Film: Veere Di Wedding
Genre: Comedy
Cast: Kareena Kapoor Khan, Sonam K Ahuja, Swara Bhasker, Shikha Talsania
Director: Shashanka Ghosh
Duration: 2 hrs 15 minutes
Story:
Kalindi (Kareena), Avni (Sonam), Mira (Shikha) and Sakshi Soni (Swara) are school friends. Each has her own dreams for the future -- Kalindi doesn't want to ever get married thanks to her parents' constant fights and strife, Mira's uncle wants her to enter matrimony as soon as she finishes education, Sakshi aspires to go to Prague while Avni wants to pursue a career. Cut to 10 years later, Avni is a lawyer, Mira is married to a firangi, John, and has a two-year-old son, Sakshi is in a distant and bad marriage, while Kalindi is in a live-in relationship with Rishabh (Sumeet).
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Review:
Primarily, the film is about these four girls and their journey in life. Kalindi is happy living in with her BF but Rishabh wants to get married and proposes to her. That's the starting point and is instrumental in getting the four friends who call themselves Veere together. Indian weddings, read Punjabi weddings, mean all the functions leading to marriage like mehndi, sangeet etc are paramount and give enough reason for our girls to doll up. So, the film sets enough fashion goals with Kareena and surprisingly Swara leading the brigade. Kareena aces it and when she is in the frame you can't take your eyes off her! Post motherhood Kareena is looking more gorgeous. Sonam, to her credit, takes a backseat and lets Kareena take over. In the film it's her mother, nicely played by Neena Gupta, egging her to dress up as she wants to get her married!
While the plot doesn't have much in terms of a story, it's the irreverent dialogue and humour that keeps the film going. Yes, cuss words are the order of the day, but it's got an 'A' so no room for complaints! The young generation will relate to it as I could see in the theatre which was full of college-goers, who were laughing as if on cue. In the acting department Kareena aces it hands down. Whether it's her uncertainty about getting married, bewilderment at the countless rituals or her emotional breakdown, she is a natural. Welcome back, Kareena.
Swara comes a close second with her devil-may-care attitude, bold and brazen avatar. She proves she can be equally home with roles which have her subservient or bindaas. Sonam seems a little restrained in her performance but some of her scenes are cute while Shikha delivers. Sumeet holds his own against Kareena and is perfectly understated. However, the chemistry between the four friends seems forced sometimes. And, though the story unfolds some harsh realities of the lives the four girls lead, it doesn't make any deep impact.
Verdict:
It's being hailed as a female buddy flick and the girls are open about drinking, having flings and discussing sex, which by and large is taboo in our films, so it's brave in that sense. But it has nothing to do with women empowerment. Once you accept that and watch the film you are in for a crazy ride. Yes, there are loopholes in the story but then it never professed to be taken seriously. It's pitched as a comedy and one needn't always find logic in the fun.
Critic's rating: 3/5
