Good Fun, Except For The Lead Pair!
2.5 stars
Mini Review:
Ram Bharose
from Patna works for a clothing store in Amritsar and is in love with the boss’
daughter Nimmi. Insulted at her birthday party, he quits and begins a startup
with his geeky Sardar friend ‘Running Shaadi’ for runaway couples. Everything
works fine until Nimmi decides she want to run away. With Ram Bharose. The
supporting cast is stellar, the situations and dialogue are funny, but the lead
cast is pathetic. And that makes you wish the film weren’t that long.
Main Review:
It’s a great
elevator pitch: We will make a movie about a startup that helps couples elope.
But after
that, what? You need to create characters around the story that the audience
has met and endured, dialogue that lasts longer than a guffaw, and make the
movie-going experience memorable.
On the first
count, the writers Navjot Gulati and Amit Roy (who is also the director) succeed.
So much so, that you could award the film four stars. The supporting cast is
superb: Brijendra Kala as Ram Bharose’s videomaker uncle sets a standard,
followed closely by another Patna local: the bride’s (Neha’s) older brother. Ram
Bharose’s aunt and the bride are perfect in their roles, so is the make-up lady
at the wedding. The retainer lawyers who help runaway couples are good too, and
so are Nimmi’s aunt, the older people in the park who talk against runaway
couples, Nimmi’s dad make the perfect supporting cast. Last but not the least,
is Bharose’s geek partner: Cyberjeet, the young Sardar boy who wears a patka
with a ‘Like’ icon, and wears geek tees and helps create the Running Shaadi
website.
Loved Pankaj
Jha (the brother to Bharose’s bride-to-be Neha) showing up at Mamaji’s home and
having a conversation with Ram Bharose. A little boastful, a little servile (as
the bride’s brother should be!), a little curious (“Who is this ‘Ladies’ with
you?” when Nimmi appears from inside) and really funny, and the best part,
delivers with a straight face. And then in one of the funniest scenes, he
appeases the upset make-up lady with gulab jamun an ice cream and words: ‘Who
else but I could understand that your artistic soul is hurt…’ just when the
miffed make-up lady claims, ‘Let me see if she can turn the bride into Katrina
Kaif!’
Brijendra
Kala cuts an emphathetic figure, driving an ancient scooter that needs a push
start, making ad films that he never seems to get paid for, bursting into
English with the client and muttering curses under his breath in Hindi. Your
heart goes out to him because he’s stuck because he knows his nephew seems to
be with Nimmi and yet needs the marriage to go as planned because the bride’s
dad might approve the tv show idea he has submitted…
Geeky friend
Cyberjeet comes as googly in this game! He makes everything happen: the website,
acts as Ram Bharose’s conscience and is the best friend anyone could want.
Cyberjeet’s expressions despite the beard are the best ever. He prays to the
divine trinity: Zuckerberg, Jobs and Bill Gates and wears the coolest gee tees.
His suggestions and ideas are better than what the hero or his girl can come up
with.
Speaking of Ram
Bharose and his girl, the less said the better. Ram Bharose (Amit Sadh) looks
like sad sack and sports just that one miserable expression and you wish those
chasing him with sticks land at least a couple of whacks and it hurts him. His
girl Nimmi (Tapsee Pannu) is this spoilt little girl who calls him names like ‘Villager’,
ignores him when ‘better’, college friends are present, uses Ram Bharose, and
then insists she wants to marry him after tricking him. She’s studying ‘English
Honors’ because ‘cool’ people join that course. But not once do you really care
whether Ram Bharose and his girl manage to get married to each other.
The romantic
tracks are ghastly and are standard guitar/Amit Trivedi type inanities.
Thankfully the
very obvious ploy of having people with weird names marry each other keeps you
smiling because the hero and the heroine are so boring. When a runaway bride is
called ‘Milky’, the ‘Bhaag Milky’ track is a great funny thing to hear! So is
the wedding song in Patna: You are my East/ You are my West/ Then why are you
taking my test!
(this review appears on nowrunning dot com)
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