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Movie Review: ��Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania�۪

��Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania�۪ was hyped to be a film to watch, being compared to the great romantic Bollywood films like ��Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge�۪ (DDLJ) (1995). This film chose to challenge that comparison head on with trailers picturing lead actor Varun Dhawan crying watching scenes from ��DDLJ�۪. ��Humpty�۪ also marked the return of the duo Varun Dhawan and Alia Bhatt, the couple who have had rave reviews about their chemistry in ��Student of the Year�۪ (2012). The soundtrack from the film added to the film�۪s hype with Saturday Saturday, Lucky Tu Lucky Me and D Se Dance getting people hitting the dance floor all over. This film was marketed as very much a new age romance with characters which were fresh and taking a new take on romance in Bollywood.

'Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania' starring Varun & Alia
'Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania' starring Varun & Alia

Feisty, stubborn Kavya Pratap Singh (Alia Bhatt) is from a rich family which resides in the yellow field filled Ambala. Her marriage has been arranged by her father (Ashutosh Rana) to an even richer NRI Angad Bedi (Siddharth Shukla). Kavya is intent on getting married in a Kareena Kapoor style designer lengha and when her father refuses to buy her one, she heads off to Delhi to get her lengha and attend her friend�۪s wedding. Meanwhile emotional fool Humpty Rakesh Sharma (Varun Dhawan) is the run of the mill jack the lad who causes chaos in Delhi�۪s streets, chasing after girls and cheating his way through his exams. This how he meets Kavya and instantly falls for her and their adventures begin.

This film has all the right elements, the feisty heroine, the over dramatic hero and his loyal companions but it fails to deliver the same level of romance as DDLJ. Though references to the film are done in a humorous way, it is rather out of place in the modern context of the film that director Shashank Khaitan is desperate to establish. The film is desperately trying to play tribute to DDLJ but they end up making it seem stale and overdone. The first half of the film is devoted to the relationship between Dhawan and Bhatt but by the second half, you do end up feeling like the film has lost its focus. Where the arrival of the NRI is marked with such fanfare, by the end of the film, you barely see him. ��Dhawan and Bhatt are both playing roles that they are comfortable being and their chemistry is flawless. Their rapport throughout the film is its saving grace and they interact with each other flirtatiously with great affection.

Ashutosh Rana, though not completely an Amrish Puri style father, plays his role as the set in his ways Indian father really well. ��The development of his relationship with Dhawan�۪s character Humpty is entertaining to watch and both actors do play up to these scenes very well. Sahil Vaid (Poplu) and Gaurav Pandey (Shonty) who both play Dhawan�۪s best friends in the film also add to the fun level of the script with well scripted lines creating some light moments.

The music for this film is its saving grace with some lovely fun bubbly music numbers which will long outlive the film. Samjhawaan is used for most of the emotional moments and in fact, it does compliment these scenes incredibly well. Dhawan has been given countless moments to show off his dance moves throughout the film and Saturday Saturday, Lucky to Lucky Me and D Se Dance are not only great numbers but also create some fantastically choreographed interludes in a rather confusing script.

Watch this film if you miss the old school Bollywood romances as there is a lot of that in this film. Don�۪t have high expectations about the ending, this film is meant to be a bit of fun, not become the next DDLJ.

BizAsia Showbiz Rating: 2/5