Single - Nein Danke!

Seldom do you see such an incredible piece of cinema which takes your breath away right from the first moment. Qarib Qarib single is one such piece.

The movie starts with the female protagonist Jaya,a widow, battling with her loneliness of not having someone in her life and finally signing up on a online dating platform. The apprehension and confusion makes us realize how much of a taboo online dating is. After the initial struggle of cheesy, perverted responses, she finally receives a decent response from the male protagonist, Yogi. Enter Irrfan Khan, the free spirited Yogi with his "live your life to the fullest" attitude, incessant rants about his love life and of course life in general:). The movie takes us through their journey of meeting Khan's exes through Jaipur, Delhi and Gangtok.

The movie is beautifully shot through these locations capturing the essence of the journey. What saves this movie from becoming another cliché Rom-Com is the well nuanced characters of Jaya and Yogi, the effortless ease with which the actors portray them and the realistic direction.

What truly is inspirational after seeing this movie is the fact that it makes you subtly realize that everyone needs a companion to share their life with, to maybe share your deepest fears, insecurities and throw tantrums with. And the more important fact is one can find that someone anywhere and anytime. It is just about two people clicking together and discovering each other, finally "LIVING" life on your own terms and having a great journey.

Go to the theater for a fun filled and realistically emotional ride!

My mother really enjoyed this film and urged me to watch it. My high school friend is an assistant director of this film. Irrfan Khan is playing the lead in this film. Those were my reasons to watch the movie. But the movie pleasantly surprised me beyond my expectations! The sentiments and the comic timing is so wonderfully written in the screenplay. And though there isn't chemistry between the lead pair, the jodi of Jaya and Yogi feels real and kept me engrossed throughout the movie regarding the fate of the jodi. Most amazing thing about this film: Jaya looking into the camera and speaking her dialogues. It looks juvenile in the beginning but when the reason is revealed as to why she does it, I was deeply impressed! Overall a fun and emotional journey about moving on in life. Now that I think about it, "qarib qarib single" is a brilliantly chosen title for this movie. :)

Jaya a young window meets Yogi on a dating site. Both are polar opposites yet end up taking a trip together, to meet Yogi's ex- GFs. This is a beautiful movie. Vulnerable, comic and real. It will make you laugh and reflect. Irrfan Khan shines. So does Jaya.

Go for you. It will leave a smile on your face.

Qarib Qarib Singlle is a film co-written and directed by Tanuja Chandra. The trailers looked promising and I was looking forward for this. Finally, when this film was a Tata Sky exclusive, I grabbed the chance of watching this film. And I can say, I am satisfied.

Plot: Jaya meets Yogi using a dating app and they both decide to go on a trip yo meet the ex-girlfriends of Yogi.

Story and direction; The film just focusses on 2 characters for most of the run-time: Jaya And Yogi. While Jaya is shown as a person who is quite hard on the outside but broken and lonely on the inside; Yogi is a person who is very much joyous no matter what the situation is. Normally when you have very limited characters in your story it becomes very difficult as you have to concentrate on those few characters and just make them so impressive that it leaves an impression in the audience's minds. This film is a perfect example of great character work. You seem to just get invested in our lead characters. Also the characters that appear throughout as supporting never feel out of place. Never for a second do you feel disinterested for the leading people of the story. The film is shot in various locations and it looks very much awesome on screen. Also a technique of breaking the fourth wall is used in this film (maybe a first for a hindi film), which was great. The jokes were so natural, it never felt forced like any other rom-com film. But the film has flaws. After a great first half, the film just meanders in the second half and there was a sudden shift in the tone of the film which distracted me quite a lot. Also the film has very few wide angle shots. I know that this is not an action film where there is a necessity of that. But still. This film is being made to be seen on the big screen. It feels kind of irritating to see the close up on the actors faces every time.

Performances: Irrfan time and again proves that why he is regarded as the best actor of this country. The ease with which he carries his roles is impressive to watch. Parvathy does an impressive job for a first timer. She gave quite tough competition to the seasoned Irrfan. Neha Dhupia was also good in the role she got. Rest others were impressive too.

Music: This film again uses the multiple music direction technique. But in the rarest of rare cases, this film has quite great songs that add to the narrative of the film. 'Jaane De' was my favorite track of the film.

Favorite Scene: It would be the first meeting between Jaya and Yogi. The quirky-ness is what made this scene stand out for me.

Verdict: Even with the flaws, the film is a decent watch. I had a great time with this film. Its quite sad that these films don't get the recognition they deserve.Please huys do support films like these.

I am going with an 8/10.

A widowed Jaya (Parvathy) meets Yogi (Irrfan) through one of those dating apps. The two characters are completely opposite to each other which make the story line very predictable however, it is the dialogues, especially the one liners from Irrfan Khan that not only prevents the film from becoming boring but also leaves you laughing and smiling throughout. The chemistry between the lead characters is believable, thanks to their fine performances that they have mastered all through the years.

Summing up, with Qarib Qarib Singlle, Irrfan Khan gives a memorable character and Parvathy, a relatable. The film is a fun ride and a heart-warming romantic comedy that you wouldn't mind watching more than once.

Rating 7/10