Veere Di Wedding Reviews (Raja Sen pg 10) - Page 6

Sex in the City is an iconic show that deals with female companionship and camaraderie. There is no doubt in my mind that Veere Di Wedding was inspired by the characters and theme of this legendary TV show. Even though the sexual innuendos and expletives are tamed down to suit the desi audience, this all female ensemble of four childhood friends Avni (Sonam Kapoor), Kalinidi (Kareena Kapoor Khan), Sakshi (Swara Bhaskar), Meera (Shikha Talsania) have several moments and chapters in their life where they let go' and break several stereotypes.

What's it about

The movie is set against the backdrop of Kalindi's wedding to Rishab (Sumeet Vyas) which in itself could be a spinoff to a satire on desi shaadis. The girls have distinct personalities, likes, dislikes and mannerisms that define them. Meera is married to a firang and has a child, Sakshi is a rich spoilt brat who is unapologetic about her alcohol and smoking addiction while Avni is a headstrong career driven woman who is unable to find the right suitor. The focus of Veere Di Wedding is very much on the chemistry between these girls and their friendship. The supporting characters Kalindi's gay uncle and his partner, Avni's mom (Neena Gupta) and Rishab's parents all add to the drama in the plot.

What's hot

Veere Di Wedding looks fresh and the production values haven't been compromised at any level. It is a good looking film with an interesting ensemble of actors. Kareena Kapoor Khan leads the pack being the most senior, and her Kalindi act is definitely one of the major highlights of the film. She lights up the frame in every scene reminding us how much we miss her at the movies. Her intense scenes with Sumeet in the second half give her a chance to go beyond being the glamorous Bebo. Sonam Kapoor gets to play up her diva image visually as well as in terms of character and it seems like she's had a lot of fun while shooting this film. Sonam seems completely at ease with her role as the husband searching Avni. Swara gets the most popular character with the boldest lines and scenes and she goes for the kill every time. Shikha is a total natural and her effervescence is infectious. Also as Rishab, Sumeet Vyas deserves full marks for playing his character with full conviction and also managing to create that chemistry and comfort with Kareena. There are several jokes and one liners written keeping the female audience in mind. Veere does push the envelope and take the risk of going into a direction a lot of filmmakers would be hesitant to dive into. The makers have also made the sexual commentary and jokes feel organic and not forced. Swara Bhaskar's masturbation scene with a sex toy might sound cringe worthy on paper but on screen it feels natural and just an extension of her character's personality.

What's not

There is a bit of discord in terms of editing the film. It feels a bit sketchy in the first half and then too stretched towards the climax. The last few scenes with Kareena and her friends could have been easily trimmed down. Product placements pop out of nowhere and distract you from an ongoing scene. We wish there was more of a back story to the other girls as much as we got for Kalindi.

Our verdict

Veere Di Wedding is unapologetic and brash in its message that women can have as much fun as men, if not maybe a little more! Watch it for the all girl ensemble cast that delivers a knockout punch with their performance.

Finally, after 105 years, mainstream Bollywood has woken up to its women, to tell their story from their perspective but unfortunately, it's a story that has the signature gloss of an Ekta Kapoor TV show and the depth of a teacup.

Four school friends meet after a decade as one of them Kalindi (Kareena Kapoor Khan) is getting married. Kalindi is commitment phobic, Avni (Sonam Kapoor) feels the pressure to get married, Sakshi (Swara Bhaskara) is going through a bad marriage and Meera (Shikha Talsania) is dealing with her 'bade papa' who hasn't accepted her 'Gora-Amrican' husband, who by the way is called, John. Ahem. Each story is beautifully' explored. For instance, Avni's story begins with her fake eye lashes, the kind of detailing required to establish her as the prettiest divorce lawyer in Delhi's Tees Hazari. Ha! Kalindi's dilemma is brilliantly juxtaposed with a flashy Punjabi Delhi family who want a destination wedding for their son, but settle for a farm house affair. (Tch tch such moving tragedy!). But why do we need to explore Kalindi's commitment phobia when we have just shown that she comes from a broken family? That's more than enough! Anyway, we are too busy creating caricatures out of Malhotra family members. After all, we have to sell this movie out as an entertaining film bhai! So what if the humour seems forced? As long as we have jokes to crack, we are all good!

