit and Sugandha, who fall in love at first sight. She wants to be sure what they have is love. On what should have been a passionate night of confirmation, though, they discover that Mudit has erectile dysfunction.
The film follows the efforts to get him cured; families and relatives soon get involved.
There is laughter, tears, anger and frustration. But none of it feels genuine. We’re not invested in these people as a family, so the chacha/fufa’s anger, the childhood friend’s taunts, fall flat.
There are patches of fun and even brilliance. The middleclass, DDA flat-residing family’s life is recreated beautifully. The scene where Sugandha and her mother discuss sex, with the mother never uttering the word, is hilarious, especially when she goes ‘Hey bhagwan’ when the daughter does. When she then describes, in the same ladylike manner, the soft-porn poetry she wrote on her wedding night, you can’t tell if it’s fact or fantasy, but it’s moving, and funny.
Bhumi is convincing as the woman next door battling stifling traditions. After her performances in Dum Laga Ke Haisha and Toilet: Ek Prem Katha, this is no surprise. Ayushmann is a star. He is by turns funny, charming and irritable — and totally at ease with his character.
With some fleshing out, this film could have shone. Instead, it ends up leaving you, well, unsatisfied.