Shaandaar

Like most of you I had huge expectations from this movie being a Vikas Bahl one, but this one was more of a comedy film. There is no message as such, which is contrary to most of his movies. Nevertheless the movie is comical till the end and certain unexpected twists make it a Shandaar wedding. Clearly portrays what Shandaar truly is when it comes to wedding. Pankaj Kapoor and Shahid Kapoor's combination bring in the comedy, but the film does not have a message or story or learning as such and a bit boring at certain parts. First time Shahid and is dad in one movie and they'll make you ROFL. It's basically, a Sit-Com and on a destination wedding but very different from the usual ones. If you're a comedy lover you will like it because the star cast is perfect for such a movie. No better combination than Shahid Alia and Pankaj. All of them have done outstanding acting especially Sushma Seth

Generally, like every other member in the cinema audience we all sit through and watch a movie no matter how terrible it is since we paid for it, obviously, but 15 fifteen minutes into this movie, I realized I have wasted my money, but I gave it a fair chance and sat for another hour to get tortured, after which, me and my friends just simply walked out. I didn't want to waste another minute of my time. The movie was basically what its name suggests it is, but not in terms of plot, acting, comedy,romance and character development. The only thing "shandaar", was the set, the clothing and the location. No character was relatable ,specially not the lead characters. It seemed like a stupid, nonsensical amalgamation of superficiality and the love story of the two most unsuited characters I have ever seen on screen. This is the only movie iv'e watched for which I can't really say, *still a better love story than twilight*. No, twilight was certainly better

The comedy, *sighs*, annoying stereotypes which made me want to pull my hair throughout the movie. If someone wants their brain cells to die then please watch this movie and see actors like Alia bhatt who felt that their face and figure is enough to make this movie work, Acting isn't really required. Well, even kathrina kaif needed some kind of plot support for a hit movie :)

This film proves that Bollywood has run out of ideas.

Jagjinder Joginder (Shahid Kapoor) is a handsome wedding planner with a pack of wet sawdust for brain, hired by an over-smart, unknown queen for her granddaughter's union with a shirtless jackass. The sweet-toothed bride's sister is Alia (Alia "Aila" Bhatt), an insomniac, out of the world princess whose mysterious absence of lineage is the only source of pride in her as she goes swimming at 4 in the morning and collects her father's animated dreams to stay alive. That Alia has finally found her prince in Jagjinder and would like him to make love to her while she tries to dream a dream munching on a banana is what forms a small part of the rest of the story. The remaining, bigger part is taken by Pankaj Kapur's idiocy, Sanjay Kapoor's ugly tomfoolery, and the writers's butterfly-infested vomit.

The film is basically a fairytale romance with ounces of unnecessary animation all over the place. Glittery butterflies coming out of Alia's dress and making Jagjinder throw away his cigarette, impulsive doses of songs because as it turns out both the central characters of the film cannot sleep at night, and blatant melodrama that is worse than Star Plus soaps - the film is filled with fillers like these.

Then there is a cameo by Karan Johar, and I was done for the day. I don't understand why talented actors like Shahid Kapoor and veterans like his father would sign a project which introduces the characters using ugly cartoons. Ridiculous jokes, mindless slapstick, and a shade of black-and-white fairytale is what all the film is about. Not one character is a real deal, and if we had with us Holden from J D Salinger's classic book "The Catcher in the Rye," he would only have one word collectively to describe the film and its tons of characters: PHONEY.

BOTTOM LINE: Do yourself a favor and skip Vikas Bahl's epic fail, Shaandaar, because in here, the characters stay awake so that we can catch some shuteye. The trailer is misleading; don't fall for it.

GRADE: F

Can be watched with a typical Indian family? YES (But, do you really want to?)

I just don't know why this movie has got such a low rating. Its quite a decent movie with a quirky comedy and bordering on being fantastical.

Its quite refreshing and novel(otherwise I would have rated it just 7). This is one major positive point in support of the movie. Even if you dislike it, I bet you will not find this movie concept a repetition of some movie theme/concept already in the public domain.

One important point to keep in mind is that you can't watch this movie with all the seriousness and take it literally. The movie setting, the ambiance, the starting, begs the audience to take this movie light on logic. Otherwise you will not only NOT enjoy this movie, you will also find it absurd and very illogical. I myself found the fact of a human not sleeping a single time upto his/her adulthood quite absurd, but if you take this within the movie context, the setting, the ambiance, you should not be that much bothered. As I already mentioned earlier, the movie borders on being fantastical.

I have quite a sympathy with Vikas Bahl, and the producers, and myself. For the film makers, its obvious, because they lost a lot of money despite making a decent fresh film. For myself, because I was going to watch it in theatre but didn't and missed, just because it got so poor response/reviews from public!

Bollywood has carved out various films based on the wedding theme and they have done well so far. Monsoon Wedding, Hum Aapke Hain Kaun, Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, Band Baja Baraat etc are all about wedding clothes, drama, endless dance and song sequences with glorified Indian shaadi rituals. Shaandaar takes one step further by exploring the destination wedding theme but turns out to a forgettable affair.

Shaandaar talks about a business deal between two families at the backdrop of destination wedding theme in the countryside of UK. However, little is known to them that both families are bankrupt.

Expectations are sky-high as the film is directed by Vikas Bahl who previously made the National Award winning film Queen. With big names like Anurag Kashyap and Karan Johar backing the film, it was supposed to be better than Queen. However, after watching the film you will be disappointed big time. The movie begins with impressive animation telling the story in flashback coupled with subsequent introduction of each characters. If the first half is hilarious, fun and has moments to be remembered, second half is thoroughly disappointing. Even though Bahl had wonderful story to tell, but the lethargic pace and superficial drama could not salvage the film from falling into the pit. The good news is that there are few engaging moments like the wonderful chemistry between Alia Bhatt and Shahid Kapoor, the interaction between Shahid Kapoor and Pankaj Kapur, the visual appeal of the film and the stunning CGI makes it somewhat watchable. Music by Amit Trivedi is good but not excellent. Editing is extremely poor. Why the heck of putting in scenes of Karan Johar's interview, Qawwalli song and the sky- diving which causes hindrance to the movement of the film. Cinematography is astounding capturing the exotic locations of UK. Choreography is electrifying especially in the "Gulabo" and "Shaandaar" songs.

Performance is the only silver-lining in this messy drama. Shahid Kapoor and Alia Bhatt carries the film on their shoulder. The unusual pairing will be loved and liked by all. Shahid Kapoor does well in entertaining you and Alia Bhatt looks charming and adorable. She is just getting better in expressions with each film. Pankaj Kapur is brilliant. His scenes with Shahid will definitely bring down the house. Sanah Kapoor does a good job as a first timer.

So , overall , a golden opportunity gone wasted . Rather than concentrating on technical aspects of the film , Vikas Bahl should have made sincere efforts in the direction and screenplay area. If you are looking for a fairy tale candy-floss romance, Shaandaar might be be a good choice otherwise you can skip it. Decent 2 / 5