Cast: Varun Dhawan, Alia Bhatt, Ashutosh Rana, Siddharth Shukla
Director: Shashank Khaitan
Rating: ***
What's it about
It starts with a designer lehenga and ends up with an ode to the
Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge climax. The plot of Humpty Sharma Ki
Dulhania is like a roller coaster ride that encounters a few loose nuts
and bolts along the way. Kavya (Alia) is a small town girl who wants to
dress up in a five lakh designer outfit for her wedding. She's getting
married to Angad (Sidharth Shukla) - the perfect NRI boy who her dad
(Ashutosh Rana) dotes. Humpty (Varun) is a Delhi boy who loves to make
quick money conning people though his heart is in the right place. He
bumps into Kavya during one such episode and ends up falling in love
with her. What follows is a DDLJ tribute with a modern day twist.
What's hot
There is lot of
spunk in the script. Especially the first half has some moments that
stand out because of good writing and an ensemble cast that understands
its language. The scene where Varun and Kavya help her friend in a MMS
scandal or their drunken dance episode work because of the way they are
conceived. Thankfully a lot of attention has been paid at the writing
level which saves the film from nose diving early on. Alia and Varun
might not be Kajol and Shah Rukh, but they have enough chemistry to make
the scenes believable. A lot is said and conveyed through eye contact,
body language and how easy they are with each other. The kissing and
love making doesnt look rehearsed and there is a natural flow to their
banter. Varun restrains is performance when needed and lets all the
energy explode in his dance numbers. Alia is best when she underplays
Kavya and brings out her vulnerable side. Ashutosh Rana fits the role
and looks the part. The Samjhawan track is a stand out and the
supporting cast that includes Varun's friends are superb.
What's not
The Delhi set up falls flat, especially the whole charactersiation of
Humpty is a bit weak. He's a good guy, yet he wants to find the easy
way out. Also his styling looks a bit off and lacks consistency. Alia
goes over the top in the first half and gets screechy in some of the
dialogues. She doesn't have to amp up the fizz in Kavya cause she's
trying to fill in Kajol's shoes. Despite the efforts to not have
constant parallels drawn with DDLJ, the film often ends up playing to
the gallery and using montages from the original and recreating them.
Siddharth Shukla looks good and has a great personality but doesn't
really score much in the acting department