Qarib Qarib Singlle

A film I really enjoyed earlier this year was 'Hindi Medium.' Hilarious, moving, and boasting of strong performances it left a lasting impression. Watching the trailer of 'Qarib Qarib Singlle' reminded me of that in a way. Perhaps because seeing Irrfan in a comic avatar again brought back pleasant memories. So I ventured into the theatre hoping for a similar experience. Though I wasn't as impressed with Qarib Qarib Singlle as I was with Hindi Medium, this movie still managed to make me laugh and leave the theatre smiling.

Jaya is a 35 year old (she will tell you she's 33) widow who has a successful career, a loving family, and an otherwise boring life. On a whim she decides to try online dating and after a few obnoxious messages she connects with Yogi. Yogi, who is in all respects her complete opposite, annoys, surprises, and in his own unique way charms her enough that she continues to put up with him. A spontaneous decision leads them to travel the country in search of past loves. It's a very interesting premise. The characters travel in planes, trains, and taxis to different cities while discovering each other. Specific places aren't given much importance but the journey is still enjoyable.

The tone of the movie is consistently kept light and the dialogues, especially those delivered by Irrfan, are rib tickling. Director Tanuja Chandra strikes a balance between various themes including finding yourself, romance, and letting go of the past. For the most part, she does it successfully. Yogi's backstory seemed a tad weak…perhaps because Jaya's was so heavy. Nevertheless, some connect there would've helped the screenplay. Thankfully, Irrfan more than makes up for Yogi's deficits. His style of humor is one of a kind and doesn't leave any room for boredom. He's in fine form this time around as well. Parvathy, a South Indian actor making her debut in Hindi cinema, is compelling and takes to the character remarkably well. The leads' performances and the couple's banter make this an easy watch.

There wasn't much hype around Qarib Qarib Singlle. It released with little fuss relying on word of mouth to do the trick. So here's my mouth saying the words that this is a pleasant and feel good movie that finds its way into your heart. Give it a shot- and perhaps you'll figure out why 'Singlle' is spelled with 2 l's.

https://stuffiwatchblog.wordpress.com/

Had a smile on face through its whole running time

The story is quite engaging. Initially Yogi is very annoying, but in the middle Jaya becomes annoying. This switch keeps the film interesting.

Odd couples sometimes makes it an even watch. Audience loved pairing of Amitabh-Tabu in Cheeni Kum, Rahul Bose-Mallika Sherawat in Pyaar Ke Side Effects or Ranbir Kapoor - Konkana Sen Sharma in Wake Up Sid. More than the good-looks, I guess the chemistry between these pairing lit up the silver screen and so were the audience. Will the unusual pairing of Irrfan Khan and Parvathy Menon shine in Qarib Qarib Singlle ? Let us find out ..

Qarib Qarib Singlle tells the story of a divorcée Jaya (Malayalam film actress Parvathy Menon) who befriends the full-of-life, Yogi (Irrfan Khan), and agrees to accompany him on a road trip. Through the journey of fun ride, Jaya and Yogi realizes the true meaning of love.

Qarib Qarib Singlle marks a good comeback for Tanuja Chandra who made pretty popular dark and gritty 90's Dushman (Kajol and Sanjay Dutt) and Sangharsh (Preity Zinta and Akshay Kumar). Like her previous films, Tanuja Chandra chose the female character to be the protagonist. Though the film is narrated from the Jaya's point of view, it is the bindaas character of Irrfan Khan which electrifies the screen the moment he enters the scene. The immensely talented actor just pours in some superb witty one-liners that will bring down the house. The film is one hell of a ride in the first half while the second half scores well on melodrama. Despite some good hilarious scenes, the film does have its share of flaws and loses the track towards the end, especially the ordinary climax.

Tanuja Chandra does succeed in creating real-life characters that connects well with audience. The chemistry between Parvathy Menon and Irrfan Khan is simply superb and will engage you till the end. The romantic drama had add-on with tuneful songs, amazing cinematography which captures some exotic location of India right from Hrishikesh till Sikkim. Despite being her Bollywood debut, Parvathy Menon shows the confidence with her dialogues and expressions. Irrfan Khan is simply mind-blowing. This is second film this year after Hindi Medium where the actor does a fine job in comic scenes.

Overall, Qarib Qarib Singlle is a memorable trip that you should take. Good 3/5

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.