I normally avoid anything which features the likes of Varun Dhawan. But, considering that I was anyway massively bored at home, I decided to give it a go, without any prior knowledge or expectations about this film. And I’m so glad I did!
The story is basically about Danish or ‘Dan’ (as he is known by everyone) and his relationship with a whole host of people, primarily with a girl named Shiuli. This is where the conventionality stops. The story isn’t your typical boy-meets-girl Bollywood ‘love story’, and the film makes that pretty apparent in the beginning.
All the actors in the film portrayed their roles beautifully, but for me, the standout was Gitanjali Rao, who portrays the role of Vidya Iyer, the mother of Shiuli, in the film. She essays the character exquisitely with powerful expressions. Her sublime demeanour and acting will leave you in awe. It was also refreshing to see Varun Dhawan in a feature like this, and he largely does justice to his part. Newcomer Bonita Sidhu sadly has almost no dialogues, but still manages to deliver a remarkable performance.
I also appreciate the fact that the film does not stereotype South Indians, as most Bollywood films tend to do, though I sincerely wish the filmmakers portray people from communities other than the Tamil Brahmins, as they seem to be the default choice anytime a South Indian character needs to be portrayed.
Props should also be given to the director (Shoojit Sircar), and Juhi Chaturvedi, the writer, who brilliantly weave this film together.
The story isn’t too complicated, yet it is not entirely predictable. The acting is mostly subtle, but very emotive and compelling. It may be deemed as a slow film, without the usual song and dance routines and loud acting, replete with over-the-top dialogues that are so characteristic of Bollywood, but it is an engaging piece of work nevertheless which, I suspect, will touch a lot of people.