Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania

Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania has a "Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge" (DDLJ) Hangover. Well no this isn't the Bradley Cooper infused - "Now I am gonna enjoy this for the next two hours" kind of Hangover. But rather the kind that causes headaches and makes you hate yourself for throwing up - not just your money, but also time, that you could have surely spent elsewhere.

The story goes like this - wait - there was a story? Well yes there was one you see! Someone watched DDLJ. Convinced Karan Johar that now is the time to milk DDLJ, and irrespective of the daring "Neil and Nikki" vanishing off without a trace, Karan actually agreed to fund this! The film, to give credit where its due, has totally done away with logic - thus saving us some more pain in trying to link the sequences happening purposelessly in scene after scene. Sample this - a drunk girl decides to stay back with 3 drunk men she hardly knows in a commercial establishment, claiming that its late at night and risky outside. Now that's what I call logic empowerment! Wait! There is more! Amateurs shoot videos of lovers having sex, blackmail them for money (after all, one is an unhappily married MILF and the other young enough to be her son), and actually end up committing the perfect crime! If that isn't innovation at its best, I don't know what is!

Wait - wondering where DDLJ comes into play? Here it goes - This film you see is essentially about the heroine - Alia Bhatt falling for a random stranger even after having her marriage fixed with someone she regularly interacts with on Skype. Of course all men she Skypes with look hot, can you blame her for not being sure about this one? And yes, she needs to buy a Designer Ghagra, and save a dear friend from getting blackmailed, and earn some fast money, and evaluate some exam papers, and be a good Samaritan to a man who always dreamed of buying a car, and look fresh, and dance at weddings, and pout, and effortlessly say some dialogs that were surely written with least effort, and basically do a lot of unnecessary running around in between.

Still wondering how it is inspired by DDLJ? Don't worry! There is of course an interval, post which the hero - Varun Dhawan tries winning the heroine DDLJ style even as a 'gabru jawaan' - Siddharth Shukla - the only character who actually stays in character and has a semblance of logic - plays a spoilsport by being perfect in every way possible.

The only thing that works for the film is possibly the song "Saturday Saturday" - which has the power of actually eclipsing the impact of the William Pharrell Song "Happy", for the moment it comes on screen, you realize that the film is at last over and believe me! Nothing will make you happier!

P.S: There is a scene in the film where Varun breaks down inconsolably upon reading a message on his phone; and the audience breaks down in an attempt at controlling their laughter. I am not sure whether Varun had managed to glimpse the fate of this film while shooting that scene. 3 out of 10 stars from me, for the technicians who added the required sheen, for the song 'Samjhawan' and for Siddharth Shukla who did not let go of an opportunity of showcasing his skills. But I so wish Alia had chosen better...

I recently watched the movie "Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania".The movie is about the love story of a middle class boy and a middle class girl.Movie is directed by Debutant director Shashank Khaitan and produced by Karan Johar.It is a tribute to famous movie "DDLJ". it is a love story with modern behavior of the boy and the girl and their families.boy's role was played by Varun Dhawan as Humpty Sharma and girls role was played by Alia Bhatt as Kaya Pratap Singh.When Kavya ,a chirpy girl from Ambala, decides to make a trip to Delhi for her marriage shopping, she meets a young, carefree Delhi lad, Humpty Sharma. Humpty's father is the owner of a campus bookstore, where Humpty and his two best friends, Shonty and Poplu, have grown up together and which remains their hangout spot even now. Kavya is unattainable for Humpty initially, which makes her even more endearing to him. But being a Delhi boy, he is not the one to give up so easily. With some help from his two best friends, he finds out all about her and through an interesting turn of events (including a ploy to save Kavya's friend Gurpreet's marriage), they start growing closer to each other. The more time they spend with each other, their love-hate banter grows, but their chemistry is apparent. They are both different, yet very similar as people. They are young, feisty and carefree, and it's the spurge of life which attracts them to each other. As per plan, once Kavya's trip ends, she heads back to Ambala, knowing very well that her father, the very strict, yet loving Mr. Singh, would never accept her love for Humpty. But even though they both weren't looking for love, love happened.So Humpty,accompanied by his two friends, decides to go get Kavya. That's the beginning of a journey for him that he wouldn't have imagined undertaking even in the wildest of his dreams. Humpty, against all odds, decides to convince Kavya's family to agree to his alliance with her. How he does this and if he succeeds in his mission forms the rest of the story. Music in movie was very nice with super hit track "Saturday Saturday".Director has done considerable justice to story and screen play.Acting of characters is very entertaining.In short it is average movie with some good dialogs and character plays.

"Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge" is not only a movie for a lot of us, but it is an experience which I have re-visited God knows how many times, that I have lost count….

"Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania" is a tribute to the cult classic "DDLJ", and Shahshank Khaitan who debuts as a director with this movie tries to replicate the Raj & Simran magic with Humty & Kavya the two principle characters of this movie. But unfortunately the magic just does not happen.

Story & Screenplay written by Shahshank tries to replicate a lot of sequences from "DDLJ", like the cool father of Humpty Sharma (Varun Dhawan) or the quintessential strict typical Punjabi dad of Ambala girl Kavya Pratap Singh (Alia Bhatt). Kavya's Father Mr Singh (Ashutosh Rana) fixes her marriage to his childhood friend's son Angad (Sidharth Shukla). Kavya meets Humpty in Delhi, when she visits Delhi for her trousseau shopping or should I say lehenga and invariably falls in love with ever so imperfect Humpty Sharma. Humpty lands at her wedding celebrations in Ambala and confesses his love for Kavya to his father, well after which it is predictable and this is where the movie falters, there is nothing new. It has some moments especially the sequences with Humpty and his friends Shonty and Poplu or sequences when Kavya is pulling Humpty's leg. But it clearly misses the real core of the story, it is the love angle. There are no sequences which really help to develop the chemistry of the lead pair.

It is the dialogues written by Shahshank himself which lifts the screenplay. The dialogues are funny, witty and catchy. The lingo is typical Delhi as per the setting.

The performance of the lead pair Varun and Alia is crackling, especially Alia's, she is getting better with each movie. Varun as Humpty fits the bill and portrays his character well. Alia as Kavya overshadows all with her typical Punjabi girl act. Ashutosh Rana as Kavya's father is good. But it is Humpty friends Shonty played by Gaurav Pandey and Poplu played by Sahil Vaidya who add the zing to the narration; both the actors have done a brilliant job. Sidharth Shukla is introduced in this movie but he has very less scope and as his character is not developed well, nevertheless his good boy act is pleasant but there is no histrionics which is displayed by the débutant.

Music which is the highlight of all Dharma Production movies, unfortunately is average in this movie, excluding the peppy "Saturday Saturday" and the romantic "Samjhavan" rendered beautifully by Arijit Singh and Shreya Ghoshal and music by Sharib-Toshi ,are two of the best tracks, rest fails to impress.

The production design by Parichit Paralkar is realistic and it is complimented well with Neha Parti's cinematography which is true to the setting and narration of the movie.

Shashank Khaitan's direction shows a spark but it is the weak story & screenplay which fails him. Overall "Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania" is an average fair and worth one watch. So if you have nothing to do go for this movie.....

While the film did pay modern homage to the classic DDLJ and have decent lead actors (Dhawan & Bhatt) with great chemistry, the film falls short for me with its unnecessary homophobic jokes and overload toxic masculinity. Director and writer Shashank Khaitan did manage to drop in that being gay is okay, but it shouldn't be there in the first place. It was tacky and reflects a poor writing. I don't understand why most Karan Johar's production have these kind of homophobic running gags (Student of the year, Dostana) with their brainless approach? He is gay himself and could did a better writing than being sleazy. The toxic masculinity also feels old if you watch it seven years from now, although I must say they balanced it with making fun of how Indian men are lazy in household duties compared to the NRI. The songs are fabulous and I really like Alia Bhatt's Kavya character: pretty badass and sassy.

After watching Student Of The Year I never thought that Alia will receive all this critical acclaim but Varun was definitely the one to watch out for after his debut. Both of them have proved themselves but was it enough. Lets take a closer look!

I never saw DDLJ as a good movie but thought of it as a no-brainer. But HSKD is a good movie and not a suitable tribute to DDLJ(according to the fans). But according to me HSKD and Shashank Khaitan may succeed in presenting a pretty decent example of today's youth and their (mis)adventures in love. HSKD may not be a classic or a legend but excels in entertaining in some sequences but fails in some.

Varun and Alia are the focus of the film and succeed in making us laugh. Siddarth Shukla is given a rather tiny role which was meant to be the hero cum villain of movie. But supporting actors such as Kenneth Dasai and Sahil Vaid are the ones to watch out from the 'Ladkewalas' whereas Ashutos Rana and Mahnaz Damania do total justice to their roles even after their characters are half-baked. Music is entertaining, screenplay and dialogs are full paisa-vaisool

and tickle your funny bone. But hats off to Shashank Khaitan for all the researching and the sharp direction. Overall, it is a family entertainer that is somewhere between watchable and good.