Dum Laga Ke Haisha (2015) Review!!‬ ‪‬ ‪

Synopsis – An uneducated bum unwillingly gets married to an educated over weight girl.

My Take – Yash Raj Films has done it again!! They have made a film that is fresh & unconventional & have yet kept it so ‘under promoted’. Even a movie buff like me didn’t realize the film was out, until the positive reviews started pouring in. Yes! my reference is directed towards to the exceptional Shimit Amin directed Rocket Singh – Salesman of the Year (2009). The decades old production has been using the similar formula for many years – take a same old story, edit the characters, and present it in an easy way through music and subtlety, and you hope to flood the audience and the entertainment industry with a new wave of fresh air. Fortunately, the audiences are clever and kick it into the less-visited stream of mediocre attempts at inventive film making. Luckily this film is not one of those mediocre attempts to rake in moolah. The story takes place in 1995, an uneducated Kumar Sanu fan Prem (Ayushman Khurrana), who runs his father’s audio video shop in Haridwar, finds himself struggling with the threads and aftermath of a forced wedding.

Equally ignorant are his family who think that the arrival of an educated yet healthy (size wise) girl (Bhumi Pednekar) in their house would inspire happiness and bring about prosperity. Things get out of hand when Prem openly derides his wife’s bulkiness. Leading to tussle which effects the families on both sides. There is hardly any moment in this 120 min long movie that can bore you and every scene has something to offer to the viewer. Its a simple story from Hindi heartland set on the basic premise that love cant be forced, it will happen if it has to no matter the physical appearance. The film tells a slice-of-life love story that is exceptionally unconventional, and not simply because of the heroine’s body type.The film itself is of the sort that delights in its humanity, a trait deeply embedded in its core. Director Sharat Kataria & Producer Maneesh Sharma are the one who deserves maximum credit for this lovely movie. They have not given too much space to melodrama and have kept the narrative simple. Ayushman Khurrana is good, but newcomer Bhumi Pednekar is better. The film banks on Bhumi to make her character accessible enough to relate yet spirited enough to inspire. The newcomer doesn’t let you down and renders Sandhya worth rooting for, racing for. If her feisty side tackles her new home single handedly, the incorrigible romantic cannot resist catching fond glimpses of her grumpy husband from the corner of the eye.

More importantly their odd chemistry works. Sanjay Mishra is top notch. Other supporting cast is also noteworthy. The 90s theme music by Anu Malik is awesome! Its great to hear legend singer Kumar Sanu back with some awesome tunes. There are certain films that you go to watch with low expectations and they just blow you off with impeccable story telling. ‘Dum Laga Ke Haisha’ is one of them. It sucks you into its world with well-etched characters, beautiful cinematography, perfectly detailed production design, and a host of fine actors. YRF hasn’t produced a better film in years. Dumb Laga Ke Haisha is more than just a must-watch. It should to be held up as an example of what a mainstream Bollywood banner can achieve when it lends its clout to an out-of-the-box idea executed by a director who clearly knows better than most in the business today. Must Watch!