A light & breezy film that just about manages to keep us invested offering jaded doses of humour & emotions.
Director – Kashvie Nair
Writers – Kashvie Nair, Anuja Chauhan, Amitosh Nagpal
Cast – Neena Gupta, Kanwaljeet, Sony Razdan, Divya Seth, Arjun Kapoor, Rakul Preet Singh, Kumud Mishra, Aditi Rao Hydari, John Abraham
Plot
Amreek (Arjun) is an irresponsible boy settled in Amreeka who comes to India to meet his ailing but spirited, spirit loving and kick ass grandmom Sardar(Neena). He vows to fulfil her sole last wish that she needs to see her cherished home in Lahore.
Now he has to turn heaven (meaning quite a magical intervention by God & his girlfriend Radha, Rakul) .. and earth (this one quite literally) to be able to do that.
Analysis
The film sadly follows a well treaded path & lacks the punch.
The central most character Sardar, though brought to life by adorable & ever dependable Neena Gupta, reminded me of Phillauri & Kapoor & Sons. The tech savvy, ailing but outspoken matriarch who has never got over her first love & love for a peg.
The Hindustan Pakistan bit reminds you of so many like Bajrangi Bhaijaan & Happy Bhag Jayegi.
The dialogues with the punjabi touch try hard to infuse the humour, and they do, to some extent. But it isn’t too unfair to expect something fresh or zestier na?
To be fair, I wouldn’t delve on the implausibility part of the story as we, the mainstream lovers, relish large doses of it anyways. So why not here ?
Where the film clearly falls short is the sharpness in writing. It doesn’t let the film soar despite a fairly good cast.
For one, Neena Gupta alone is capable of shouldering a film. She tries her best. But the writing & those prosthetics held her back.
I loved Kanwaljeet & his perfect Punjabi diction.
I liked Sony Razdan and wished for some more footage to be given to amazing Divya Seth.
Kumud Mishra seemed wasted.
Rakul, I feel ,always has a beaming screen presence and here too, she does her bit in the small role she had.
Arjun has been granted a mega role this time & has given his best. His sincerity to the character shows.
Aditi looked beautiful & John looked good in their special appearance.
BGM by Gulraj Singh & music by Tanishq Bagchi lends a lot of support in upping the emotional quotient.
The film could be a one time watch if you love light & breezy films and/or Neena Gupta and can calibrate your expectations.
It does offer moments of chuckle & moist eyes but do not expect to be too impressed.