Check Out Shaadi Ke Side Effects Movie Review by Taran Adarsh Starring Farhan Akhtar, Vidya Balan and directed by Saket Choudhary.
Do marriages really have side effects? A lot of people are of the opinion that there are no side effects, as long as you keep love and trust in the relationship intact.
After attempting the charming and likeable PYAAR KE SIDE/EFFECTS [2006], which redefined love and romance between a young couple, director Saket Chaudhary attempts to focus on the relationship between a married couple in his new outing SHAADI KE SIDE/EFFECTS. Borrowing vignettes from real-life situations, SHAADI KE SIDE/EFFECTS — much like his earlier attempt — has an amusing and a spankingly new vibe to it. Add to it the sparkling on-screen chemistry between Farhan Akhtar and Vidya Balan and presto! A delectable outing is ready to be served.
Firstly, the premise. Sid [Farhan Akhtar] and Trisha [Vidya Balan] come to life in the sequel, now as husband and wife. Everything is fine till Trisha and Sid become proud parents. Trisha decides to give up her job, concentrating on the new-born, while Sid tries hard to balance his personal and professional life. When he realizes he can’t cope up as an ideal husband, he decides to take tips from Trisha’s brother-in-law [Ram Kapoor]…
SHAADI KE SIDE/EFFECTS is more about rediscovering your partner, post marriage. Given the nature of the subject, there looms the risk of the film veering into a serious zone, but Saket makes sure he peppers the plot with humor and amusing episodes, so much so that you never stop smiling even when the on-screen couple have their share of problems or get into a spat over a trivial issues. The fact that Saket borrows from real-life instances makes it relatable and identifiable. The connect is tremendous, with the spectator often drawing parallels with his/her life.
Saket’s script is no slave to any reference material and you absorb the goings-on like a sponge, without complaining. In fact, the flick offers ample ‘tricks’ to keep a relationship going in the present times, when ambition and stress can drive a wedge between partners. The first half is simply fantastic, loaded with humorous situations and witty, tongue-in-cheek dialogue, but the post-interval portions get dramatic, while a few episodes do seem a bit elongated. Case in point is the Vir Das track, which, though funny, could’ve been condensed for a better impact. Ditto for the penultimate portions, which seem stretched.
A rom-com essentially, Saket handles the light moments as well as the dramatic ones with dexterity. The soundtrack [Pritam] is melodious, with the composer belting out a few hummable tracks, especially ‘Atyachaari’ and the track that appears during the end credits.
The casting is distinguished and together, Farhan and Vidya get their characters spot-on. After delivering a bravura performance in BHAAG MILKHA BHAAG, Farhan reinvents himself yet again, impressing you with an absolutely natural act. The complex part — a confused husband/new dad — could’ve boomeranged had the actor not handled it with subtlety, but Farhan makes sure he doesn’t go overboard at all. Post ZINDAGI NA MILEGI DOBARA, BHAAG MILKHA BHAAG and now SHAADI KE SIDE/EFFECTS, Farhan has evolved into one of the finest actors of his generation. Vidya impresses a great deal, having us in splits with her over-protective mom act. Having a natural flair for comedy, which was evident in her last release GHANCHAKKAR, Vidya glides into her part beautifully. At the same time, there are moments that make you realize her potential as an actress as she handles the dramatic sequences with gusto.
The supporting cast is most appropriate. Ram Kapoor is in top form. Watch out for the sequence towards the closing stages of the film. Vir Das is wonderful and makes the proceedings enjoyable towards the second half. Ila Arun is first-rate. Purab Kohli, Gautami Kapoor and Rati Agnihotri are perfect in their respective characters.
On the whole, SHAADI KE SIDE/EFFECTS is a delicious take on contemporary relationships. This one’s relatable, heart-warming, amusing and thoroughly enjoyable!
https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/moviemicro/criticreview/id/534062
Tags: Critics Reviews Farhan Akhtar Reviews Saket Chaudhary Shaadi Ke Side Effects Taran Adarsh Vidya Balan
Shaadi Ke Side Effects Public Reviews
Shaadi Ke Side Effects Movie Review by Rajeev Masand
Rating: 3
February 28, 2014
Cast: Farhan Akhtar, Vidya Balan, Ram Kapoor, Vir Das, Purab Kohli, Rati Agnihotri, Ila Arun
Director: Saket Chaudhary
Early on in Shaadi Ke Side Effects, Sid (Farhan Akhtar) reveals his secret to avoiding confrontations with his wife Trisha (Vidya Balan): “When I’m in the wrong, I say sorry. When she’s in the wrong, I say sorry.” Later on in the film, when he senses that his wife has begun leaning on their neighbor (Purab Kohli) for the smallest of chores, he says: “I’m feeling a bit like Sehwag. I played two matches poorly and they’ve replaced me with a younger batsman.” Peppered with such gems, the film, co-written and directed by Saket Chaudhary, is funny and clever and surprisingly perceptive about marriage and parenthood, even if it does quickly run out of steam in the absence of any tangible conflict.
Sid, a struggling musician who earns his paycheck composing jingles, clearly isn’t ready to be a father when Trisha becomes pregnant. The birth of their baby daughter is the death knell for Sid’s social life, and for the intimacy he shared with Trisha.
Told from Sid’s perspective, it’s a familiar route that the script traverses…sleep deprivation, loss of freedom, new responsibilities, and a sense of failure. But Farhan and Vidya have refreshing chemistry, and the writers maintain a nice, irreverent tone even when touching upon delicate, complex emotions. In one scene, Sid gets embarrassed watching his wife become one of those parents who parades their child in front of friends, assuming they share her enthusiasm in watching the kid show off whatever new word she’s just learnt. And although Sid’s lack of affection for his daughter is genuinely baffling, there’s no question that the resentment he feels at having to compete with the baby for Trisha’s attention is palpably real.
Neglected and insecure, Sid heeds the advice of his brother-in-law (a hilarious Ram Kapoor), who insists that the foundation of a successful marriage isn’t built on honesty, “but on the little white lies that couples tell each other”. In carving out some ‘me’ time for himself, Sid begins leading a double life.
Unfortunately, the steady stream of laughs from the first half more or less dries up post intermission, when the writers struggle to come up with dramatic plot-points for a film that frankly has no story. Sid’s mid-life crisis – he buys a motorbike, and begins partying with his new “bro” Vir Das – feels far-fetched and contrived, as does a subplot involving a helpful maid (Ila Arun) who subsequently oversteps her boundaries. Even a half-baked attempt at a twist in the film’s final act can be guessed from a mile away.
Yet the film’s consistently crackling dialogue and terrific performances from its leads makes it enjoyable despite its obvious bumps. It is to Vidya’s credit that Trisha comes off as honest and identifiable, even though the script wholly sympathizes with Sid. Never slipping into caricature, she brings genuine feeling to a part that would’ve easily been reduced to a nag in the hands of a lesser actress. But Shaadi Ke Side Effects belongs to Farhan, who reveals incredible comic timing as he slips into the role of the self-obsessed man-child struggling to cope with change. Steering clear of melodrama even when the script falls prey to it, Farhan plays it effortlessly cool.
The film then is easy and breezy, although too long at nearly two-and-a-half hours. I’m going with three out of five for Shaadi Ke Side Effects. Predictable and occasionally misguided, but also hopelessly fun.
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