Shaandaar

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

Only advice I give everyone who have plans to watch this is.. Do not watch.

If you still want to watch this leave your brain at home and go ahead, but even then you might not enjoy it.This movie is a disaster in every way.

Low budget short films are wayy better than this piece of crap!

This movie has no story and tries to make you laugh with endless nonsensical blabber.

Can't believe I wasted two hours on this crap.

Just don't watch!

There is nothing in the name of story. Idea to make love story of insomniacs, with some quirky characters sounds bright but outcome is very dull. Screenplay is in bits and pieces. Dialogues by Anwita Dutt is only good thing of this film. It make you laugh. Characterization is very bad. One person can't speak 'Insomniac' word properly but speaks fluent English after few scenes in Police Station. Person is afraid of dark and night but decides to go out in night for bike ride because makers have thought an interesting scene ahead. Yes of course, this love scene near water fall is good one. Very convenient plots like marriage for the sake of business. Adopted girl, over the top grand mother, who rules the family but do not mind to flirt with a wedding organizer of her grand son age. Literally, makers have preferred budget over brain. They go for bikini scene, which even they show repeatedly in end credit. How can I believe that director of Queen can think that a bikini scene can sail his movie!? Ridiculous. Unnecessary expensive animations. Caterpillar crawling on collar, butterfly flying on dress and lots of. Even for voice over they don't mind animations but what about creativity!? They have conceived cheesy scenes like 'Menhdi with Karan' because they could have afforded him. I was so irritated when they show the burning wheel chair cum sofa in end. What the F... was that? First half is slow, second half is very slow with a weird uninteresting climax. Performance wise Shahid Kapoor is balanced and acts good. Alia Bhatt is very good. She is too good in portraying care free girl. Pankaj Kapoor is good. Jalal Hunni as groom is OK. Choreography of all songs is grand. Songs look larger than life. Music by Amit Trivedi is fresh and foot tapping.

A Vikas Bahl movie, starring Shahid Kapoor and Alia Bhatt, in the banner of Fox, Dharma and Phantom, has been released. It also features Pankaj Kapoor, Sanjay Kapoor and Sanah Kapoor. A destination wedding movie, which also describes a fairy-tale love-story, the relation between father and daughter, the importance of self esteem and teaches to live free without any pressure or burden. I loved every frame of the film which is offering something refreshing and new. And this also happens because of the superb cinematography by Anil Mehta. Costumes and sets are perfectly suitable to the royal family of the movie. Shahid Kapoor is so cool. We all know that after Haider, he can't do better in this type of film. Alia looks so pretty, beautiful and simply amazing. I fell in love with her as same as Shahid fell in the film! Pankaj Kapoor is as usual good. Chemistry between Alia and him, and even Shahid and him, are too good. Sanah is a good character of the film. Very few people know that she is Shahid's sister in real. Sanjay Kapoor can able to make me laugh at some point. The Grandma is a fun, and also that little boy who always wants to kill her. Two girls, the modern girls, talking in short words, are fun, too. Karan Johar's cameo is good. Others are enjoyable. Music by Amit Trivedi is good. Though I don't find any suitable song in the mood of the movie. But, Gulabo can somehow manage to stay with the flow. Even Senti Wali Mental and Raita Fail Gaya, too. Shaam Shaandaar is cool but isn't suitable with the flow. Background songs like Eena Meena Deeka, Nind Na Mujhko Aaye and Nazdikiyaan are acceptable. The picturization of the song Nazdikiyaan has some wow moments. After Queen, everyone is expecting something better from Vikas. And just because of that, they are finding this boring. Just take my advice and go to the hall without any expectations, simply enjoy the movie, and I'm damn sure that you will come out from the theater with a smiley face. Girls will surely enjoy the conversations of Shahid-Alia, because I've heard some voices like Awww! I can't say about the boys, but they may enjoy this because of Pankaj Kapoor. I loved all, so may be I'm not a boy, I'm a fan-boy! Kudos to the team, this is what I like, an unusual flick!

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?)