Swara Bhaskara lends meaning' to her broken character of Sakshi who is going through a bad marriage. So she doesn't have lines or expressions to show her pain but multiple glasses of hard liquor. Daru se dard ka bayaan. Uff too much. To give her due credit, she gets the Delhi lingo on point as she calls her mom, maate. Her 'malhotre' and 'bakwaase' shows she has great observations as an actor that she uses to lend some dimension to this half-baked character that she plays. Shikha Talsania, despite mediocre writing and direction, is the only one who genuinely shines on. Her punches are predictable but her fabulous performance brings heart-warming smiles to this yawn inducing film. Simple lines that she says so nonchalantly like 'aaj toh aap dhaage pehan ke aa gayi hain', as she comments on Avni's tiny dresses made me laugh.

Veere Di Wedding is lazily written and poorly directed. Conversations, even the heart-to- hearts, look staged, like kids in an annual play. Actors don't play off each other. Lines start and lines finish, and you hardly see any character connect with the other. And despite being a woman centric film, the film shames its women with abused lines like, 'grow some balls' or 'stop this Randi Rona'. Also, what was that in your face advertising!? Bikaji namkeen packets travel to foreign locations and are thrown in your face like it's going out of fashion. 'Air India is so comfortable' and 'always on time' was such a shameless plug that I almost saw Swara cringe as she said those lines.

However, Veere di Wedding does show a few things that not many Hindi films have done before. Sonam's Avni, driven by emotions and hormones, has a one night stand. Unlike Anjana Anjani, where Priyanka's character chickens out last moment, Avni does it. Thankfully, it is unapologetic, without ever s**t shaming her. And that's an achievement for us who have always presented our heroines as sati savitri, preserving their virginity for their pati parmeshwar. If they don't, they are tagged immoral and loose. Similarly, when Sakshi tells her parents about an intimate 'apna haath jagan naath' moment to her parents, her father laughs and hugs her. Even the subtle setting of an old gay couple, without ever making silly caricatures of them is a progressive depiction.

Besides these very few and very far in between moments, Veere Di Wedding looks exactly like a Balaji production, all gloss and glamour and hardly any soul.

eere Di Wedding Movie Review: Kareena Kapoor Khan, Swara Bhasker Steal The Show In This Fun Entertainer

Veere Di Wedding Movie Review

Is Veere Di Wedding Bollywood's answer to Sex and The City? The trailers had promised a bold and fun cinema that celebrates friendship. Veere Di Wedding is also Kareena Kapoor Khan's comeback movie after a gap of two years. Sonam Kapoor Ahuja, Swara Bhasker and Shikha Talsania form her Veere gang in the movie. Veere Di Wedding is directed by Shashanka Ghosh and is produced by Ekta Kapoor, Rhea Kapoor and Nikhil Dwivedi. Here's our review of the movie.

Veere Di Wedding is all about Kalindi (Kareena Kapoor) and her Veere's who come together for her wedding. Kalindi is in love with Rishabh (Sumeet Vyas), but has marriage-phobia over her own parents' marital woes. Avni (Sonam Kapoor) is a divorce lawyer who is single and is hassled by her mother (Neena Gupta) for an arranged marriage alliance. Sakshi (Swara Bhasker) is on the verge of a divorce but hasn't told anyone why she has left her husband. Meera (Shikha Talsania) is estranged from her family, after eloping with an American. As Kalindi begins to get cold feet about her marriage, her friends have to support her, while working out their own issues.

