Ginny Weds Sunny (2020) Review!!

Synopsis – The film follows headstrong Ginny who meets Sunny for an arranged marriage, but turns him down, and then shows how Sunny teams up with Ginny’s mother to win her love.

My Take – While the past two decades has seen an excessive amount of the Hindi films based on commitment-phobic youngsters and their roller coaster of romantic indecision, very few among them found success, mainly as they managed to skim around what one would call Bollywood romance clichés.

In this latest Netflix release, first time director Puneet Khanna and his writers, Navjot Gulati and Sumit Arora, seem to actually believe that they too have something unique in their hands especially considering its quirky plot line and its fresh pairing.

Unfortunately for them, while the performances are in line with the enjoyable spirit of the theme, it doesn’t bring anything new to the table. Sure, the film has enough punchlines and a gorgeous looking Yami Gautam to keep you engaged throughout, in the end it is just impossible to look past its sloppy writing.

Therefore, if you are watching this to get another take exploring today’s generations’ dilemma when it comes to relationships, its best to skip ahead, but in case you are looking for a light and silly breezer to fill 125 minutes of your time with, I guess you can just RSVP.

The story follows Satnam Sethi aka Sunny (Vikrant Massey), a chef whose live long dream has been of owning a restaurant, a dream which can be fulfilled by the help of his father Pappi Sethi (Rajiv Gupta). However Mr. Sethi remains adamant on the condition to provide finance only if Sunny gets married, and settle down.

Meanwhile, Shobha Juneja (Ayesha Raza), a renowned matchmaker of the community is also on the lookout for the right groom for her daughter, Simran ‘Ginny’ Juneja (Yami Gautam), an insurance professional in Delhi who continues to hang with her ex-boyfriend Nishant Rathee (Suhail Nayyar). While Ginny is ready to settle down with Nishant, he isn’t interested in the commitment, yet continues to remain in her orbit, makes it hard for her to emotionally move on.

But when Shobha sees Sunny and Ginny shake a leg together at a wedding, and finds out that Sunny has been harboring a crush on Ginny since their school days, she decide to help the simpleton with no relationship experience become the prime marriage material candidate her confused daughter would want. What follows next is some mommy-approved stalking in public places, a road trip, friendly advises, broken hearts, all leading up to a big fat Indian wedding drama.

But the Sunny and Shobha conspiracy hovers over this plot like a shroud, and when the lid gets ripped off this kind of thing, well, that’s when films get interesting, theoretically. Will Ginny and Sunny do as the title says, or will it defy its own assertions?

The film actually starts off well. The opening sequences of the film are funny, especially the one where Ginny snubs a potential suitor. But from there onwards, it’s all downhill for the story-line. Indeed, even the score and remixes are too dry to even consider adding any energy at all.

Honestly, the film had the potential to tell a tale of how one bad relationship could affect a fresh one with promise or in Ginny’s mother’s conviction that love is an acquired habit, but writers Navjot Gulati and Sumit Arora do not explore these ideas with any depth

Instead they create a troublesome characterization especially for Ginny. While we are introduced to her as a headstrong, intelligent and independent new generation woman, it is hard to understand why she is so confused about her relationships, mainly with her ex Nishant, who comes out looking nothing more than pompous buffoon. It especially doesn’t make sense when she pressurizes him into marrying her.

Though Sunny was always drawn to Ginny, and whatever his positive attributes may be, she was not, so it is unclear why she finally falls for him apart from the fact that he stuck around, yet it does seem like Sunny wins her heart simply because he happens to be wooing her when she is not with someone else.

Yes, when it comes to dialogues, there are very few ones which tickle your funny bone or make you shed a tear or two. But even Ginny and her ex’s on-off relationship loses its steam after a while. This is a pity particularly since this cast deserve so much better.

Vikrant Massey and Yami Gautam are two of the finest actors working right now, with some excellent films to their credit. Here, too both put in earnest performances, carrying the film on their shoulders. Gautam is well-suited to the headstrong character she plays, and carries it off with ease, while Massey continues to the ace the average Joe role. The lead couple look excellent together and the only reason why the film is not a complete write-off.

Suhail Nayyar, is earnest and cocky while Ayesha Raza and Rajiv Gupta continue to be as dependable as ever. Menka Kurup and Mazel Vyas too excel in supporting roles. Isha Talwar is likable in her cameo. On the whole, ‘Ginny Weds Sunny’ is a routine rom com riddled with mediocre writing and a familiar premise.