Badhaai Ho: a Comedy Gold

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Director: Amit Ravindernath Sharma
Writers:  Akshat Ghildal (Story, screenplay and dialogue), Jyoti Kapoor (story) and Shantanu Srivastava (story)
Cast: Aayushman Khurrana, Sanya Malhotra, Neena Gupta, Gajraj Rao, Surekha Sikri, Sheeba Chaddha
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Rating: 4.5/5

Amit Ravindernath Sharma’s Badhaai Ho is hands down one of the best Bollywood movies of 2018. The film is spot on with everything it has set out to do. With its intriguing plot, hilarious dialogues and inter play between the “on the money” cast, this dramedy is irresistible. It is a must watch.

Badhaai Ho is a story of a middle aged couple that gets pregnant and of their grown sons’ embarrassment of the situation. Set in a conservative Indian society, this “mishap” makes an opulent setting for a comedy. The awkward moments this brings to the family is a minefield of laughter. Sharma delivers a comedy gold for the first hour of this 2 hour movie. After the interval, however, Badhaai Ho tones down a bit in comedy and starts taking the issue a bit more seriously. The movie shows the real implication of the said mishap as the family tries to tackle the issue and come to terms with the arrival of the “chota mehman” i.e. a baby. This injection of drama is just the right amount as the movie still remkains the comedy it was. This tiny addition of drama gives the movie a more real feel which pulls the audience closer in terms of real stakes.

 The trio of Akshat Ghildal (Story, screenplay and dialogue), Jyoti Kapoor (story) and Shantanu Srivastava (story) deserve a lion’s share of credit for this extremely well crafted writing. The witty reactive dialogues makes the movie what it is. With such brilliant writing, it is no wonder that all the characters feel well fleshed and spot on. Now, that are talking about the characters, the actors portraying these characters perfect for the roles. Surekha Sikri who plays Nakul’s(Aayushman Khurrana) grandmother is a scene stealer. This old granny is one of the best things about the movie. Neena Gupta (Priyamvada Kushik) and Gajraj  Rao (Jeetender Kaushik) are a perfect couple and their chemistry is obvious as shown by the “mishap” the whole film is based on. Similarly, the two leads— Aayushman Khurrana(Nakul Kaushik) and Sanya Malhotra(Renee Sharma) are perfectly cast as well. Both play their part to perfection. Khurrana adds one more feather to his cap with Badhaai Ho. However, Sanya Malhotra could have done a lot more had she been afforded a bit more screen time although what she has done with what she was given is flawless. She plays Kaushik’s love interest Renee to perfection.
To sum up my review of the movie, Badhaai Ho is everything one would look for in a movie. Cap of your festival holidays, if you are in Nepal, with this hilarious perfection.

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