'Toilet: Ek Prem Katha' Movie Review: Relevant subject, a poor second half but Akshay-Bhumi's chemistry saves the film!

Movie: Toilet: Ek Prem Katha Star cast: Akshay Kumar, Bhumi Pednekar, Divyendu Sharma, Sudhir Pandey, Anupam Kher, Shobha Khote Director: Shree Narayan Singh Duration: 2 hrs 35 mins Rating: 3 stars First of all thank you Akshay Kumar & team 'Toilet Ek Prem Katha' for choosing the burning issue of 58% Indians practicing open defecation as a subject of the film that is surely an eye-opener for a larger section of our society! Contributing to the prime minister Narendra Modi's Swach Bharat Abhiyan, ‘Toilet- Ek Prem Katha’ is a social satire directed by Shree Narayan Singh. The Akshay Kumar & Bhumi Pednekar starrer film is inspired by a true story and brilliantly deals with one of the biggest problems of our country. STORY: The movie begins with Akshay, playing a ‘maanglik boy’ Keshav, who marries a buffalo as it will make his stars fall to places according to his old-fashioned superstitious and traditional father. Keshav (Akshay Kumar) runs a small cycle business in Mathura with his father and younger brother Naru (Divyenndu Sharma). He then meets a college topper, Jaya (Bhumi Pednekar)and falls in love with her at the first sight. After initial hesitation, Jaya finally agrees to marry him but before they could live happily ever after their turn upside down when Jaya realises that there is no toilet in Keshav's house on the very next morning of her wedding night. What happens next is what the film all about. Poster of 'Toilet Ek Prem Katha' Director Shree Narayan Singh holds up a mirror to society showing us how the lazy administration, corrupt politicians and to some extent superstitious and uneducated society have actually forced many parts of rural India to defecate in open. The film justifies the title very well as 'toilet' actually becomes the subject of love between the lead actors! The first half of the movie is brilliant and keeps audience glued to their seats as we get to see some cute camaraderie between Kehsav & Jaya. Akshay Kumar’s comic timing is bang-on, and his younger brother played by Divyendu Sharma's one liners are too hilarious. A still from the movie The film however, weakens in the second half and also goes off the track post interval, in-fact it becomes a bit lengthy and boring. However brilliant performances saves the film and makes it worth watching till the end. Toilet Ek Prem Katha talks about a very important & ignored issue in a light and humorous manner, some of the dialogues are cringe-worthy like "Jis aangan mein tulsi lagate hai, wahaan shauch karna shuru kar de?" but towards the end the movie becomes preachy! ACTING: Akshay Kumar's comic timing is impeccable and as a loving husband who can’t build a toilet for his wife because of prevalent religious beliefs, the actor aces his role. Bhumi Pednekar yet again proves that she is a brilliant actress in her second film after 'Dum Laga Ke Haisha'. As as a feisty bride who refuses to come back to her sasural because there is no toilet Bhumi looks confidant and strong. However one actor who stands out is Divyenndu Sharma who plays Akshay Kumar's younger brother in the movie, the 'Pyaar Ka Punchnama' actor completely nails it with his extremely hilarious dialogues and especially one liners. MUSIC: 'Has mat pagli' song and 'radhe radhe' are the two songs which became popular even before the release, music by Vickey Prasad, Manas-Shikhar and Sachet-Parampara is fine and goes with the movie. Background score by Surender Sodhi is good. Over all Toilet Ek Prem Katha looks promising and keeps the audience engaged. However, one thing that can bother you is the length and preachiness at times, you might find yourself yawning by the end and if you can manage to overlook that then you must not miss this one!