Tiku Weds Sheru (2023) Review!!

Synopsis – A roller coaster love story of two survivors who in spite of overwhelming odds have a great zest to live and celebrate life.

My Take – Released in 2014, the Kangana Ranaut starrer ‘Revolver Rani’ written and directed by Sai Kabir failed both critically and commercially particularly because it refused to tap into its potential as a satire and wasted its likable cast on random sequences which added nothing to the final product.

This re-collaboration, which sees Sai Kabir directing, and co-writing with Amit Tiwari, and has Kangana Ranaut as a producer, along with being third-billed in the acting credits, though she only shows up on screen for five seconds, unfortunately, suffers the same fate.

A bizarre romantic comedy filled with cringe dialogues and embarrassing supporting performances that refuses to find its purpose and entertain its audience. Instead, choosing to exist randomly. Backed by writing that is shoddy and stuck in the age-old mechanics, the narration is not just confusing but also never impactful. With the unnecessary additions of too many expletives only adding to the burden.

On paper, the film had the scope and potential to be an engaging story of two misfits finding perfection in each other and hoping to achieve their dreams, but alas what we get onscreen has no relation to that.

The story follows Shiraz Khan Afgani (Nawazuddin Siddiqui) aka Sheru, a struggling junior artist living in Mumbai, who often finds himself relegated to even smaller roles due to his unnecessary attitude. Sometime ago, he even tried to get his own film financed, but that only landed him in more trouble. Reluctantly, he is forced to make a living as a pimp.

However, he comes to believe that his luck has turned when he lands a marriage proposal from Bhopal, with dowry attached, of a younger girl named Tasneem Khan (Avneet Kaur) aka Tiku, with whom Sheru is immediately mesmerized. But, unknown to him, his trash-talking bride is instead using him to get to Mumbai and unite with her lover Binni (Rahoul), who has promised to fulfill her dreams of stardom.

What follows is a tale of love, loss, ups and downs, and how both of them live and fight with the dark world to fulfill their dreams. Supposedly a love story of two strugglers and what junior artistes face in the name of getting the big break, the screenplay does not do justice to either theme.

Yes, director Sai Kabir’s attempt in offering a satirical take on the film industry has its moments, but they are far and few. The film has a unique setting and an interesting idea on paper. But it’s the flawed execution that prevents it from ever taking off. The film is poorly written, and the narrative is baffling, making you wonder about the maker’s motive. The story holds no novelty factor and appears to be a mixture of pieces picked from several scripts.

Digressing from one point to another the film doesn’t really stick to one aspect for long. There are issues like misogyny, patriarchy, dowry, domestic violence and sexual abuse that the film touches upon, but it terribly fails to delve deeper into any of these.

Even mensuration gets mentioned, but it’s never meant to have any meaning attached to it. Even, the climax is unnecessarily over-the-top, which might have looked very interesting and gripping on paper, but on screen, it’s not appealing at all.

Performance wise, Nawazuddin Siddiqui is never able to rise above the average writing. Though he is honest in his role, he also feels disinterested and bored at the same time. The character is right up his alley, but the issue is that he’s played this kind of role before many times. On the other hand, debutante Avneet Kaur manages to impress and wins every frame with her performance. She brings out the emotions and wild nature of Tiku pretty well. It is a tricky part, and Kaur plays it well.

However, in supporting roles, Zakir Hussain, Vipin Sharma, Mukesh Bhatt, Rahoul, Khushi Bhardwaj, and Ghanshyam Garg are wasted. On the whole, ‘Tiku Weds Sheru’ is a sluggish rom com that is neither funny nor engaging.