Movie: Luka Chuppi

Cast: Kartik Aaryan, Kriti Sanon, Aparshakti Khurana, Vinay Pathak, Pankaj Tripathi

Direction: Laxman Utekar

Written by: Rohan Ghuge

Genre: Romantic Comedy

Duration: 2 hours 7 minutes

Language: Hindi (U/A)

Critic Rating: 2.5 stars out of 5

Story:

Guddu Shukla (Kartik Aaryan) is the star reporter at a cable news channel in Mathura. The channel seems to be literally functioning on one editor, one reporter and a single camera person - Guddu's best friend Abbas Sheikh (Aparshakti Khurana).

A meet cute between Guddu and Rashmi (Kriti Sanon), a Delhi-educated journalism grad keen on a month-long internship in her hometown, soon escalates into a full-blown romance. She’s the daughter of a certain Sanskriti Raksha Mantra Chief (Vinay Pathak) whose entire manifesto revolves around running down those who practice live-in relationships or indulge in public display of love.

Entire Mathura is up in the arms against live-in relationships, thanks to protests against a certain Nadeem Khan (Abhinav Shukla), a star-cum-youth icon who publically admitted being in one.

What starts as a news report for Guddu, turns into his own life story when Rashmi refuses to accept his marriage proposal and instead suggests the idea of moving in together before they take the plunge. Egged on by Abbas, the two take up a 20-day assignment in Gwalior and decide to live together - not in a hotel room - but in a rented apartment. Things go hilariously awry when their families discover them living together and wrongly assume that they are actually married.

Review:

Director Laxman Utekar fails to sink his teeth into the film's cardinal subject: live-in relationships. Barring a fleeting conversation about Rashmi being good at cooking and Guddu having an aversion to cleaning toilets - 'Luka Chuppi' doesn't take us through the beats of a live-in dalliance. At some point, the audience even doubts whether Guddu and Rashmi are actually ready for marriage that is eventually thrusted upon them.

Kartik Aaryan doesn't get his signature breathless monologues but he does put up an earnest performance though he grapples with the smalltown quirks. Kriti displays greater confidence as an actor. Although she gets slightly annoying in her will to be portrayed as the dominant partner at times, she is largely sharp and delivers.

The stellar cast is let down by the persistent attempts to make them seem chronically hyper. Pankaj Tripathi, as Guddu's nosey, perverted brother-in-law Babulal, disappoints. The actor constantly tries to rise above the grossly underwritten role he has at hand, but fails. 

Vinay Pathak's caricaturish portrayal of an orthodox father, comes as a painful reminder that merely getting these heavyweights on board doesn't guarantee a good film. Ghuge fails to do justice to both these actors' incredible comic timing. Aparshakti, however, manages to stay true to his element. In a sea of loud characters, Abbas offers solace. The actor brightens the screen with his sporadic appearances and deadpan expressions.

In his very first Hindi outing, the fact that cinematographer and director Laxman Utekar has managed to give the rom-com an underlying layer of satire is appreciable. The well-intentioned film, however, is let down by Rohan Ghuge's patchy writing and Rohan Shankar’s screenplay. The dialogues lack emotions and seem too performative. Guddu and Rashmi's mandap adventures start getting repitive after a while, leaving the audience restless.

The only thing that comes to the film's rescue is the few but genuine laugh-out-loud moments. Guddu bidding his family members an emotional goodbye with Hum Aapke Hain Kaun's Bidaai song playing in the background is one of my personal favourites.

Overall, 'Luka Chuppi' is a clean family entertainer.

Verdict: