'Dum Laga Ke Haisha' review: An unconventional yet striking love story

Film: Dum Laga Ke Haisha

Cast: Ayushmann Khurana, Bhumi Pednekar, Sanjay Mishra, Seema Pahwa and Sheeba Chaddha  

Director: Sharad Katariya

Rating:  ***1/2

WHAT IT'S ABOUT:

With Dum Laga Ke Haisha, YRF truly defines the evolving times of mainstream Hindi cinema. The film is proof that keeping the sensibility intact, ‘different’ cinema need not necessarily be pretentious or boring. India’s biggest film studio that’s delivered some of the most legendary love stories on celluloid attempts something utterly simple and sweet this time – and it’s a home run. The film, set in the mid-nineties, is about an uneducated lad Prem (Khurana) who is forced by his family to get married to Sandhya (Bhumi Pednekar). Sandhya is qualified to become a teacher and the family hopes life for Prem would become easier after marriage. But Prem is put off by his bride because she is extra large in size, which makes him feel embarrassed and awkward of her presence. The marriage is a classic mismatch – with both husband and wife struggling to cope with each other’s inadequacies. Eventually when they land up in court, they are asked to spend six months together before divorce can be granted. It’s during this period that they both learn to look beyond the superficial and start bonding. How love blossoms leading to a happy ending is what the rest of the film is about.

WHAT’S HOT:

Director Sharad Katariya is treading on thin ice with a story that’s not really out of the usual. But he makes up for it by making the entire package so endearing and earnest. Shot entirely in Haridwar, the film has a very small-town feel to it and it soaks you in the mystique of that place. Early fog-filled mornings, bustling lanes, lonely alleys at night – the location becomes one of the primary characters. The film also shatters the notion that anything that’s not conventionally picturesque cannot be a visual delight. Katariya elevates even a modest scene with his outstanding dialogues without trying to deliberately make an impact at any point. The director focuses on establishing each of his characters so well that you don’t miss a single recognisable face – full credit also to Shanoo Mehra for one of the best casting in recent times. Katariya also brilliantly relives the 90s through the Kumar Sanu songs – in fact, the scene where the husband and wife express to each other their feelings through some 90s melodies is a riot. Ayushmann Khurana keeps getting better with every film – he literally lives through the part of Prem. Playing the underdog to the hilt, it’s his candour and honesty that binds the film together. Newcomer Bhumi Pednekar makes an unconventional yet striking debut. Sanjay Mishra is fantastic – here’s one of the most underrated actors we have. Sheeba Chaddha (who plays Prem’s bua) is exceptional.
 
WHAT’S NOT:

In this otherwise entertaining film, the screenplay meanders at certain points and that’s where Kataria needed to have a better grip. The focus on the problems between the couple is far more than on their ‘together’ moments. Like when they finally start bonding, you want to see more of it but it leads straight to the climax and the film ends. You leave the cinema hall a bit unfulfilled with their romance, which blossoms a bit too late and ends too quickly.
 
WHAT TO DO:

Dum Laga ke Haisha is one of the most honest and feel-good films in a long time – definitely go for it.