Badrinath ki Dulhania, is set in two small towns, but since it is Dharma, you know its all about - ''Good looks, good looks and good looks". Hence, Jhansi and Kota have been glamourized enough to please your eyes, at the cost of losing the very texture of its rawness. Also, our Bansal's and Trivedi's speak in an accent that is a cocktail of Bhojpuri, Bihari and Hindi, across UP and Rajasthan (need a map?)
The first half of the movie is spent in setting the context of a patriarchal and regressive Bansal household, where our hero, Badri Bansal is a proud son of a Sahukar who surrenders to his father's wishes (read orders). There is also a brother whose sob story is quickly explained with a voice over. Within a sequence of a flashy wedding song & dance, Badri meets the fiery Vaidehi and immediately falls in love. And begins the legit stalking and persuasion. He quickly figures out her sob story and passes that on to us again through another brief voice over. The end of first half leaves us at a turning point you might/might not have predicted.
The second half will take you through Singapore tourism and also the training schedule of an airlines crew. Our hero runs around S'pore breaking laws left right and centre, putting Vaidehi's career in jeopardy, but all that is supposed to be cute and love. There is also a scene where Badri is molested by a bunch of thugs, and everyone finds it funny. So much for gender equality, it seems.
Thankfully there is Somdev, our guy's best friend who is brilliant as ever and makes every scene watchable.
Alia is cute with her perpetually curled tresses and rosy cheeks, but same old.
Varun is energetic and convincingly plays a cute manchild whose heart is way more functional than his brain. Everything said and done, Alia and Varun, in the limited scope of their characters are almost flawless. While their chemistry in Humpty was more intact and adorable, here it is a bit lacklustre burdened by the multiple layers.
It feels like BKD expects to be seen by a less evolved audience. Who will come and appreciate all the song and dance around a make-believe love story and leave, applauding the social messaging that was not so cleverly stuffed in, and yes let us not push it, we cannot call it Vaidehi ka Dulha. The misinterpretation of gender equality and feminism is appalling. Go watch if you expect a no-brainer masala entertainer. Else, there is better cinema.
Rating - 2/5
