Dir: Luv Ranjan Cast: Kartikeya Tiwari, Rayo Bhakhirta, Divyendu Sharma, Sonalli Sehgal, Nushrat Bharucha, Ishita Sharma
Pyar Ka Punchnama
U/A; Drama/Comedy
Dir: Luv Ranjan
Cast: Kartikeya Tiwari, Rayo Bhakhirta, Divyendu Sharma, Sonalli Sehgal, Nushrat Bharucha, Ishita Sharma
Rating: ***
If this film had its way, they'd make the entire unlucky-in-love male population a woman-hater club. Luckily for us, one man's woes make for another's chuckles. That said, Pyar Ka Punchnama has a little of everything for
everyone.
Liquid (Sharma), Rajjo (Tiwari) and Chaudhary (Rayo) are roommates, but they might as well be brothers from different mothers. The three are the sort you'd run into, in every metro. A motley group that might as well be the next stereotype -- a guy who's unlucky with girls, a guy who's a chick magnet and the last is the loyal, faithful, take-home-to-folks type. All falling for gals that don't deserve them.
The foul-mouthed Liquid falls for the new girl in office and readily becomes her best friend/shoulder to cry on. Rajjo meets someone who seems like the perfect girl at first but ends up coming across as the ultimate control freak. Chaudhary, for all his studliness and worldly-wiseness is stuck with a gal who readily jumps into bed with an ex (or several exes).
What works for PKP is the fresh treatment of an age-old sub-genre. The last film to tackle this was Dil Toh Bachcha Hai Jee. By comparison, this one comes off as far funnier and more believable than that Ajay Devgn-Emraan Hashmi-Omi Vaidya starrer. What worked for DTBHJ was its star cast. What pleasantly surprises you in PKP is the writing for this film along with the spirited performances by an almost unknown cast.
There's much to be enjoyed here -- if you love expletives, decipher the gaalis behind the beeps; if you're the kind that silently wants to backbite about your wife or girlfriend with an unknown stranger, you'll find a kindred soul in these three.
Trouble is, the film at 120-plus minutes (maybe much more), tests your patience too often. While the first half is fairly enjoyable, the second half is a drag and save for the picturisation of one song -- Bhaawra -- where the boys realise they've been had, isn't too easy to sit through.
Several scenes in the film are standouts and I won't spoil it for you by telling you which ones. I'll leave you with this: Divyendu (Liquid) and Kartikeya (Rajjo aka Rajat) have the best dialogues. Watch out for these two.
The story might pass off as being slanted in favour of the boys, but you have to consider that the women in the tale are all strong characters, each with a mind of their own.
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Watch this one for sure. But remember to leave your better half at home. Or she'll have you sleeping on the couch.
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