Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania

"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.....

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.

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.

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...

Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, popularly known as DDLJ has been one of the biggest cult hits of Bollywood and an epic love story. What had made that famous Yash Raj movie tick was that it had the youthful element of adventurous love despite the fact that the girl is about to be married to a boy of her father's choice. And then, the lover boy goes all out to win over her parents and gets the girl.

Karan Johar has attempted to re-create the same magic by making a largely DDLJ inspired film Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania. It has oodles of romance, comedy and a bit of beating and getting beaten up plus a couple of likable songs. But, will this film make it as big as DDLJ? I don't think so. Partly due to short shelf life of films and partly due to generation change from the days of Bollywood style true love!

The film opens with an introduction to its lead characters. Rakesh 'Humpty' Sharma (Varun Dhawan) is a happy go lucky young man brought up by his equally chilled out father (Kenny Desai) who runs a bookstore in Delhi. Kavya Pratap Singh (Alia Bhatt) is girl from Ambala engaged to an NRI chosen by her authoritarian dad (Ashutosh Rana). Patriarch Singh detests love marriage after the failure of his first daughter's choice and wants the whole affair to go on in the way that he deems fit.

Kavya wants her wedding to be a grand affair. After noticing that her friend in Delhi, Gurpreet has bought herself a designer lehenga, she demands her family buy one for her too. When denied, Kavya quarrels with her family and goes to Delhi to make enough money to shop a designer. It was here that she meets Humpty and she arranges a deal to get him through a pass mark in his bachelor's degree.

For Humpty, he has fallen for the pretty, feisty and smart girl and chases her despite knowing that she is about to get married in a month and a half. But as is the case in all romance flicks, Kavya falls for Humpty after he helps Gurpreet with a problem and then delivers upon his promise to buy her a lehenga (although the latter seemed extremely contrived). Although Kavya heads back to Ambala to go on with the wedding plans, Humpty chases her and vows to win her father's heart.

The story takes a serious turn as Kavya's father and brother turn belligerent towards him. Upon Kavya's insistence, father Singh gives Humpty a chance by putting him on the task of finding at least one fault in the NRI boy Angad (Siddharth Shukla) that he has chosen for his daughter. The rest of the story is filled with humor as Humpty and his two friends go all out; plus the essential ingredient, emotional scenes.

While the plot is decent, the ending of Humpty Sharma ki Dulhania has far less impact than the epic scene of DDLJ where Shah Rukh Khan is on the train awaiting Amrish Puri to release his grip on Kajol and the latter running in all her bridal finery to board the train. Who can ever forget that scene!

This is just her third movie and Alia hasn't put a foot wrong, either in her choice of movies or performance. She has played a college kid, a soul searching sojourner and now a feisty bride with aplomb. Notwithstanding the dumb Alia jokes on the internet, the numero uno slot in Bollywood is just a matter of time for the actress who can carry off innocence and attitude perfectly well.

Varun Dhawan's character is not that of a typical macho hero, but a regular guy who wears his heart on his sleeve who falls in love with the girl. Siddharth Shukla, a popular face on TV makes his film debut. However, his role hardly has much scope. One of the most noteworthy performances is that of the acclaimed actor Ashutosh Rana as the stern father. He fits well into the Bollywood baddies hall of fame.

Verdict: When compared, there is no chance that débutante director Shashank Khaitan can manage what a débutante Aditya Chopra did 19 years ago. On a stand-alone basis, Humpty Sharma ki Dulhania is an enjoyable film and it's a choice you won't regret. The song 'Samjhawaan' is very likable too. You can watch it with your family, laugh at the jokes and yes, believe in the power of love!