Khurrana burst on the scene with the comedy Vicky Donor in 2012 and has headlined a few movies since, but he works best in an ensemble.
Put down repeatedly by his well-meaning but patriarchal father (Sanjay Mishra), mollycoddled by his mother (Alka Amin) and aunt (Sheeba Chaddha) and patronised by fellow members of his Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh-like group that dispenses bodily and spiritual advice on a daily basis, Prem is a man on the verge of a nervous breakdown. But Dum Laga Ke Haisha’s hero is its anti-hero. The screenplay is evenly balanced between its lead characters, and Pednekar gives a confident and winning performance in her first screen appearance. Is Prem suffering from wedding nerves or does he have a problem with fat women? Katariya suggests a bit of both and then some. Play Moh Moh Ke Dhaage, Dum Laga Ke Haisha (2015). Sandhya, inexplicably, is attracted to the perpetually bad-tempered Prem, even though he visibly blanches at the sight of her, is terrified at the thought of sex with her, and shames her before his friends. Her family appears relieved that she has finally tied the knot, and even though she has a casually cruel younger brother who doesn’t think twice before commenting on her weight, she is confident enough to endure the ignominy of being rejected by a man several stops away from her station and seize the initiative in the early days of their relationship.ĭespite his emphasis on life-as-it-is realism, Katariya allows himself one fantasy. But lurking beneath its good-natured humour is a critique of parents, siblings and friends who are oblivious to an individual’s needs and unwilling to advise anything conformity and compromise when things go wrong.
The documentary feel to Meenal Agarwal’s production design, the conversational dialogue and naturalistic acting, Manu Anand’s rich camerawork, and the use of actual locations in Haridwar and Rishikesh are effectively deployed to unmask the psychological oppressiveness and emotional violence that are as much a part of Indian family life as its support structures.ĭum Lage Ke Haisha works perfectly well as an offbeat romantic comedy. Writer and director Sharat Katariya plonks the classic odd-couple premise in the midst of a recognisably shabby household in danger of sliding into genteel poverty. An obstacle race that requires Prem to hoist his wife on his scrawny shoulders becomes an apt metaphor for the heavy lifting that is required in a marriage, arranged or otherwise.
Prem has a ready excuse to despise Sandhya – she is on the heavy side – but the baggage he carries in his soul cannot be measured in kilos and grams. The question of whether the two are compatible, let alone happy, simply doesn’t arise. It is hoped that Sandhya will bring much-needed income into the diminishing family account once she completes her teacher’s training degree. He is an all-round underachiever who is easily bulldozed by his overbearing family into marrying the overweight and well-educated Sandhya (Bhumi Pednekar). Prem himself is out of step with his environment as the music he loves. Their heavily orchestral paeans to intense and absolute love are as close to extinction as the audio tapes in the museum-like music store run by Prem Tiwari (Ayushmann Khurrana). Singer Kumar Sanu and composer Anu Malik are among the movie’s patron saints.