Shubh Mangal Savdhan
Year: 2017
Director: R.S. Prasanna
Cast: Ayushman Khurana, Bhumi Pednekar

What’s the plot?

A potential North Indian middle-class love-story turns into an online matchmaking session as the shy guy (Ayushman Khurana) directly proposes marriage over a matrimony website. The firebrand girl (Bhumi Pednekar) succeeds in turning that online match-up into a budding romance. These post-engagement, premarital meets lead to a passionate encounter, where the guy fails to ‘rise’ to the occasion! Even later on, the things fail to look ‘up’!

Now the couple is in a quandary. The guy, worried sick over his ‘handicap’, doesn’t want the girl to get herself into an unhappy marriage! Now, the families get involved in the ensuing blame games!

What’s hot?

·       A bold subject (Male impotence!) presented as a satire, highlighting the warped public attitudes towards that issue.

·       An interesting first half.

·       Some genuinely funny sequences.

·       Authentic North Indian small town, middle class characters.

·       Ayushman and Bhumi carry on their wonderful ‘Dum Lagake Haisha’ chemistry forward. Both are fun and likeable.

What’s not?

·       The second half loses grip and feels needlessly melodramatic.

·       After setting the story up nicely, the writer and the director waste a great opportunity to explore the popular myths and misconceptions surrounding impotence. There is so much to tap in that sensitive taboo topic, which could have provided many funny situations and also served as public education.

·       The supporting characters aren’t etched well.

Verdict

Shubh Mangal Savdhan is yet another small budget rom-com with middle-class small town characters, which steals march over the glossy big budget star vehicles. It is a watchable comedy, which had the potential to become a much more enduring classic. A much misunderstood topic like male impotence has got a funny treatment here; unfortunately the story fails to fully penetrate the matter and as a result, the film feels rather limp by the climax!

Rating

2.5 stars