ashdoc
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The setting is in the 90s and India is still mired in backwardness . So much so that a young man ( played by Ayushmann Khurana ) in a city near the Himalayas is cajoled coerced forced and bullied into marriage with a girl he does not like .
This violation of human rights is mitigated by the fact that it does not happen with a woman....for such force being applied on the weaker sex would have made the matter too painful to bear and the film would have failed to gain sympathy of the audience . Instead we are asked/expected to look at the matter in a light hearted way as a force being applied by simple well meaning parents who want the best for their son .
And the woman in this case is ever ready to marry the young man , even though she is superior to him in education . Reason being---she is deemed not capable of getting a better husband as she is superior to most young men a matter she should not be , her weight....
Yeah , the young man has been forced to marry a fat woman double to him in weight . And he massively/excessively resents this , his resentment growing with every passing frame of the film . And your heart also reaches out to the woman ( played by Bhumi Pednekar ) who tries hard to win his heart and his affection .
Ayushmann runs a music cassette shop and dreams of being the next Kumar Shanu ( a famous Indian singer of the nineties ) . But actually he cannot pass from school and hence his parents and aunt feel that it is right to marry him to this overweight girl because she is a teacher by profession and can bring good money to the household . And you are inclined to agree....for these are lower middle class small town people with meagre income and limited horizons . It is all right for me to dream of human rights sitting in my posh house , but for these little people the prospect of a working daughter in law is too good to pass even if the son is to be bullied physically into accepting a wife double to him in size....
It is upto Bhumi Pedneker to win over the audience by gaining their sympathy---and she does so with aplomb....
You applaud and cheer her efforts to make her husband fall in love with her , and applaud and cheer more when she takes the lead in making love in bed ( every man dreams of a wife who takes the lead in bed , doesn't he....) ; but you applaud and cheer the hardest when she refuses to take her humiliation by him lying down and serves him a stinging slap.....yeah , our leading lady is one who is ever willing to stand up for her rights and is not shy to throw her (over)weight around because she is better educated than her in laws....
Sanjay Mishra plays the father of Ayushmann , and he pulls off the feat of being physically bullying towards his son but seeming well intentioned at the same time . This is done partly by showing his bullying scenes as light hearted stuff and partly by him never behaving badly with his daughter in law---in fact he is always siding with her....and siding with the weaker sex is the surest way of winning the audience's sympathy....
But matters take a worse turn and the situation reaches the divorce court .
So will the marriage end ??
Relax....there is the 'dum laga ke haisha' ( put effort to carry this weight ) contest round the corner---where the husband has to run across a series of obstacles carrying the weight of his wife on his shoulders....a chance to win real moolah for these small town folk....
And being able to carry the overweight of his wife on his able shoulders would instil a lot of confidence in our young man....so all hope for the marriage is not lost....and man lives on hope doesn't he....
The music is hummable and I found myself singing some of the songs in my bathroom---they could make the next Kumar Shanu out of me yet.....Budget of the film must be low , judging from the lack of stars in the cast and the decidedly unglamorous settings.....
Bhumi Pednekar looked good enough , especially when she wore that satin nightgown . Ayushmann has acted well .
Verdict---Good , especially for a family audience .
Four stars .
This violation of human rights is mitigated by the fact that it does not happen with a woman....for such force being applied on the weaker sex would have made the matter too painful to bear and the film would have failed to gain sympathy of the audience . Instead we are asked/expected to look at the matter in a light hearted way as a force being applied by simple well meaning parents who want the best for their son .
And the woman in this case is ever ready to marry the young man , even though she is superior to him in education . Reason being---she is deemed not capable of getting a better husband as she is superior to most young men a matter she should not be , her weight....
Yeah , the young man has been forced to marry a fat woman double to him in weight . And he massively/excessively resents this , his resentment growing with every passing frame of the film . And your heart also reaches out to the woman ( played by Bhumi Pednekar ) who tries hard to win his heart and his affection .
Ayushmann runs a music cassette shop and dreams of being the next Kumar Shanu ( a famous Indian singer of the nineties ) . But actually he cannot pass from school and hence his parents and aunt feel that it is right to marry him to this overweight girl because she is a teacher by profession and can bring good money to the household . And you are inclined to agree....for these are lower middle class small town people with meagre income and limited horizons . It is all right for me to dream of human rights sitting in my posh house , but for these little people the prospect of a working daughter in law is too good to pass even if the son is to be bullied physically into accepting a wife double to him in size....
It is upto Bhumi Pedneker to win over the audience by gaining their sympathy---and she does so with aplomb....
You applaud and cheer her efforts to make her husband fall in love with her , and applaud and cheer more when she takes the lead in making love in bed ( every man dreams of a wife who takes the lead in bed , doesn't he....) ; but you applaud and cheer the hardest when she refuses to take her humiliation by him lying down and serves him a stinging slap.....yeah , our leading lady is one who is ever willing to stand up for her rights and is not shy to throw her (over)weight around because she is better educated than her in laws....
Sanjay Mishra plays the father of Ayushmann , and he pulls off the feat of being physically bullying towards his son but seeming well intentioned at the same time . This is done partly by showing his bullying scenes as light hearted stuff and partly by him never behaving badly with his daughter in law---in fact he is always siding with her....and siding with the weaker sex is the surest way of winning the audience's sympathy....
But matters take a worse turn and the situation reaches the divorce court .
So will the marriage end ??
Relax....there is the 'dum laga ke haisha' ( put effort to carry this weight ) contest round the corner---where the husband has to run across a series of obstacles carrying the weight of his wife on his shoulders....a chance to win real moolah for these small town folk....
And being able to carry the overweight of his wife on his able shoulders would instil a lot of confidence in our young man....so all hope for the marriage is not lost....and man lives on hope doesn't he....
The music is hummable and I found myself singing some of the songs in my bathroom---they could make the next Kumar Shanu out of me yet.....Budget of the film must be low , judging from the lack of stars in the cast and the decidedly unglamorous settings.....
Bhumi Pednekar looked good enough , especially when she wore that satin nightgown . Ayushmann has acted well .
Verdict---Good , especially for a family audience .
Four stars .
