Movie Review: Shuddh Desi Romance

Starring – Sushant Singh Rajput, Parineeti Chopra, Vaani Kapoor, Rishi Kapoor Directed by Maneesh Sharma Rating - * * Confused Desi Romance - That’s the apt title for the movie. The entire movie resembles a confused den. Sushant think he loves Parineeti but is confused. Parineeti thinks Sushant loves her but is confused because Sushant is confused himself. And then there is Vaani who is in love with the super confused Sushant and while Sushant falls in love with Vaani too he also gets confused on seeing Parineeti. Phew! And then there is the kiddish ‘Can I visit the bathroom’ trick. Remember how as kids we used to coyly raise our little finger seeking permission to use the bathroom every time we got nervous? For most part of the movie, Sushant and Parineeti end up doing the same much to the viewer’s chagrin. Well the only thing no one seems to be confused about is casual smooching and of course, casual sex. And add mindless cigarette smoking to the list as well and you are now a part of the brave new world of youngsters who practice their vices openly. That’s a nutshell summary of Maneesh Sharma’s inane Shuddh Desi Romance. Take one. Sushant is Raghu, Parineeti is Gayatri and Vaani is Tara. For the sake of brevity and to avoid any more confusion, we will restrict ourselves to the actors’ real names. Sushant is about to get married but is confused about taking the plunge. That’s understandable. Everyone gets confused about arranged marriages. As Sushant gets ready to travel for his wedding, he meets the vivacious Parineeti and gets more confused. That’s understandable as well. The awesome twosome (at least till then) tries to make out in the bus while they are on their way to his wedding. After reaching his wedding destination, Sushant realises that the girl he is getting married to, is the very pretty Vaani. And he gets even more confused. (Really why?) So what does the mega-confused Sushant do? On the pretext of going to the bathroom, Sushant runs for his dear life leaving his to-be-bride Vaani in a lurch. And what does Vaani do? Well she is the new-age girl and doesn’t really care two hoots about Sushant ditching her at the altar. She orders a soft drink and chills. How cool! Take two. The insipid live-in romance between Parineeti and Sushant takes centre stage. They kiss with alarming alacrity, smoke cigarettes like there is no tomorrow and have sex. Then they decide to get married and guess what Parineeti now develops cold feet and runs away on the pretext of going to the ‘bathroom.’ Yikes!! Take Three. Enter Vaani who asks the same Sushant who had earlier ditched her, to be her boyfriend. Does this happen in the real world? We doubt. Anyways, they kiss and make out on a terrace top in Bheege Honth style and after enough sex it’s time for Parineeti to make a comeback. Not surprisingly, Sushant gets confused yet again with his feelings. And Vaani, the supporting star conveniently drops out of the equation after drinking a soft drink. Good Lord! Take four. It’s marriage time for Sushant and Parineeti, again. And guess what? Both confused souls now decide to run away on the pretext of visiting the bathroom, yet again. What happens next? Watch it yourselves if you are willing to get more confused in the bargain. For a movie that created much noise for its so-called unique youth-oriented content, Jaideep Sahni’s story falls flat on its face. For one, it’s far removed from reality. Yes, there are live-in issues. Sex is quite common. But to say that youth today are confused about marriage and are running away from it over stupid reasons is akin to mocking the sacred institution of marriage itself. Performance wise, Sushant impresses in his second outing as the innocent, naughty and flirty Raghu. He comes across as genuinely confused and emotes his role very well. He even pulls off a few comic scenes with great flamboyance. It won’t be too wrong to say that TV star Sushant Singh has truly arrived in Bollywood. Parineeti tries to play herself but the lack of a good script does her in. Newcomer Vaani looks gorgeous onscreen and puts in a sincere effort but lacks the conviction needed for her role. The most brilliant performance behind Sushant is that of Rishi Kapoor who raises the bar with his dialogue delivery in an otherwise drab movie. Director Maneesh Sharma tries to use his tried and tested marriage formula here again but the threadbare plot fails create his old magic. It’s really hard to pinpoint a strong singular reason that should make you watch this movie. Go for it only if you are a Sushant fan. Either ways, you won’t stand to lose anything in case you give this average ‘romance’ a miss.