Veere di Wedding: A hatke, bold chick flick declaring war on stereotyping

Movie Review: Veere Di Wedding

Star cast: Kareena Kapoor Khan, Sonam K Ahuja, Swara Bhaskar and Shikha Talsania.

Director: Shashanka Ghosh

Rating: Four stars

Women power, girls gang and mean girls’ are themes which are rarely explored on the silver screen. Veere Di Wedding is a feisty, urban and coming of age cinema telling the tales of four independent, in your face women, Avni, Kalindi, Meera and Sakshi who live life on their own terms. The film touches issues such as broken homes, marital pressures and attempts to break stereotypes in our society.  It drives home a strong point on female sexuality and the bond that serves as a right answer to countless movies made on male bonding and the cuss words is unabashedly mouthed in the most humorous-cum witty manner serving as fodder to hit back at the hypocrisy of society when it comes to woman. The film helmed by Shashanka Ghosh is riveting and daring at the same time.

The plot is centered around Avni (Sonam), Kalindi (Kareena), Meera (Shikha) and Sakshi (Swara) who are childhood friends and standing rock solid with each other to make this female bonding a fantastic fare that has rarely been explored till now. The beauty of the film is that it touches the issue of sex in the most humorous manner and goes to places where a woman-centric film like Pink hasn’t treaded. The humor is an integral part of the film and kudos to its writers Mehul Suri and Nidhi Mehra for telling it in the crudest and boldest fashion. Each character is grappling with issues in life, be it marriage, groom hunting by parents, conflicts, and prejudices. The high point is the film doesn’t sink into serious talks that could have turned it into a disaster.

The director treads on a thin line and avoids the pitfall of getting over dramatic. The humor and Hindi expletives may appear crude but this in-your-face is necessary in building the characters of mean girls packing a solid punch to make a strong point. The bold characters and narration will make Veere Di Wedding talked for a very long time with the audience either loving or hating the movie for their own personal reasons. The best thing is that the film successful bulges the patriarchal mindset, questions silly rules in all its forms and make the characters not only effervescent, electrifying but alive and highly believable on the silver screen. Certainly, Veere di Wedding doesn’t belong to the faint-hearted or conservative lots. The film has set a trend for being the first who taps into women sexuality and masturbation, which is an intrinsic part of human lives. The trip to Phuket is the real icing on the cake and takes the movie to an octane level.

The four actors, right from Kareena Kapoor Khan, Sonam K Ahuja, Swara Bhaskar, and Shikha Talsania beautifully complement each other but it’s Swara who is the show stealer. Swara not only gets the best of lines but delivers them in an effortless manner that showcases why she is one of the most brilliant actors on screen. Swara nails every scene and makes a searing impact, taking the pie home in the end. Kareena shoulders the film on her shoulders right from the word go and shows maturity in elevating the performances of the gang of girls. Sonam Kapoor looks cute and is natural, improving with every film, though to a certain extent, she is overshadowed by Swara and Kareena. Sublime is what defines Sonam. Debutant Shikha Talsania finds her mark and has an effortlessly gaze, who is not lost among the established stars in the film. Among the actors, Sumeet Vyas and Vishwas Kinni play effortlessly and ably support the leading ladies nailing every possible scene in the frame.

On the flip side, the screenplay and script could have been tighter coupled with some characters that needed more flesh. For instance, Sonam’s Avni could have been better explored for that matter for it has immense potential that wasn’t tapped to the core and there is a lack of conflict that fails to connect the missing dots or else it would have been near perfect.

On the whole, Veere di Wedding slays the rules and comes as fare that shocks and stumps the audience in the rarest manner. Such movies are rare to come and it gets real in narrating the tale of today’s modern women who are unabashed about sex and desire. It is hilarious and pure madness that leaves little to one’s imagination in telling everyday’s reality. Veere Di Wedding is India’s answer to men’s American Pie, Omkara or Masti but with a difference that it lifts the lid of hypocrisy. There is no room for gender bias like I was seeing many men unwilling to watch the film because it’s about ladies fun and reeks of sexism in society. It may be okay and legitimate to watch dude movies but when it comes to chick flick, we suddenly have an issue.  It’s a laugh riot with a purpose and time for us opening up to issues revolving around women. A must watch replete with unadulterated fun. The song Tareefan is sexy and shot in a visually appealing manner.

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