Hasee Toh Phasee
Year: 2014
Director: Vinil Mathew
Cast: Sidharth Malhotra, Parineeti Chopra, Adah Sharma

Karan Johar movies have a typical glossy, urban, candyfloss feel. But will Anurag Kashyap’s Phantom Films joining in as the co-producer bring some new elements, some fresh ideas on board?

Before watching Hasee Toh Phasee, I was just wondering about this question. So what did I find out?

What’s the plot?

With his wedding just a week ahead, a young man (Siddharth Malhotra) perpetually struggling to keep his haughty, super-rich girl-friend (Adah Sharma) happy, is given a task of managing a lady guest (Parineeti Chopra). The seemingly simple task becomes extremely complex as the guest turns out to be a girl he had fleetingly met (and liked!) at a wedding party a few years ago; who is also the bride-to-be’s estranged elder sister. To further complicate matters, she is a quirky scientist with a penchant for stealing and drugs! What happens when the boy and the new girl start coming too close for comfort?

What’s hot?

·        Director Vinil Mathew delivers an entertaining film out of Harshvardhan Kulkarni’s far-fetched rom-com plot with a multitude of zany characters and situations.

·        The typically lavish look and feel.

·        Parineeti Chopra is superb in her avatar as the brilliant but flawed young girl, who cares two hoots about conventions. Her body language, dialogue delivery and emoting is pitch perfect. She is the main reason this film becomes watchable and enjoyable!

·        Sidharth Malhotra impresses in his first outing as a sole leading man. He looks good and delivers a composed performance. His chemistry with Parineeti works well.

·        The supporting cast too fits in very well.

·        Vishal and Shekhar’s music is catchy.

What’s not?

·        The first half of the film is slow.

·        The climax is convoluted.

·        It is hard not to get the ‘Seen it; been there before’ feeling!

Verdict

Confused protagonists, personality quirks, marriage parties, culture clashes, pop-culture references, crazy characters, outrageous situations and a dash of soapy sentimentality- Karan Johar’s films have perfected the formula for chic, urban rom-coms. Hasee Toh Phasee is yet another well-made product from that assembly line. The grit and reality of Anurag Kashyap- brand of films are nowhere to be seen. But that is perfectly okay. It is a light-hearted family entertainer for non-brain-taxing viewing and it does fine in that respect. So enjoy the ride. Just don’t make the mistake of expecting too much of originality and logic!

Rating

3 out of 5 stars