Star Cast: RajKummar Rao, Bhumi Pednekar, Chum Darang, Seema Pahwa, Sheeba Chaddha, Deepak Arora
Director: Harshavardhan Kulkarni
What’s Good: It’s a step above from Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan…
What’s Bad: … but way too many steps below from where we have to reach with films highlighting characters from the LGBTQIA community
Loo Break: Every song (apart from Atak Gaya) is an opportunity for you to rethink if you want to continue with the film!
Watch or Not?: Only if you want to see RajKummar Rao & Bhumi Pednekar act well (or you can watch Bareilly Ki Barfi, Bala instead)
Available On: Theatrical Release
Runtime: 147 Minutes
User Rating:
Shardul Thakur (RajKummar Rao) is a 30+ unmarried policeman & is going through the typical “Shadi Kab?” debate bachelors go through at this age with their family. He clashes with Sumi (Bhumi Pednekar) and gets to know that she’s a lesbian. He himself being a homosexual suggests Sumi to get in a lavender marriage with him. For those unaware of the term, don’t worry, bhai aaya hai, sab bata ke jaayega. A lavender marriage is a ‘marriage of convenience’ done with no romantic angle but to fulfil one’s personal agenda to stay away from society’s stereotypical debates.
Once they get married, they shift to a new town and start meeting their respective partners. On getting a reality check, both Shardul and Sumi get on the same page for things happening around their lives. Sumi meets Rimjhim (Chum Darang) for the first time while passing her half a kilogram of her dad’s poop in a plastic food container because she works as a nurse at a hospital. Why was this so specific? That’s how it’s in the film and I didn’t want to keep these visuals just to myself. Both Sumi & Shardul find love outside their marriage but what happens when they finally had to confess the truth to their families? That’s what the film is all about!
Badhaai Do Movie Review: Script Analysis
This is the classic case of great intent paired with sloppy execution. Harshavardhan Kulkarni pairs up with Suman Adhikary & Akshat Ghildial to pen a story that clearly looks like a mashup of two very different perspectives. I’ve been a fan of Kulkarni’s Hunterrr & many portions of this one takes you back to the delightfully dingy locations but it gets too formulaic with its execution. Hunterrr worked big time because it didn’t follow any set patterns, but Kulkarni loses his spark with humour falling as flat as the flattest thing you can imagine right now.
One major issue the story faces apart from the weak comical portions is the development of supporting characters. We, as an industry, have always struggled in penning the characters belonging to the LGBTQIA community. Though RajKummar & Bhumi’s roles are nicely fleshed with emotions, drama but their partners are equally dismissed. Chum Darang’s Rimjhim’s character arc is a flatline, as the writers fail to make her add any substance to the narrative.
Badhaai Do Movie Review: Star Performance
RajKummar Rao as usual does his job of escalating even pretty ordinary lines to a level that will surely hold your interest. The supreme talent he possesses allows him to stand out from the sloppy execution. Bhumi Pednekar is flawless as Sumi as well, helping to sail the slow boat with her presence. She’s as good in every scene as she’s in her first scene.
Chum Darang gives a partially good performance, she’s great at some places but crosses the line of hamming at some. Seema Pahwa & Sheeba Chaddha doesn’t add much to the narrative, hence the makers lose a great scope of adding fun to balance the drama through them.
Badhaai Do Movie Review: Direction, Music
Harshavardhan Kulkarni should’ve gone all Hunterrr on this one leaving no stone unturned in exploring the relationship of his leads. He adds one scene highlighting the bond between Sumi and her father, relying a major part of the emotional climax on them. This and multiple such mistakes fail to create the impact he desired through the story.
Hitesh Sonik does the routine background score without taking any risk with the sound designing. Atak Gaya remains to be the best song from the album which is filled with many average tracks.
Badhaai Do Movie Review: The Last Word
All said and done, Badhaai Do is a good film at heart but fails to impress as a whole package. RajKummar Rao, Bhumi Pednekar try their best, but it isn’t enough!
Two and a half stars!
Badhaai Do Trailer
Badhaai Do releases on 11 February, 2022.
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Want some more recommendations? Read our Gehraiyaan Movie Review here.
Must Read: Gehraiyaan Movie Review: Chaos That Almost Soothes You, Thanks To Deepika Padukone, Shakun Batra & Team!
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