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Movie Review: ‘Veere Di Wedding’

When news hit that Shashanka Ghosh was to bring Kareena Kapoor Khan, Sonam Kapoor Ahuja, Swara Bhaskar and Shikha Talsania together on screen in a film titled ‘Veere Di Wedding’ (2018), everyone had their eyes peeled to find out more. And with the girls posting glimpses of their hang-outs together on many occasions, only grew to the excitement. So when the trailer was unveiled, to much surprise to many, the reaction of what looked like an over-the-top chick flick had very mixed reactions. However, the ensemble of the four actresses remains to be the most intriguing, but is this enough to engage the audiences or will this be another film that isn’t all it’s hyped up to be?

When a fun-loving, upfront, anti-marriage Khalindi (Kapoor Khan) agrees to marry her long-term boyfriend, she quickly finds herself in the midst of his family’s big plans to have an enormous, extravagant wedding, where everything is over-the-top and not to her style. And the only people she feels she really needs around her are her three childhood friends Avni (Kapoor Ahuja),  Sakshi (Bhaskar) and Meera (Talsania) to keep her sane. However, with the girls having their own problems with marriage, divorce and finding ‘the one’, it turns into a much bigger task than she thought. To make matters worse her father and uncle are on bad terms and it all remains a struggle with her late mother not being around. Despite the difficulties, the four girls remain each other’s backbone. However, with Khaloo being against the idea of marriage from her own experience, is getting married for love the right thing to do, and will the girls be able to understand her dilemma?

One thing that can definitely be said for certain is that Shashank has managed to bring four brilliant actresses and has let them shine together as individuals and as a group. Their chemistry creates heartfelt moments, where one feels to want to be a part of their group. Another big plus from the film was its comedy, where at times many one-liners can get people falling off their seats. Though the premise of the story is one that many could relate too, overall it seems the director tried a bit too hard in attempting to tell a story about women of today. Playing on the way the older generation see things and the way their female offspring handle them isn’t something Indian audiences are new too, and it seems Shashank has done this on a much larger scale. Where the odd curse words and exaggerated drinking scenes gained a lot of laughs, there were times in the film that one felt the sheer vulgarness was not needed. It also becomes obvious that the director has taken influence from a famous American sitcom about four women and their love/sex lives, which makes the film lose its uniqueness.

Kapoor Khan, as always, has a brilliant on-screen presence, where she plays her role effortlessly. Many times it’s her character that audiences can connect with, where she draws in her audiences with what she has been through and how her past is the reason that she feels the way she does. Playing the girl looking for her happy ending as Avni is Kapoor Ahuja, who does a good job, but it’s a role she has played in a similar way to the many other films we have seen her in. Nonetheless the actress presents herself well on screen, where her character fits very well in the foursome. Bhaskar and Talsania play the characters who are the fireworks of the group. And they do blast on screen together like rocket launchers. Both a joy to watch, Talsania as Meera, represents a few characters in one, a mother of a young child, who has married a non-Indian, who still loves to have a good time. And Bhaskar as Sakshi is the out and out rebel, gives out the most laughs. Their comical timing is impeccable, where the audiences becoming engrossed in their characters and completely engaged into what they are going through. All four women create some wonderful friendship magic, where it becomes obvious how well they worked together. And being such brilliant actors it’s clear to see nobody else would have done as much justice to these roles as these women.

Staying away from the typical wedding songs, the music of the film works very well. With the song “Pappi Le Loon” being the only lip-synced song within the film. The likes of “Veere”, “Laaj Sharam” and “Bass Girade Raja” are placed as story forwarding songs. Indian music composer Shashwat Sachdev, has created a brilliant album full of songs that are upbeat and would get everyone moving to the beat. With a couple of extras with “Tareefan” and “Bhangra Ta Sajda”, the music adds to the tone of the film perfectly.

Generally ‘Veere Do Wedding’ is a fun watch, where one is guaranteed to catch a few laughs and even feel warmed by the characters. However, apart from a few scenes, the film falls short when it comes to reflecting real relationships in real situations. Though the storyline is strong, its projection is overtaken by over dialogues and scenes that aren’t really required. A good effort and a one time watch!

BizAsiaLive.com rating: 3/5