JOIN USA wedding where all hell breaks loose
Shaandaar
Hindi (U/A)
Cast: Shahid Kapoor, Alia Bhatt, Pankaj Kapur, Sanah Kapur, Sushma Seth
Director: Vikas Bahl
Rating: 2 star
In the dead of night, Alia snuggles under the blanket with a torch and devours books and bananas. On some nights, she goes for a bath in the pond. Turns out Alia is an insomniac who spends her bedtime exploring her passion — which is “everything” — from bikes to chocolates; stars to snails.
Soon enough, the little rich adopted girl meets her match. Shahid Kapoor, another “insomaliac” who is also the wedding planner managing the D-Day of Alia’s step-sister (Sanah Kapur, who is Shahid’s real-life half-sister).
Shaandaar looks fabulous on all counts — elite characters, palace-like abodes and a breathtaking English countryside that hosts a destination wedding. The rich details fail to percolate into the script though. Scrape the glaze, dig deep and there is just more froth at the core. Surprisingly, this comes from the same Vikas Bahl who gave us Queen.
Alia, the “anath” girl has a heart and mind of her own. She isn’t cowed down by the “adopted” taunts of relatives, especially that of the schemingly funny matriarch. Now, Sushma Seth is one soul who is clearly having a ball. The tyrannical granny moves around in a wheelchair and spews venom — at times, her dentures too — at everyone around her. She also goes hysterical if there is no paratha for breakfast or if her photo on Forbes cover is smaller than her rival’s.
At one point, Karan Johar barges in with a few gift hampers and plays ‘Mehndi with Karan’ with the Q&A-happy cast.
Sanah, the plus-size bride, wears her weight with elan and gives some body gyan to her eight-and-a-half packs groom (Vikas Verma) right at the mandap.
Shahid and Alia lift the movie with their natural charm, but their winsome acts don’t add any depth to the pompous fairytale.
At the end, it’s like the viewers paying up to watch the stars’ shaandaar paid holiday.