'Shaandaar' review: A wedding spoof gone horribly wrong

Film: Shaandaar
Director: Vikas Bahl
Starring: Shahid Kapoor, Alia Bhatt, Pankaj Kapur, Sanjay Kapoor, Sanah Kapoor, Anjana Sukhani, Sushma Seth
Rating: **

What it's about: I’m not sure if the makers of Shaandaar know what the film is about. Is it a love story? Is it about a destination wedding? Is it an animation film? Or is it just a wasteful indulgence in the name of a film? Bipin (Pankaj Kapur) brings home an abandoned child, Alia. His mother and wife take an instant dislike to her, but his little daughter Isha (Sanah Kapoor) accepts her. Then it's time for Isha to get married. But it's really a business proposition with both sides actually being bankrupt and looking to trade up. Enter JJ (Shahid Kapoor) the wedding planner. An insomniac like Alia, they are drawn towards each other. Father disapproves, of course. Meanwhile, the wedding is on the verge of breaking off and the matriarch of the family (Sushma Seth) decides to add to the drama.

What's good: Vikas Bahl probably started off with trying to one up the stereotypical family wedding films. Good idea. Except the idea seemed to have remained in his head and not translate to the screen. It’s ironic when you set out to make fun of others but end up becoming a joke yourself. The only redeeming part of Shandaar is Alia Bhatt’s endearing act – she keeps getting better with every film. She only needs to be careful of being typecast, with her casual demeanour on screen. Some of her scenes with Pankaj Kapur are heartwarming. Karan Johar’s cameo is delightful – primarily because of the filmmaker’s own charm and wit.  

What's not: Shandaar is quite easily among the worst written films in recent times. It desperately tries to be cool and funny but ends up being neither. You are supposed to be amused when JJ asks Alia in front of her father what the 36 on her tee means. And if that's not bad enough, the father asks JJ the same question. For some reason, the makers believe that abbreviations are hilarious. So Pairi Pauna becomes PP, Michael Jackson becomes Mickey and so on. As the film progresses it gets even more unbearable. In the last few minutes of the film, the writers and director decides to shake things up. So suddenly it becomes a spoof on Hindi films with everyone mouthing a cliche dialogue they always wanted to say. BTW how is "Sindhi Samdhi, Samdhi Sindhi" supposed to be funny? The old lady fawning over young JJ is neither funny nor attractive. Also without warning, the film veers into Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron space, leaving the audience as confused as the makers.   

What to do: Gatecrashing a Sindhi wedding would be more fun than spending time and money on this one.