The quirky characters in the film’s concerning promos did strongly point towards something upsetting coming from the talented team. But it would turn out to be so absurd walking down the same old decayed paths offering nothing new, wasn’t really expected from the thoughtful Vikas Bahl, the director of two National Award winning films namely CHILLAR PARTY and QUEEN (with the first co-directed by Nitesh Tiwari).
On the cost of repeating myself, I would once again like to share that there are broadly only two basic ways of delivering ‘a winning project’ impressing majority of audience sitting in the theater. One is to give them something completely fresh and novel offering a never before kind of entertaining (or enlightening) theater experience in terms of subject & storyline. And two present the same content in such a refreshing, entertaining way that they don’t mind watching it again, making an instant connection with the characters emoting on screen in a relatable manner. Admittedly the first way is pretty tough to follow and deliver, therefore we mostly see the second option tried repeatedly by the makers making a decent amount of money (as seen in the last week’s PYAR KA PUNCHNAMA 2 that was an entertaining remake of its own original released in 2011.)
However what SHAANDAAR offers to the audience in its more than 140 minutes of duration is neither novel nor enjoyable, but rather pathetic - considering the shocking execution tried by the otherwise talented team comprising of many known names.
Having said that the name Vikas Bahl was the one, who actually came up with two novel films in the past (in terms of subject & treatment) impressing both the masses as well as the classes unanimously. But with SHAANDAAR he strangely steps down to a much lower and easier path when given a comparatively bigger and better chance working with two known stars. In fact this clearly proves a common saying in the industry, that the new talented (thinking) directors who make brilliant films within a limited budget featuring a lesser known cast, always mess up badly when given a more than required budget and bigger stars to work with in a mega venture.
Anyway coming to the film, SHAANDAAR honestly gives you nothing to write about in details as it has been made on the same formula of a fairy tale narration heading towards a big happening wedding planned between two supposedly rich families as a business deal. It has all seen before clichéd characters of a rich empire led by a manipulating old grand-ma including young sisters, a father, an adopted girl (who in reality is the illegitimate daughter not knowing the truth), the silly bridegroom, his gangster like brother and a wedding planner who starts romancing the sister of the bride as usual. The grand look and art direction with all the designer dresses given to the artists roaming around in a big mansion situated abroad typically follows the well-known settings of a Karan Johar film, who eventually also features in one of its sequences too as Karan Johar only.
Its music and interestingly shot songs at times become the only savior in the absurdity displayed on screen (thrown abruptly as usual). But here too the new obsession of ‘The Film Industry’ continues to be followed blindly, that is of ruining old musical gems by reworking on their original composition and lyrics without any need as such. And this time they have picked ‘Neend Na Mukhko Aaye” and “Eena Meena Deeka” to crucify them in their own new-age brutal way unnecessarily.
Becoming the clear victim of all routine and repetitive writing, neither the lead pair nor the veterans are able to impress as desired. Yes, Shahid and Alia look good on screen having a fine chemistry but the film fails to take any advantage of the same due to its own faults. Also as the girls say, it was indeed the script’s demand to get into the 2 piece swim suit and that too in a dream sequence! In the supporting cast it is shocking to see the cruel treatment given to Anjana Sukhani standing silently in the crowd whereas Pankaj Kapoor is a delight to watch as always in any kind of role given to the master. Sanjay Kapoor gives a surprise appearance playing the 'over-the-top’ Sindhi big brother after a long gap, but the one person who scores the maximum when it comes to performances remains Sanah Kapoor (real life sister of Shahid) making a decent impact in her debut film (playing a character that seems to be clearly inspired from the recent hit DUM LAGA KE HAISHA).
To give you my personal opinion, though SHAANDAAR is said to be directed by Vikas Bahl but I found Karan Johar visible in its most of the frames more than Vikas due to many obvious reasons. It is a film based on Karan’s favourite subject of ‘A big fat wedding of the rich’ (‘destination wedding’ to be exact) with everything in excess right from the grandeur to the execution as seen in his own films. There are specific scenes reminding you of the typical KJO treatment like the ‘Weirdly behaving twin sisters’, ‘Lavish Non-Veg Dinner on a Tuesday’, ‘Mehndi Interview with Karan’ or the ‘Girls-Boys Qawwali Competition’ towards the end wherein Pankaj Kapoor makes a grand entry as expected. The long descriptive use of animation adding the elements of various fairy tales like ‘The Frog’, along with the must-have ‘I am Gay’ insertion further makes you strongly feel as if you are watching a Karan Johar film and not a Vikas Bahl one to be precise.
Plus a questionable sequence featuring a 7-8 year old Sikh kid seriously forced me to ask that Why on earth they wanted to show Shahid as a born Sikh? What it had to do with the story anyway?.....Or Was it just to add some sick, silly humour as seen in ‘the great director’ Karan Johar’s debut film KUCHH KUCHH HOTA HAI, where he deliberately used a similar kid character to generate some ugly laughs along with Johny Lever and then was later forced to edit out those particular scenes ‘referring to a specific time in the watch’ post the film’s release.
But wait, I have still not revealed the most ridiculous insertion in the film yet, that straight away reminds you of the cult-comedy JAANE BHI DO YAARON, wherein the dead old lady of the house is made to sit on her couch with full make up on, projected as alive and kicking. God knows what made them write that and approve it too in the first place? Besides what was the humour behind the child setting the old lady on fire in the end remained out of my understanding completely. Also why our honourable Censor Boards didn’t take notice of this particular highly objectionable scene (featuring a minor) further puts me in doubts about their set parameters and rules once again.
In short, SHAANDAAR might work for a few who don’t care about eating the same dish again and again served casually without adding any fresh tasteful ingredients. But for me it didn’t work at all (except for the ‘feel good’ climax focusing on the revolting girl) coming from such a thoughtful director known for delivering novel and entertaining subjects moving ahead of the routine. May be this absurdity was a result of the famous ‘KJO vision’ messing with the original thought process of ‘Ph se Phantom’ forcing them to take a more commercial look at the projects forgetting about the ‘cinema’ in them.
But whatever may be the cause this is exactly why producers dream to get a solo release on a Festival holiday to remain in a pretty safe zone. Because in a long Festival Weekend even a grand-mess like SHAANDAAR gets house-full in the multiplexes promising a good initial.
Rating : 1.5 / 5
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