14 Phere (2021/Zee5)
A light and breezy film that revolves around two love birds, their efforts to get married, working around their caste extremist families and the hilarious confusion that ensues.
Director – Devanshu Singh
Writer – Manoj Kalwani
Cast -Kriti Kharbanda, Vikrant Massey, Gauahar Khan, Jameel Khan, Yamini Das, Vineet Kumar, Govind Pandey, Sumit Suri, Priyanshu Singh, Manoj Bakshi, Geet Sagar
Plot
Sanjay (Vikrant)and Aditi (Kriti) belong to rich, orthodox and feudalistic families from different caste and cultures.
To make marriage possible and to appease both families, they make an elaborate plan with a set of fake parents and two parallel marriages.
Analysis
This cute little film is a perfect example of how a seemingly average story can be such a delight to watch when the cast, dialogues, direction and music come together in perfect sync.
The film kicks off on a musical note with an introduction to the love story and I felt immediately good about the music and the lyrics, something that’s consistent through out the film. All the songs are melodious and the lyrics meaningful.
The situational humour is plenty and for God’s sake let’s not bring in the plausibility factor to spoil the fun. It’s all right to defy logic and have fun once in a while.
The dialogues are effortlessly funny without being over the top.
While the film is based on the concept of conservative extremism around marriages and grave issue like honour killing, it choses to opt for a lighter vein not letting any grimness set in.
The small but beautiful share of emotional moments is brought in during a sequence that’s based around Aditi and her MIL. Those delicate moments, when a girl crosses a cultural threshold with all the insecurities storming her mind and she finds an anchor in none other than her MIL, has been picturised and performed beautifully.
To top all of these factors, we have a cast who deliver adorable performances.
Vikrant Massey is on a roll. After acclaim for his wide arched performance in Haseen Dillruba, he plays the lover boy at loggerheads with his oppressive family with flair. Whether comic timing or shades of intense scenes, there’s a natural fluidity about him.
Kriti Kharbanda looks super nice as Aditi. My favourite part of her were her expressions during the song Ram Sita.
Yamini Das has turned out to be my second most favourite after Neena Gupta. Whether Sui Dhaga, Ramprasad Ki Tehri, Haseen Dillruba or this one, her portrayals have such an adorable and natural flair about them. Want to see more of her.
Gauahar Khan brings in a a comic quotient that many might feel could have been toned down. But somehow I was in an indulgent mood while watching this film.
Jameel Khan, Vineet Kumar and the rest of the cast are great additions.
Music by Rajeev Bhalla and JAM8 deserves a mention and so does their team of lyricists. I especially loved the track
“Ram Sita” in Rekha Bharadwaj’s mesmerising voice.
The film is a good entertaining watch for those who are looking for some lighter moments. It promises plenty of chuckles and smiles and makes it completely worth its crisp duration.