The moment I saw the trailer of DREAM GIRL, the first thought I had was of a sub-plot and an interesting character seen in the National Award Winning CHILLAR PARTY called Googly - a young man born with a voice of a girl. On the advice of a kid, he decides to try his luck as a radio jockey posing as a girl and discovers a new path in life leading to success.
Maybe the writers got the fruitful seed of their script watching Googly in CHILLAR PARTY, or maybe they based it on their similar short acts in many famous TV comedy shows in the past years. However, the fact remains that they cracked it right and the subject does serve as a worthy successor of its leading man Ayushmann Khurana’s successful series of films made on all unconventional and novel, entertaining plots.
In his latest offering directed and co-written by Raaj Shaandilya, Ayushmann yet again plays an educated unemployed youth, who grabs the available job of faking the voice of a girl in a call center engaged in satisfying their desperate callers. It isn’t a job he can disclose to all and certainly not to his father and soon to be wife Nushrat Bharucha (who doesn’t get much to do in the film). The hidden secret of his job becomes the main crux of the story involving excellent actors who do bring the house down at intervals led by Annu Kapoor (as the father), Vijay Raaz (as the shayar/poet constable) and Nidhi Bisht (the male-hating woman).
But then, if you look at this basic premise, it’s exactly the same as it was there in VICKY DONOR where Ayushmann did the job of a sperm donor in a doctor’s clinic, instead of a boy faking a girl’s voice at the call center. The job later creating conflict with several characters and his wife or fiancé is right there in DREAM GIRL too (including the common factor - Annu Kapoor), but the difference is that here we don’t have a Shoojit Sircar to present the proceedings with any similar finesse and depth.
As a result, where we do get to see a decent entertaining film, we also get to witness an important subject of the present world feeling loneliness and detachment from their close ones (looking for someone to talk), remaining unattended or unexplored, more used as a hilarious plot to generate some timely laughter.
No doubt the film surely succeeds in doing so in its little more than two hours of duration and the cast certainly provides the entertainment expected for the ticket bought. But DREAM GIRL still cannot be rated anything equivalent to Ayushmaan’s earlier quality ventures that were much more natural and relatable in terms of both writing and characterization.
In other words, DREAM GIRL definitely works, but not on the same level creating something extra ordinary from its novel subject. The film has its terrific moments (thanks to Ayushmann, Anu and Vijay), but it also remains a stretched script written on a single line plot, with major emphasis given to the funny one liners (focusing on the male characters in particular), exactly like the famous one hour TV shows we have been seeing since the last decade. Plus it also has the same stereotyped representation of the minorities too wherein a Muslim is presented along green colour selling Ittr and a Sikh is shown as the owner of a Theka (wine-shop), constantly involved in boozing.
Probably that remains the reason why along with going overboard at times, the film also appears to be repetitive and forced, missing the much required natural and effortless portrayals on screen. For instance, a few sequences exactly end like we regularly see in the TV shows where the last man remaining on the stage is expected or has to leave rendering some killer one liner generating laughter. On the other hand, hearing some double meaning dialogues incorporated subtly, I did feel the writers had to underplay themselves, in order to create a family audience film getting a U certificate. In addition, I also felt the women characters in the film presented too casually as mere caricatures, like Nushrat and the witty grandmother.
Anyway, DREAM GIRL surely is a one-time watch entertainer, superbly led by the actors who are a delight to watch. However it does fall short of the loud praises showered upon before the release (which is nothing new) and could have been another cult, memorable comic entertainer like VICKY DONOR or SHUBH MANGAL SAAVDHAAN. In the present form, it no doubt entertains having all the ingredients of becoming a successful venture, but needs to be seen with limited expectations to avoid disappointment.
Ending on a positive note, there is one novel sequence in the film deserving appreciation. And that’s when the two young friends realize the hardships a father goes through in life, making a living and bringing up his kids together in absence of their loving mother. That one rare scene actually lifts up the film's level hitting the right emotional note.
Rating : 3 / 5
