Movie Review

Rating :

Verdict : Funny and interesting romantic entertainer, can be watched

Filmmaker Rohan Sippy of the illustrious Sippy family has made only a few films since he made his debut in 2003 with ‘Kuch Na Kaho’ that was followed up with Bluffmaster, Taxi No: 9211 and Dum Maro Dum. He is back now with his latest venture titled ‘Nautanki Saala’ that stars Ayushmann Khurrana, Kunaal Roy Kapur, Pooja Salvi and Gaelyn Mendonca. This film is the official remake of the French film APRES VOUS and is scheduled to release on 12th April. So here is the review of the film and so let’s what see what Rohan Sippy has come up with this time for the viewers.

Story:-

Ram Parmar alias RP (Ayushmann Khurrana) is a theatre actor and director of a successful play titled Ravaanleela. On-stage, RP transforms into a malevolent Ravaan, off the stage, he is the most helpful and good-natured person who goes out of his way to help people in trouble. During one of his good-natured acts, he ends up saving Mandar Lele (Kunal Roy Kapur) from his suicide attempt.

RP then gets totally occupied in putting Mandar’s life back on track that he ends up ignoring his girlfriend Chitra (Gaelyn Mendonca). RP also tries to revive Mandar’s love life with Nandani (Pooja Salvi), but interestingly RP ends up falling in love with her. The rest of the film is about whether RP will be getting Mandar’s life and love on track? Will Mandar be handle and understand the feeling that his BFF has for the love of his life? The resolution to these dilemmas is what the rest of the film is all about.

Positive Points:-

While Nautanki Saala is not as fresh and witty as ‘Vicky Donor’ nor as slapstick as ‘Delhi Belly’, it’s to the credit of Rohan Sippy that he manages to capture a different kind of fun-filled pathos in this film. Ayushmann hits the target once again with his natural comic flair and timing. The other main lead, Kunal Roy Kapur, plays a lonely guy with ease and is extremely witty in a few scenes.

VJ turned debutante actress Gaelyn Mendonca has strong potential to go a long way ahead given her act in this movie. Special mention should be made of Sanjeev Bhatt who plays the drama producer since he brings in such wonderful humor with his mammoth talent. He cracks everyone up in each of his scenes.

Another interesting character in the film is the stranger whom Ram meets at the restaurant. This character’s expressions will have the viewers rolling in the aisles laughing. Overall, Nautanki Saala has a few extremely faultless and amusing moments which make it a pleasurable watch.

Negative Points:-

Nautanki Saala has more drama than one can anticipate. From the promos, one would presume the movie to be all about stage shows but Rohan’s attempt is more about off-screen Nautanki than the on-screen ones.

Apart from Gaelyn Mendonca who makes a strong addition, the other two leading ladies contribute nothing much to the film. Pooja Salvi doesn’t have the looks or the talent to play a lead role while Evelyn’s presence is negligible as she adds no value to the film. The scenes between Ayushmaan and Pooja and his frequent visits to Pooja’s flower show are plain cheesy and could have easily been edited out of the screenplay. The pace of the movie slows down by the second half and it gets dreary at one point which is a pointer to the week screenplay.

Technical Aspects:-

Just like too many cooks spoil the broth, too many songs can easily spoil a film. The second half of the film is interspersed with songs at a regular frequency which function like speedbreakers to the movie’s pace. Saddi Galli which is sung by Ayushmann is soothing and pick of the movie. Cinematographer Manoj Lobo has done a splendid job by capturing the true spirit of a theatrical ambience.

While the editing could have been sharper, the screenplay is just about fine. While the first half of the film contains some wonderfully funny moments, the second half is only good in parts. The story has been stretched to such an extent that it ends up testing the patience of the audience.