Introduction:
Rating: 2* / 5*
Duration: 2 hr 15 mnt
Screenplay & Direction: Shashanka Ghosh
Producer: Rhea Kapoor, Nikhil Dwivedi, Ekta Kapoor, Shobha Kapoor, Anil Kapoor
Star Cast: Kareena Kapoor, Sonam Kapoor, Swara Bhaskar, Shikha Talsania, Sumeet Vyas, Ishwak Singh
Music: Shashwat Sachdev, Vishal Mishra
Script: Nidhi Mehra & Mehul Suri
Overview
Wow! Just wow! *Followed by slow claps*. The last three expressions summarize the crescendo of reactions that we had during the money-guzzling, profanity-spewing, vaguely feministic journey called ‘Veere Di Wedding’. A while ago, we wrote a review here for the movie titled ‘Veerey KI wedding’ that came sometime back and probably tried to confound viewers by appearing as the promising ‘Veere DI wedding’. Well, KI or DI, it really doesn’t make much of a difference, as it turns out. The probably well-intentioned script tries to marry the urban brand of fashionista feminism with the old-fashioned burdens of marriage and relationships. It tries that half-heartedly, with a storyline that is as prominent as a meteor shower in a hot mid-day afternoon. If you found that analogy completely out-of-context, then that’s what Veere Di Wedding’s entire experience feels like. It’s not that women swearing and being open about their sexuality is not cool. Richa Chadha (back in Gangs of Wasseypur) and the ensemble cast in Lipstick Under My Burkha had achieved had beautifully and it is truly great to watch such unconventional moments in mainstream cinema. But hinging on that motif alone to carry the weight of an entire movie, is what makes ‘Veere di Wedding’ an avoidable affair.
Storyline
Kalindi Puri (Kareena Kapoor), Avni Malhotra (Sonam Kapoor), Sakshi (Swara Bhaskar), Meera (Shikha Talsania) are besties who have an endless supply of designer clothes, makeup and booze. All hell breaks loose when Kalindi decides to marry the straight-shooter, Rishab Malhotra (Sumeet Vyas). While Kalindi wrestles with issues like adjusting to her in-laws’ borderline-archaic rules, the others have their own problems to deal with. The story doesn’t really get anywhere as the characters ‘veer’ (we are a sucker for bad puns, sorry) towards the wedding. The story does offer some mildly interesting takes on same-sex relationships and body image. But then it all goes to naught when there are absolutely inexplicable character-arcs that end in hook-ups and a trip to Phuket. The story does little for character growth, except probably for Kalindi coming to terms with her past. The movie uses Avni as the pivot to achieve its charm-sukh (or climax, as the trailers have pointed out) Why? Don’t ask us. It makes as much sense as anything else in the movie, which is not a lofty standard to match.
Screenplay and Direction
The screenplay moves around with sketchy scenes that amble around in the hope that you laugh enough on the cussing scenes to see the utter lack of cohesion in the frames panning out in disproportionate velocity. There are no particularly powerful shots or noteworthy moments. Some of the comedic scenes are done well, but we would like to credit the actors for that. Even towards the end, when the movie has one potentially genuine moment to offer, the scene moves from Kalindi to Rishabh in a way that can lead you to regard it with the same disdain that you would have used to see every other scene.
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Performances and Dialogues
The dialogues as seen in the trailers seemed promising enough. But when the movie puts them in their context, their power wafts away. When Avni lashes out on a guy for little reason, calling him a ‘mother-lover’, we understand that the dialogue writers applied the same failing formula to their job- let’s make everyone say swear words and it will be cool! Yes, it is cool. Especially when you have veterans like Shikha Talsania or Swara Bhaskar pelting those words. But it is not cool enough to make up for the out-of-context-ness of the scene. But that’s them we are talking about. When the camera zooms in on Sonam Kapoor for her big dialogue… well, that’s when you should check your phone or look at your neighbors. Kareena Kapoor doesn’t offer anything noteworthy and it is again the writing that fails her. Sumeet Vyas (of Permanent Roommates fame) tries his best to punch through his scant scenes. But his screen time is far too less to be of any consequence to the misery.
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Music
If you can ignore the jarring voice of Kareena narrating the movie (which is mixed terribly by the way), the music can offer you some solace. From Pappi Le Loon to Aa Jao Na, the tracks are decent if not mildly impressive at times.
Conclusion
I think we have said enough. If you like watching designer clothes being worn by women cussing as much as they can to make a hopeless script work, if you can live with maybe ten minutes of genuineness in a movie that is trying hard to look pretentious, then this wedding might just be the thing for you. Otherwise, you can rest at home knowing that being different and unconventional (which the movie is) is not necessarily being good (which it is not).