Shirin Farhad

Boman, a Parsi, is 45. Dominated by his loving mother. Cherished by his grand mom. Is sweet and honest, even explains the truth patiently to a prospective brides family when his mother exaggerates to get the rishta through. Is tired of people belittling his profession, that of a lingerie salesman, despite everyone having to wear underwear. Is hounded by some well- meaning relatives, who ask too many questions and try to run his life.

He gets a shot at romance when he meets and falls for Farah, another Parsi, whom he meets in his shop. She is feisty and straightforward, lives with her comatose father and unwed paternal aunt. She hits it off with Boman, both enjoy a few moments of romance. But soon, thanks to a squabble regarding an ancient tank, Boman is forced to make a choice between Farah and his mom.

The movie is cute, well-acted, clichéd and predictable. It would've been interesting as a short story, but seems stretched as a feature, with the conflict being nothing more than a storm in a teacup, the resolution as obvious as the recipe for a boiled egg. The writing is good, but here the dialogue needed to overcome the threadbare story and the characters needed to be able to surprise you occasionally to ensure interest was maintained. Neither occurs and so the movie remains in the territory of watch, but only with a remote at hand… More at www.apurvbollywood.blogspot.com

Primarily promoted as a comedy, SHIRIN FARHAD KI TOH NIKAL PADI serves the purpose pretty well in its first half. It does make you smile, laugh and even embarrasses the viewer in a funny manner with its few sequences related with Boman's undergarments shop. So one feels like being fairly entertained in its initial reels but post interval it simply becomes a jumble of both good and bad moments which are not able to entertain the viewer in the same manner as successfully done by its first half.

Now the major reason of this sliding down remains its easily predictable plot which loses the grip once the audiences know that what is going to happen next. Till they don't have the clue about its basic storyline, they enjoy it thoroughly. But once it moves down to the same ages old path, the film fails to deliver and is not able to make any kind of major impact on the viewer. Moreover the absurd sequences towards the end, like the father waking up from the coma and the gas trouble faced by an old man really put you off and one loses his interest in watching it further.

Here the point which needs to be raised is that, when Indian Viewers are ready to accept new concepts and ideas as proved by many recent hits, then what's the need of ruining a good movie by inserting the same old twists & turns leading towards a typical Hindi film climax unnecessarily? Bela's first venture here is undoubtedly a fine attempt by a debutant made on an unusual subject but why she hesitated to tackle it differently in its second half remains questionable. Either she had no faith in her target audience or she simply bowed down to the commercial elements involved in film business today as it seems. But whatever be the reason, she really missed the opportunity of making a fine film unarguably.

SFKTNP also catches your instant attention due to its surprising cast featuring Boman Irani and Farah Khan as its leading couple in love. However out of the two, Boman once again scores the maximum with a worth watching performance of a middle aged lonely Parsi looking for his lady love from years. Farha Khan on the other hand, looks exactly like her character on screen, performs well and entertains confidently in her first lead role as an actress. Yet I also felt as if she was doing it too casually taking it just like a fun assignment for a change. At times she is a complete natural but in some scenes it seems like she really doesn't care about the end result on the screen. In the supporting cast both Daisy Irani and Shammi Aunty are simply adorable and make their presence felt throughout.

Musically, the film could have easily done with only its fine title song being repeated in the background. But as per the Hindi film routine it does have few average tracks which sadly don't impress or move the story further. Cinematography and Background score just supports the movie's theme as required but dialogues don't really work when the writers try to be over funny in few sequences of its second half.

Coming to the title of this review mentioning an Oscar winner movie, the Bhansali banner continues with their decades old trend of making inspired films borrowing the basic plot of their script from a World Classic. This time its Delbert Mann's directed MARTY (Black & White) released in 1955 which also won the Academy Award for THE BEST MOVIE due to its honest portrayal of a lonely middle aged man looking for a life partner. In MARTY too there is man with a heavy built up, who is fast passing through his 30s and is yet not able to find his perfect life partner for various reasons. He lives with his mother and wishes to buy the shop he is currently working in as a salesman. The film also has the characters of his aunt and a friend who keep pushing him for getting married fast. And when he meets the right lady, he goes through a character transformation within days, which remains the main focus of this realistic classic featuring Ernest Borgnine in the lead.

Admittedly SFKTNP is not a blatant version of MARTY as you might be thinking. But it does take its basic elements from the same, changes the settings to PARSI characters and then adds all the Hindi Film gimmicks to it in order to make it a spicy dish ready to be served to its Indian viewers starving for something different. In true words, this was again a good choice of subject by SLB films to be presented before us following their own style of film-making. But I really wish Bela had made it more artistically keeping the core essence of the plot intact.

