HASEE TOH PHASEE- CUCKIN FRAZILY FUN

                         

A collaboration between Karan Johar and Anurag Kashyap makes you wonder what would have happened if Shyam Benegal or Govind Nihlani had teamed up with Prakash Mehra or even the early days of Yash Chopra. The results could have a been an unappetising mashup of ideologies, or something as fun and unusual as Hasee toh Phasee. Ironically there is nothing so cuckin frazy about it. Its quite a simple straightforward film bereft of almost all rom-com clichés. Of course thanks to the Dharma productions association there is the customary Punjabi wedding song and a 60’s inspired disco song, where they try but cannot shake it like Shammi.

The plot is simple, guy is about to marry a girl, till her sister shows up to turn his world upside down. There are just so many permutations and combinations you can make in this genre but what distinguishes this film is its superb characterisation and light handed treatment. Debutant director Vinil Mathew keeps the Dharma spice box at bay, giving the movie a natural, realistic Phantom style treatment.

So Nikhil( Siddharth Malhotra) is all set to marry his hard to please girlfriend Karishma ( Adah Sharma) who is a TV actress. She is critical, mean and never loses an opportunity to put him down. Nikhil however is sincere and loyal, and desperate for approval from his childhood. He refuses to break up with her, believing this relationship to be the one thing he has done right in his life. Thankfully he never starts acting like a tin of gulabjamuns or says inane lines like ‘main humein tutne nahin doonga’ (Imran Khan, Break Ke Baaad). In the midst of wedding preparations enters Meeta (Parineeti Chopra), Karishma’s sister who has been missing for the past seven years.

 She is a brilliant, misunderstood, eccentric girl, loved unconditionally only by her father; Manoj Joshi putting in yet another fantastic performance. Quite the black sheep of his family Nikhil develops a soft corner for the girl, showing her kindness and warmth that she has seldom seen. She is no damsel in distress mind you. Meeta pops pills, speaks Mandarin, runs a lab in China, snacks on sachets of sugar and is quite an enigma for most of the film. As Nikhil says, there are two versions of her, Meeta and Meeta 2.0 who appears after she doses herself with a combination of medicines.

She remarks in a great dialogue, that he is oxygen and she is double hydrogen, their chemistry is like water. Well it is actually. No big sparks fly, no dramatic love songs are shot, instead their relationship has the fluidity and organic nature of water. Unlike his tumultuous relationship with the demanding Karishma, Nikhil finds peace, humour, and a sense of self with the mixed up Meeta. He is not out to impress her but ends up doing just that.

Vinil Mathew and writer Harshvardhan Kulkarni write a script that is fresh and straightforward. It is a joy to see actual character graphs in a film and some sparkling witty dialogues.

Siddharth and Parineeti get roles they can sink their teeth into. While she has performed well in all her previous outings as an actor, Siddharth shows improvement, and given a role with more layers and a journey, he has definitely worked at getting it right. As the hen assaulted Nikhil, he is instantly likeable as the guy with his finger in too many pies. Though originally from the Dharma stables, he underplays and keeps it simple, never irritating us or making us cringe. Parineeti Chopra is a performer with promise. Her Meeta could have easily gone down the Geet route, being bubbly and talkative but never once does she step into the zone of stereotype. She has an extremely expressive face and is completely invested her role. Meeta is vulnerable and crazy, smart but complicated and yet has the most clarity on what she wants from life. With complete seriousness she claims she will only steal from her father, and chides the hero for wanting a guarantee card on everything in life.

What really lifts this film one notch higher is the brilliant supporting cast who also pitch their characters at the perfect note. The obnoxious, overbearing uncle, a helpless loving father, relatives to refer to CID to solve household thefts, an aunt serving different versions of tea and coffee, aspiring singer cousins, and friends who outsourced sightseeing and shopping duties. Vinil Mathew creates quite a Monsoon Wedding like ambience, albeit a far more lighthearted one.

It could have done with more generous editing, especially Joharesque wedding songs which slow down the narrative. But then again, its Dharma’s dharma to make actors sing unrealistic numbers, and I am sure the director had to make compromises somewhere. Its not profound, intellectual cinema, but Hasee toh Phasee wins you over by keeping it simple, period. This film also goes to prove that when you have the foundation of a strong script, and well thought out characters, you don’t need skimpily clad women, suicidal lovers, item songs, stock dance numbers, or any other pre requisite that has been flogged to an inch of its life. The director must be cuckin frazy to take the risk, but hum hase aur phasse..  mission accomplished.