New Delhi: 'Zara Hatke Zara Bachke' starring Vicky Kaushal, Sara Ali Khan is one good romantic comedy to watch in theatres this weekend. This Laxman Utekar directorial has the right blend of humour, drama and romance without the fake layers and moral lessons on political correctness and a feel-good-feel to it which Hindi movies in theatres have been lacking for quite some time. But 'Zara Hatke Zara Bachke' also has serious problems of context and content.
'Zara Hatke Zara Bachke' is a story about a newly-wedded couple in Indore finding a bigger home to stay for reasons such as joint family and privacy. A topic that will perhaps resonate with many middle-class people out there; this couple is played by the unlikely on screen pair--Vicky Kaushal and Sara Ali Khan.
Vicky Kaushal delivers a natural performance as this typical middle-class guy whose 'ways of saving' knows no bounds. From giving one rupee tip to loading on free soft drinks; his scenes add a lot of humour and relatability to the film. Vicky's performance as a supportive, lovable husband and a caring family member is also commendable. Having said that, the actor looks wasted in such a role.
Meanwhile, Sara Ali Khan as this Punjabi woman who is loud falls in this typical empowered heroine template Bollywood has been churning for quite some time now. Sara's performance matches the tempo of the film and organically fits into the narrative. Sara is earnest but cannot outshine Vicky or supporting cast members like Inaamulhaq, Sharib Hashmi( good to see the two share screen post Filmistaan) , Sushmita Mukherjee, Neeraj Sood and Rakesh Bedi put together.
'Zara Hatke Zara Bachke' uses songs to organically further the narrative. These musical deliberations blend well with the plot. The opening credits song, one romantic song, one celebration song and one sad song are all welcome in the three-act structure of the film. Sachin–Jigar have done a good job on that front.
Sandeep Shirodkar's background score also matches the drama of 'Zara Hatke Zara Bachke' and suits its style despite becoming overbearing and overly dramatic in places.
The best part about 'Zara Hatke Zara Bachke' is the writing.
It's a predictable tale of a middle-class couple doing everything to get a house; from getting a fake divorce to getting caught in the quagmire of 'sarkari schemes', a change of heart and a final redemption and catharsis. However, as for all films of the predictability template, 'familiarity is comfortable' and 'Zara Hatke Zara Bachke' feels like a regular middle-class story that becomes relatable. Because, there is no pretense of imparting fake moral lessons, the design to be politically correct or morally right, 'Zara Hatke Zara Bachke' has a feel-good vibe to it, all well-delivered with the help of humour.
Laxman Utekar adds some slice of the new and modern thinking to the traditional template and mixes the joint family + love marriage model into an acceptable model of consensus narrative through which it also manages to bring forward complex dynamics of inter-caste marriages, love marriages, joint family dynamics, 'the popular debate on kanjoos husbands' etc etc.
Having said that, there are serious problems in 'Zara Hatke Zara Bachke'. For instance; the change of the heart for Vicky and Sara's character happens when there has to be a catalyst; like a family member falling severly ill to keep the joint family together, to make them realise that individual dreams have no potential, are not correct in the face of familial gaslighting. Even though, this is also done in the most sheer and honest manner, something like Luv Ranjan's 'Tu Jhoothi Main Makkar' does, as a thematic element that is being put forward in this day and age: the thinking is stifling. Because the filmmaker's intentions are so clear, in your face and in the film, it becomes a problem. Why does a Laxman Utekar not let the audience and his lead characters decide what is the best course for them? Why can there not be a non-catharsis film? A film with an open ending and with a mind of it's own that lets actors/characters decide for themselves what is right or wrong.
Another problem is the obvious name-calling, sterotypes that a Sikh/Punjabi woman, played by Sara Ali Khan and her family casually face in the film. Why should all Punjabi father-figures have to be drinking above capacity and hurling abuses, or why would a Punjabi woman always have be 'chunt'(clever) etc. etc? This problem does not resolve until the woman character making these allegations (mami) is convenienty made to fall seriously ill ( not with the intention of righting her wrongs but correcting the wrong of the Punjabi woman ( Sara ) and Kapil ( Vicky).
In 'Zara Hatke Zara Bachke' the scenes and sequences are well written and choreographed. There is never an extra moment devoted to a song or a scene that does not require attention. However, there are two cringe standout scenes like the one where Vicky is doing yoga to calm his disturbed chi and Sara Ali Khan stuffing her mouth with chocolates to drown the sadness from their separation and misunderstanding. Those two forcefully stuffed scenes look misplaced and weird.
The story of 'Zara Hatke Zara Bachke' is set in Indore and looks well designed too, especially with the use of Indori lingo, Poha jokes and whatnot. All characters fit into the middle-class setup of the small township and yet nothing feels striking. Good rom coms despite being placed anywhere demographically, have reasons besides the geographic jokes to remember them for. With Laxman Utekar, it feels like he wants to exploit all the resources given to him as a filmmaker to make a paisa vasool entertainer. Like the setting of Indore, actors, the backstories of characters doing yoga--everything is to be explained and answered for. As an audience member, one does not feel the need to be explained everything, as to why are you using this, that setup if your purpose is to tell a story about a married couple faking divorce to get a house.
There isn’t a lot of play with the form barring some use of camera angles when it comes to scenes with Inaamulhaq delivering long-convoluted dialogues inspired by myth and contemporary debates. Closeups in dramatic scenes to add to the melodrama serve the purpose of the narrative( though they work well in songs). For instance; the one's I earlier mentioned about Sara eating 5-Stars and Vicky doing yoga.
'Zara Hatke Zara Bachke' nails the 'voiceover' correctly. Though not much of a fan of voiceovers and omnipresent narrators in films, the opening sequence and the voiceover -- talking about buying a house, setting a place for themselves--nails the 'what the film is about' question perfectly.
There is nothing intellectually stimulating about this romantic comedy and the filmmaker makes no effort to add layers to this simple unfolding of a small-town story.
'Zara Hatke Zara Bachke' is a light-hearted comedy film at face value. An entertainer that will bring audiences to theatre, is a paisa vasool weekend watch, that could have been better had it served something fresh and contemporary, or even a new take on rom coms.