Movie Review: Shuddh Desi Romance

The best stories are always about a man and a woman. With this week’s rom-com ‘Shuddh Desi Romance’, Yash Raj Films bring us yet another love story (though they experiment with other genres too now) but this is something you may not have expected.

It has all the ingredients – love, confusion, heartache, commitment-phobic people and a love-triangle. You have seen it all innumerable times on the Big Screen but SDR breaks all stereotypes and gives you a very refreshing take on real people and modern-day relationships. Not that it is the first of its kind, Yash Raj itself took a different path almost a decade back with ‘Hum Tum’ and thereon, we have seen relationships being portrayed in a more realistic way. This time, Director Maneesh Sharma (‘Band Baaja Baaraat’, ‘Ladies Vs Ricky Bahl’) and Writer Jaideep Sahni (‘Chak De India’, ‘Rocket Singh: Salesman Of The Year’ among his best works) come together to give us a rom-com which is not just funny and romantic in a delightfully balanced way but it also mirrors the confusion of the commitment-phobic young generation really well. So… Our heroine smokes… She makes no fuss about the fact that she had relationships in the past… She even had an abortion she is unapologetic about… Our lead hero and heroine here have no inhibitions in being sexually attracted to each other first and then falling in love (or confusion?)… Our heroine doesn’t think twice before allowing the guy to live in with her… Marriage isn’t the only important thing for our protagonists… Rather they keep running away from commitment… and a bride-to-be doesn’t break down into melodrama after she is ditched on the day of the wedding. We did have Yash Raj yet again giving us a look into a live-in relationship in ‘Salaam Namaste’ but hang on… that was set in Melbourne. This is set in a middle-class locality in Jaipur amidst conservative people with double standards who are of the opinion that people like this are simply characterless.

Commitment-phobic Raghu (Sushant Singh Rajput), a tourist guide in Jaipur meets Gayatri (Parineeti Chopra) on the way to his arranged wedding with Tara (debutante Vaani Kapoor). Sparks fly between Raghu and Gayatri during the journey and Raghu runs away from the wedding, leaving behind a dazed Tara. Meanwhile, Raghu moves into Gayatri’s apartment. The three meet again later under some awkward but funny circumstances.

After a very enjoyable ‘Band Baaja Baaraat’ and a lukewarm ‘Ladies Vs Ricky Bahl’, Director Maneesh Sharma does an excellent job and gets you so involved in the movie that

you will ignore the minor hiccups in the script towards the second half. Brownie points to him for presenting the Pink City in such a beautiful way too. The City with all its hustle-bustle is actually a character in SDR. Dialogues by Sahni add up to the fun quotient of the film to a large extent. Music by Sachin-Jigar is good. ‘Gulaabi’ is a beautiful song while ‘Tere Mere Beech Mein’ is peppy.

All performances are terrific and appear so naturally real. Sushant is superb as the commitment-phobic charmer who is confused about his feelings for the two ladies but knows whom he loves. May be it is only me but I see a striking resemblance between him and Ranveer Singh when it comes to both performance and appearance. Newcomer Vaani Kapoor looks beautiful and makes a very confident debut in a supporting role. But it is Parineeti Chopra who steals the show from them and very very easily! Right from her first film ‘Ladies Vs Ricky Bahl’ to her second ‘Ishaqzaade’ and… to her third now, she is only proving that she is on her way to the top. She is unconventionally beautiful with her girl-next-door looks and breathes life into all her roles. Here, she is fantastic! Rishi Kapoor seems to experiment in all his movies lately. He is outstanding.

Watch it or not: Yes… Strongly recommended for Young-istan! Staunch believers in marriages… Please stay away!

At the Box-Office: Reviews will be good but it will meet with mixed response among the audience. The young generation will like it. Business at metro cities will be good. Made on a reasonable budget, I’m expecting SDR to be a hit but nowhere close to the 100 and 200 Crore Clubs.

• About the Author

About Abhirup Dhar

I don't watch movies... I live them! Let me introduce myself. Abhirup Dhar was born in Kolkata and is still being brought up in India. A banker by profession, he is filmy to the core and is passionate about reviewing movies and writing. He likes to live on his own… he likes to be blunt, sarcastic, famous, infamous, confident, over-confident, moody at times… he likes to be himself. He is imperfect because perfection is boring. His love for movies dates back to his childhood days when he studied in a boarding school. A three-month Winter Vacation every year… and he made sure he watched as many movies then. Parents thought it was a phase... he knew it was Passion and he knew it back then itself. The craziness to watch movies on the Big Screen began during the last two years of school when he literally bunked to town so that he could catch up with the new Hindi Movie releases. Some thought he was plain crazy. He confirmed it was Passion... yet again. The hard fact is that not always can you walk a path you are passionate about. You have expectations to fulfill and Life to be made. But Life gives you chances and you have to grab them. So... here is he... your friendly critic who will be giving you his Verdict every week so that you can decide which release is worth your moolah and which is not! See you at the Movies! Stay connected at Facebook and Twitter!