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Wanna spend a couple of hours relaxing, watching a vintage Hollywood kind of rom-com? With some truly illogical stuff happening and only the occasional guffaw from you, though there is a steady inflow of smiles and an occasional chortle with the sitcom-like humor? Then Pati Patni Aur Woh Do is just what you want.
A sequel in spirit to the 1978 classic Pati Patni Aur Woh and its 2019 reboot, the story is set in Prayagraj with forays into nearby Kanpur and Benares. Prajapati Pandey (Ayushmann Khurrana) is a respected and intrepid forest officer specializing in trapping wild animals that escape into civilization.
Prajapati is happily married to Aparna (Wamiqa Gabbi) and his colleague, Nilofer Khan (Rakul Preet Singh) is also her bestie. Prajapati and Nilofer too share a great friendship. Aparna is a dedicated journalist and has just brought out a scoop concerning Sunny (Vishal Vashishtha), son to political leader Gajraj Tiwari (Tigmanshu Dhulia), and a girl in a burqa. Gajraj has promised her that he will finance her own channel if she locates the girl. He cannot allow his son to marry someone outside his caste.
The girl is Chanchal Kumari (Sara Ali Khan), who is from a socially lower community, and she is sure Gajraj will kill her if she is found out. Sunny has surreptitiously booked their tickets to Canada, but she needs to hide her identity for a fortnight till her visa is cleared. Chanchal is an old friend of Prajapati and seeks his help.
Confident of his wife’s progressive ways, he tells her that he will take her into confidence and they will pretend to be romantically involved as Gajraj’s goons, Mahinder (Durgesh Kumar) and Surinder (Guneet Singh Sodhi) are tailing her as well as two more ‘suspected’ girlfriends of Sunny. Soon, the only one left to tail is Chanchal as the other two are ruled out.
But Prajapati is shocked when he realizes that his wife was the one who brought out the scoop, took the picture and is eager for Gajraj’s financing her channel. A desperate Chanchal and Prajapati then land in one messy contretemps after another, including with Chanchal’s aunt Bua-ji (Ayesha Raza Mishra) and an eccentric cop, Dharamveer Singh (Vijay Raaz).
And so, Aparna’s world is shattered when she suspects her husband of having an affair with not just Chanchal but, due to a chain of incidents, also her friend Nilofer. And while there is a transient misunderstanding between Sunny and Chanchal, a sequence of events leads to a crazy climax with Buaji, Gajraj and Chanchal’s parents (who are a lawyer and judge respectively!), the cop, Gajraj’s harebrained goons and an escaped wolf.
Director-cowriter Mudassar Aziz improves vastly over his 2019 rehash of the classic but cannot match the excellence of his 2024 delight, Khel Khel Mein. He goes the whole hog in generating whacky situations and the essence of the plot is decidedly funny. However, despite the concise length of 117 minutes, he could have packed in a good bit of solid humor and wit here, which was consistent in Khel Khel Mein. His general credo seems to be “Leave logic at home. Just have a blast!” But even that blast does not quite meet its full potential! Co-writer Ravi Kumar is also in sync with that mood.
The music is a complete ear-sore, but for the classics reused like Keh do ki tum ho meri (Tezaab) in original form and Kaali teri choti (Bahaar Aane Tak) refurbished. The songs come in minus logic and all seem forced, the idea being seemingly to show skin-show and thus justify three glam heroines.
The performances save the film and increase its appeal. Ayushmann is deliberately hyper, and Wamiqa Gabbi a welcome contrast as the determined, passionate Aparna, who does not cry at her misfortune but has steel enough to fight her errant husband. Rakul Preet Singh, as usual, is superb, and Sara Ali Khan is good. Ayesha Reza Mishra as ‘Buaji’ is a scream. Guneet Singh Sodhi and Durgesh Kumar are excellent as the goons and so is Vijay Raaz as the cop. As the hotel receptionist (the board reads “Moyo Rooms—Keep Coming!” to indicate its shady nature!), Santanu Panda is also a hoot.
The film amuses, relaxes and you get involved in the mad goings-on despite the flaws and the low comic voltage. In the final analysis, it’s a fair deal that could have been lots funnier.
Rating: **1/2
T-Series Films’ & BR Studio’s Pati Patni Aur Woh Do Produced by: Bhushan Kumar, Krishan Kumar & Renu Ravi Chopra Directed by: Mudassar Aziz Written by: Mudassar Aziz & Ravi Kumar Music: Rajesh Roshan, Rochak Kohli, Tanishk Bagchi, Neelkamal Singh, Tony Kakkar, Badshah & Devv Sadaana Starring: Ayushmann Khurrana, Rakul Preet Singh, Sara Ali Khan, Wamiqa Gabbi, Vijay Raaz, Ayesha Reza Mishra, Deepika Amin, Tigmanshu Dhulia, Durgesh Kumar, Guneet Singh Sodhi, Santanu Panda, Vishal Vashishtha, Shireesh Kumar Sharma & others
