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Note the plus-es: the superficial one first: no numerology in the title! That alone shows confidence in a product! Second, within a rom-com about wrong partners for boy and girl we get something flipped over: the rejected boy finds his ex’s fiance’s ditched girl and hatches a plan with her to sabotage their beaus who are set to wed each other, because they are themselves devastated! The idea is to get someone they feel they rightfully deserve back in their lives as they feel that they cannot go on in life without them.
Third, it is great to see director-writer Shashank Khaitan back in form (as in his Humpty Sharma… and Badrinath… movies in the …Ki Dulhania franchise). Khaitan had gone woefully awry in both Dhadak (his adaptation of the overrated and dark Marathi film, Sairaat) and Govinda Naam Mera. Last, but not the least, Varun Dhawan is back in his element, after a great but unsuccessful Bawaal and the disasters, Citadel and Baby John.
Varun was in both the two early Khaitan films, and this reunion is sparkling and energetic, both at the performance and dance levels. A chemistry that was just palpable in Bawaal with Janhvi Kapoor goes to a high, again both in acting and the musical side.
Varun is Sunny Sanskari (seriously, the second name stands for his surname, not for being ‘traditionally cultured’ as the word literally means!), who is told by girlfriend Ananya (Sanya Malhotra) that she is not in love with him (though he is). She says that theirs was a ‘situationship’ (the GenZee term that stands for a relationship sans commitment) and now, under family pressure, is engaged to Vikram Singh (Rohit Saraf) who is not only uber-rich but an ace in everything academic and otherwise.
But Vikram has, again thanks to family influences, also ditched Tulsi Kumari (Janhvi of course), a schoolteacher, despite their long-standing bond.
Tulsi is shattered, weeps buckets at every tweak of her ex’s memory, and Sunny is determined and angry. With Sunny’s loyal crony, Buntu (Avinash Sharma), they reach the pre-wedding festivities (it’s going to be a destination wedding) as a couple very much in rebound love, who will make Vikram and Ananya jealous, then confused and hopefully scrap their wedding vows and ‘return’.
In the picture also are Ananya’s mom and Vikram’s obnoxious clan, including a chauvinistic brother (Akshay Oberoi) who takes his wife for granted. And then mirth and (very controlled) melodrama abound, with wedding planner Kuku (Maniesh Paul) adding to the comic mayhem. Sunny’s rich father who funds him (and mother) and Tulsi’s single father remain tacitly supportive in the background.
In the second half, towards the climax, the classic template of wrong partner leads to a stretched few minutes, but then we are back to a couple of surprises that make the otherwise-predictable ending get a fresh color.
Where the script and dialogues (Ishita Moitra) score are in the constant supply of situational as well as purely verbal humor. The serious sequences therefore are crisp and impactful when they come. Certain scenes, like when Sunny and Buntu mimic Shah Rukh Khan and Salman Khan, the Karan Johar sequence, the way Kuku gets to know some family revelations and comments on them, and the ‘bedroom’ dialogues between Sunny and Tulsi are truly witty and funny. The bra-adjusting sequence in the women’s washroom between Tulsi and Ananya, however, is incongruous to the pitch of the narration.
Khaitan, with producer Karan Johar, had also co-produced Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahani (which has just won the National Award for wholesome entertainment) and co-written it, and its influences are clearly seen here with the (for Khaitan movies) consistent message of gender equality. A near-similar situation is there between Vikram Singh’s brother and sister-in-law as seen in the earlier film between Rocky’s parents.
But Khaitan does not restrict his tribute only to Rocky…. There are references by way of scenes, lines and old music to Chak De! India, Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham…, Mr. India, Gopi Kishan and more.
The music is catchy while it lasts, and I would single out Ishq manzoor among them. The non-film Bijuria is cleverly used, as are Panwadi and Tu hai meri. Needless to add, the songs are high on exuberance and the typical Karan Johar template of ornate sets, effervescent (the only adjective that seems to match, all told!) costumes and the scintillating choreography zoom up the scale of the songs’ and the movie’s overall visual quotient.
Varun and Janhvi are both outstandingly efficient and, when needed, intense. Rohit Saraf is alright, but Sanya Malhotra makes a solid impression as a practical and forthright Ananya. Abhinav Sharma stands out as Buntu, while Maniesh Paul as Kuku is good. The rest of the adequate cast has little to do.
But the film has a lot to entertain. And skipping it will mean missing a great entertainer in this festive season.
Rating: ****
Dharma Productions’ & Mentor Disciple Entertainment’s Sunny Sanskari Ki Tulsi Kumari Produced by: Hiroo Yash Johar, Karan Johar, Adar Poonawalla, Apoorva Mehta & Shashank Khaitan. Directed by: Shashank Khaitan Written by: Shashank Khaitan & Ishita Moitra Music: Tanishk Bagchi, Ravi Pawar, A.P.S., Sachet-Parampara & Guru Randhawa Starring: Varun Dhawan, Janhvi Kapoor, Sanya Malhotra, Rohit Saraf, Maniesh Paul, Abhinav Sharma, Akshay Oberoi, Nazneen Madan, Kavita Pais, Monika Kohli, Gaurav Sikri, Rohitashv Gour, Manini Chadda, Mallika Chhabra, Dharna Durga, Salim Arif, Sp. App.: Prajakta Koli & others
