Director: Laxman Utekar
Writer: Laxman Utekar, Maitrey Bajpai, Ramiz Ilham Khan
Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Sara Ali Khan, and others
Stars: 2 and half

Kapil Kappu Dubey (Vicky Kaushal) is a stingy yoga instructor who lives with his chirpy Punjaban wife of two years Somya Chawla Dubey (Sara Ali Khan) in his family home. Theirs is a middle-class family and with the arrival of the mama (Neeraj Sood) and mami (Kanupriya Shankar Pandit), the house becomes too cramped up. Somya wants to move out and build her own nest. Money is scarce and the duo decides to opt for a government housing scheme instead. But they are not qualified for the scheme. On the behest of an agent Bhagwaan Das (Inaamulhaq) the two stage a divorce so that Somya can apply for the same as a single woman with a low income.

Two strangers pretending to be husband and wife to rent an apartment is nothing new, in fact, Vicky Kaushal’s 2018 movie Love Per Square Foot had a similar premise. But here in a desperate attempt to be zara hatke, Laxman Utekar gets a married couple legally divorced so that the wife can take advantage of the ‘single woman’ tag and become eligible for a government housing scheme. In real life, getting a divorce by mutual consent requires one to go through an elaborate process and the law states that the couple must have already completed a year of living separately from each other. But in the movie, no such thing is required. They conveniently use an unsuspecting neighbour who has feelings for Kappu… they get her pictures clicked with Kappu and admit those in the court proving an extra-marital affair between the two.  This serves as the ground for a convenient divorce. The writers, who are too engrossed in proving their wokeness by giving Somya the liberty to add her maiden surname along with the surname of her husband, don’t see any problem in using a woman as a pawn in Somya and Kappu’s little game to get a dream house at an affordable rate.

Somya, who is projected as the independent woman (well, she talks about sex and asks for it, what else do you need to make a heroine ‘independent’?) hardly gets a better deal. She is a teacher at a local tuition centre but shows zero sign of having an ounce of grey matter inside her head. She is the usual dumb and emotional Hindi film heroine in chiffon sarees who has perfect curls even while sleeping. It is extra disappointing when filmmakers and writers pretend to be woke but end up peddling stereotypes.

There is the character of the mami who keeps making deeply problematic remarks involving but not limited to caste and religion but is never held accountable for the same. Instead, she is given a sob story that conveniently absolves her of everything. The fact that Somya and Kappu smoothly pull off this charade and bag a house through the government scheme without facing any consequences is also deeply problematic. Also problematic is how the writers resort to easy plot resolution and end the story with random melodrama that makes the climax look like part of a different movie altogether. There are problems galore in this ‘social comedy’, the most crucial one being that it is seriously unfunny and funny in its attempt to be ‘serious’.

There is hardly any chemistry between Vicky Kaushal and Sara Ali Khan. While the movie fails to utilise Vicky Kaushal’s potential as an actor, he effortlessly becomes Kappu and uplifts the mediocre comedic scenes with his impeccable timing. But, an actor of his calibre and range should find better projects. This is not the Vicky Kaushal of Masaan, Uri, or Manmarziyaan.

However the same can’t be said for Sara Ali Khan. She comes across as a posh and entitled kid participating in a school fancy dress competition. She is loud, melodramatic, and never convincing as Somya. Her Punjabi accent comes and goes. In emotional scenes, she looks funny with her quivering face and chin reminding one of the over-the-top acts of Bengali jatra performers.  The only memorable scene (one that will haunt me for days) in the movie for me was her trying to gulp down a 5Star chocolate while choking with emotions—it is a scene that reminded me of ‘tum mujhe tang karne lagey ho’ bit from Love Aaj Kal where she was equally bad. It is about time Sara ups her acting game.

Among the ensemble cast of Neeraj Sood as Purushottam Mama, Kanupriya Pandit as the obnoxious Deepa Mami, and Rakesh Bedi as Somya’s father, Harcharan Chawla give impressive performances, though their potential as actors were hugely stunted by the lackluster writing. Inaamulhaq as Bhagwaan Das is entertaining. But the actor who really manages to add some sparkle is Himanshu Kohli as Advocate Manoj Bhagel. These are the scenes that really make you laugh. Sharib Hashmi has a special appearance but his story arc or his scenes hardly add anything to the film, and the way his track in incorporated in the climax looks really forced. An actor of his calibre was not required for this role.

After Luka Chuppi and Mimi and Laxman Utekar rustle up another ‘social message movie’ set in a similar milieu but what could have been a poignant movie about the severe housing crises and inflation the middle-class families are facing in present–day India, or how important it becomes for a young couple to build their own nest, or a couple’s need for space in a joint family, becomes an insipid and contrived story that thrives on buffoonery which is also let down by the writing. In fact, the screenplay by Maitrey Bajpai and Ramiz Ilham Khan ranges between mediocre and bad, and although some scenes manage to make you laugh a bit, those are few and far between.

What really works in the movie are the songs helmed by Sachin–Jigar and Amitabh Bhattacharya, especially Sanjha, Tere Vaste, and Phir Aur Kya Chahiye. Such melodious compositions deserved a much better movie.

Verdict

After Luka Chuppi and Mimi and Laxman Utekar rustles up another ‘social message movie’ set in a similar milieu but this time it seems more like a rather long advertisement for 5-star chocolate. While the movie fails to utilise Vicky Kaushal’s potentials as an actor, he effortlessly becomes Kappu, however the same can’t be said for Sara Ali Khan. The only good thing about this movie is its music album helmed by Sachin–Jigar and Amitabh Bhattacharya.

When filmmakers claim that there is a world outside Mumbai, I am not sure why that world these days always ends up being some small town in Uttar Pradesh or Madhya Pradesh. Just as India is beyond Mumbai, there is an India beyond these two states.I am going through a serious ‘small-town movie’ fatigue–the narrow bylanes of some Tier 2 city of Uttar Pradesh or Madhya Pradesh , the cute middle-class joint family, the nosy neighour, the loud relative, the helpful friend, and the dependable scooty— it is always more of the same.

Zara Hatke Zara Bachke has nothing zara sa bhi hatke about it, but with its all-round consistent all-round mediocrity there are enough reasons why you should take the ‘zara bachke’ bit seriously. The best part about the movie, apart from its music album, is probably its unintentionally self-aware title.