However in its present avatar, (in all possibilities) the Parsi community may not like the movie whole heartedly, as it portrays them more like some eccentric people living their lives in a distinctive manner away from the normal. I personally loved and still remember watching PESTON JEE as one of the best films made around a Parsi character. Plus the recent FERRARI KI SAWAARI was a decent one too. But somehow that decency seems to be lost in this latest flick and I didn't really enjoy the community's portrayal in it at a personal level.

Still for the common viewer, the film can only be rated as an average entertainer which probably would work more when you will be watching it on the channels or Home Video without spending much of your money and efforts.

Kudos to débutant director Bela Bhansali for bold and idiosyncratic theme of bringing together well deserved talented duo. Magnetic factor to attract audience is the middle-aged love story, thinking away from routine typical teenyboppers, and trendy title…..toh nikal padi.

Yesteryear's hit Khatta Meetha must have been the inspiration of taking Parsi community's humor, which is evident in the character, accent, names, mannerism and dialogs.

Boman Irani a seasoned artist plays the role of Farhad Pastakia, a bachelor, at the end of his youth, and seeking partner whom he wants to marry purely for love, certainly not to please his kith n kin's. He is a salesman in a lingerie shop and has pride attached in his expertise to measure any women's bra size by mere sight. Quite a daring man. Unfortunately he is too honest and his line of work goes against impressing any decent family, or even girls, who walks away as soon as they learn of his profession.

Faraha in the role of Shrin Fugawala in her forties, working as secretary for a Parsi Community Trust with carefree and tomboy image to blow and blast any body who is not willing to listen her. After proving her ability in Choreography, Direction and presence in idiot box, she is desperate to en-cash her celebrity ranking and fulfill dream cum true a lead role on big screen.

Somehow the chemistry sparked between Farhad and Shirin, seems love at first sight. Like any Indian marriage, parent's approval is essential and unknowingly Shirin end up annoying Farhad's mother, the role played by yest year's veteran Daisy Irani. The sequences enhance flavor of the film and adds laugh out loud moments. All the supporting cast is adorable and you will love to watch them in their every act, but hats off to Boman Irani.

Songs seems to have been forced by creating dream sequence and choreography is flimsy. It seems that movie has been planned as quickie due to budget constraints and proper homework was not done on various fronts of film making: Script was lacking punches, Farah's dialog deliver was too casual and no dramatic effect, and so is her choreography. Am sure they could have taken better inspiration from veteran movie Khatta Meetha. The movie did not look like from the producers and director of Devdas and Dil DE chuke sanam.

But flaws can be excused as the overall movie is definitely entertaining and delivers nice moments. It is truly quoted in the film that love has no expiry and supports the fact that love has no age barrier. Well try and sequel is welcome.

It's a crazy ride guaranteed to leave you grinning as you leave the cinema. That makes it worth a watch.

The biggest flaw is the lack of a well thought out central conflict, still it's enjoyable.

Farah Khan is best when she's not acting, her persona suiting the role. S ehgal's film seems a lot better than it is due to the performance of the two actors and the chemistry between them.

On the whole, Shirin Farhad Ki Toh Nikal Padi is a simple, unfussy and heartfelt movie that hits the right notes.

The film supports the fact that no one is too old to fall in love.

Truly, this wonderful love story has no expiry date.

Recommended!

A quote from sonam's tweeter Twitter Buzz @sonamakapoor: Best of luck for shirin farhad @TheFarahKhan ! From the buzz that's going around btown..Its gonna be great!

Watched " SHIRIN FARHAD KI TO NIKAL PADI". It is a nice and sweet film. Director Bela Bhansali Sehgal has proved herself that she can handle a sensitive film. This movie is a fine blend of humor and emotion. There are few scenes where you have to laugh like mad. Story by Mr. Sanjay Leela Bhansali is good. Screenplay is also good. Dialogues are impressive. Music is also soothing , lyrics supports the music very well. Performance wise Boman Irani, he is such a fine actor that you can't turn your look to another one. . Surprisingly debutant Farha Khan is also fine and good. Daisy Irani as mother of Farhad does well. Rest actors support well. First look and trailer were indicating the strength and freshness of the movie. It will be a slow starter but gradually it should grow up by positive mouth publicity. Good for multiplex audience. Happy to watch it.