Contrary to the makers' opinion, Veere Di Wedding is a chick flick, and I don't think there is anything wrong with being called that! Some puritans might have issues with the frank discussions of sex and flings. They might not want to accept the fact that like guys, even girls love to talk trash and binge-drink. There are scenes that will shock a casual viewer (like the reason why Sakshi left her husband). But you don't feel many of these to be forcefully inserted just for the shock-factor, though the drinking scenes could have been lesser. Thankfully, save for Swara's track, there is minimal male bashing here. That makes it stand apart from the Pyar Ka Punchnama series.

It is a very good-looking movie with some eye-catching art-direction (Musa Husain) and well-lit frames (cinematography by Sudhakar Reddy Yakkanti). Everything feels so rich and pleasing to look at. The music goes well with the vibe of the movie.

Just as the trailers showed us,Veere Di Wedding is definitely bold in its language and execution. But the movie is not just about F- words and 'pencho', it is a celebration of friendship that has moments of bonding that will be enjoyed by both the genders. The scenes where the girls pull each other's legs over hookups and bad decisions are something we can relate to. The dialogues by Nidhi Mehra and Mehul Suri help in adding more wit in these sequences. The camaraderie between the actresses make us feel that they really are lifelong chuddy buddies, and it helps the movie nearly sail through some very patchy issues.

The issues being, the movie has a wafer-thin plot. At times, it feels like a glance into First World problems of our country. We really cannot relate some of the pressing matters here, especially when some of them have already been seen and addressed in other movies. The Phuket sequence, where the girls reinvigorate their friendship, feels like a beautiful distraction in the film. Maybe it's my simple opinion, but Veere Di Wedding feels like a diluted version of Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara. You also do not buy into the conclusion, where the bigger issues are just talked out and everyone is given a happy ending.

Also for a movie that wants to throw stereotypes out of the window, there are quite a few caricatures in Veere Di Wedding, especially when Rishabh's family come into focus. There is also a scene that is about consent where a girl kisses a guy and he backs out, and the girl calls him out for being a mama's boy. First of all, he hinted to you he was uncomfortable with the kisses, and secondly, what's wrong with being a mama's boy?

The most annoying part of the movie was the forced product placement. You literally end up playing a game on how many brands come up in the course of the movie. In case you miss one, fear not! There will be a repeat shot of the same. And in a particular scene, a car-hiring service is mentioned by its name casually, then shown in bold and then mentioned again! Just wow!

Talking about the performances, Kareena Kapoor Khan is a delight to watch in VDW, being the pivot of the story. At times, she channels Meryl Streep in her expressions, but overall, she is very likeable. Swara Bhasker's track may not appeal to many (though I loved how it concluded), but the actress is an absolute hoot as the Delhi girl who loves her drinks and abuses. The debutante Shikha Talsania gives a confident performance, though even her track needed better writing. Sonam Kapoor, surprisingly, feels the kamzor kadi in the gang, with the weakest storyline but makes most of it with her cherubic expressions.

Sumeet Vyas is adorable as the do-gooder fiancee, equipped with the best one-liner of the movie. Vivek Mushran is another standout among the supporting cast as Kalindi's gay uncle. Neena Gupta, Manoj Pahwa, Vishwas Kinni, Ayesha Raza are all good.

Yay!

- The girls' camaraderie

- The vibrant frames and art-direction

- The music

- Kareena, Swara, Shikha, Sumeet

- Some witty lines

Nay!

- The wafer-thin premise with lack of pressing issues

- Some meandering subplots

- A weak conclusion

- Annoying product placements

- Diving into caricatures

Final Thoughts

Veere Di Wedding is a very good-looking movie, with some moments that will charm you and others that will shock you. The girl gang display amazing chemistry and you are hooked onto their bonding scenes. With a better script and direction, Veere Di Wedding would have been a real game-changer. In the end, it is a harmless entertainer that won't bore your pants off, for sure!