Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania (2014)

Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhaniya has been rated from great to childish. I watched it eventually a couple of days ago and it was quite nice, most certainly watchable. Alia Bhatt is a natural in these type of roles, playing her own age. Varun Dhawan did a brilliant job as Humpty.The story line was pleasant with quite a few witty dialogues well enacted by all.This movie does not pretend to be intellectual cinema. It is a nice film with a simple story line and a happy ending.I liked it.

The poster of 'Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania' is a 'selfie', aptly depicting the brutally modern times we live in. On face value it is a 'popcorn' tribute to 'Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge', but at a deeper level it is an ode with a sociological twist and a candid introspection of our modern times. It as much a reflection of Aditya Chopra's opus as it is of new age auteurs like Anurag Kashyap. It is juxtaposition of the old-world simplicity and modern-day savagery. We live in tough times. We live in brutal times. Modern society is full of contradictions and paradoxes. We live in a society that champions libertarian socialism, yet is consumerist to the core. Kavya won't settle for anything less than a 500,000-rupee wedding dress. But she has the cheek and the enterprise to raise the required money. Perfection is new-age imperfection: in other words, being perfect is a sin and being flawed is a virtue in the modern society. Kavya rejects Angad, who is better than Humpty in every way. He is a doctor; he rakes more money; he has more brawn and brains; he can dance; he is rational; he has better social and clubbing skills. In simple terms, he is an ideal man who withstands her father's meticulous quest for her prospective husband. But despite that, it is Humpty who charms Kavya with his glaring flaws.Like any self-conscious modern film, it pays obeisance to Facebook. It, however, saves Humpty from proffering the silly colloquial 'I want to do friendship with you' to her. Instead, Facebook provides him a subtle approach to take things forward. Their transition from friends to lovers is seamless without any melodrama or jingoistic lines, which would have been must in the nineties.Both films deal with facets of patriarchy. In 'Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge', Amrish Puri was a strict patriarch, marching in austerity; assertive, yet without any violent tendency. The patriarch here, Ashutosh Rana, from his humble beginnings as a mechanic, is now a rich and powerful transport honcho. The father-daughter relationship is relaxed. She's daddy's princess, pampered and over-protected by the typical modern-day big poppa daddy. But he can impose his preferences on her when it comes to her marriage, because he believes that his choice would be better for her in the long run. The patriarch knows that he is not a perfect husband to his wife, but he aspires to be a perfect daddy, even if it means overriding his daughter's volition. A snooty Philistine like him does not read books, but one can expect him to have posters of Bajrang Dal or Noam Chomsky in his closet. Unlike the patriarch in 'Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge', he can be violent, not towards his daughter, but towards any 'unsanctioned' suitor. He sends Humpty and friends packing in a truck, battered savagely by his sycophants.Humpty is a run-of-the-mill exponent of yuppie breed, who any average six-pack Joe can relate to. Like modern-day heroes he digs it out in the gym and proudly possesses six-pack abs. Many social commentators look askance at the shaved torsos and muscular physiques of modern heroes, questioning their masculinity. In the past, heroes didn't need gymnasiums to exhibit machismo: hirsuteness was an emblem of masculinity. But things have changed. So have the ethos of machismo. Moreover, the parameters of modern masculinity are tougher, as drudging machinery in the gym calls for hard work and dedication, compared to having follicular growth on chest that requires no talent or effort. He swears by Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge's philosophies. And he strips himself of dignity at the patriarch's behest, ready to undergo an excoriating examination. In spirit he is a younger version of the patriarch. His deportment and methods different but his ideologies are the same as his. When Kavya decides to elope with him, his paternal instinct kicks in and he persuades her to stay under the patriarch's aegis. In spite of his tender exterior, Humpty is a savage at heart. When his desperate attempts at nitpicking Angad fail, he almost gives up, but Kavya's wit saves him. She artfully incites Angad to pick a fight with a lecherous hooligan at the dhaba. But Angad, instead of getting in a mad-cap brawl, calmly calls the police; whereas, the frantic Humpty, desperate to outdo Angad, throws himself on the hooligans.Although the patriarch sees himself in the savage Humpty, he is too brutal a pragmatist to let his emotions take over logic. Although the patriarch himself was a mechanic when he got married, he still cannot let his princess marry a stranger with rickety finances. Humpty is too big a risk for him. Like every big poppa daddy, he seeks a better life for his daughter than he did for his wife.The climax has an oneiric feel — a salute to Martin Scorsese's 'Taxi Driver'. The drunken Humpty is howling on the eve of Kavya's wedding. Then suddenly the patriarch emerges to bless his approval for Humpty. It's likely to be Humpty's histrionic imagination. The schmaltzy Humpty, deeply inspired by 'Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge', always hankered for the patriarch's blessings. It is a very dream-like scene. Then Kavya's standing on a truck, calling Humpty, is another surreal moment. Angad's abrupt dismissal seems amiss; it is again Humpty's imagination, which has no room for Angad. Humpty's dream is an idealistic climax, his solace to his quest for Kavya, but alas, idealism has no room in Humpty's brutal modern society.

The film released with showing a close affinity to DDLJ but the storyline didn't keep up to its promises Its a 1 time watch but the witty dialogues n situations of Humpty's friends & the good feet thumping tracks & 1 heart warming song make this film floats + Varun Dhawan gave 'his' best & lets just not talk about the Bhatt girl Alia Bhatts performance is decent the film has many jokes after varied intervals but it fails to attract the viewers attention in the main serious story line varun dhawan,Ashitosh Rana have given a good if not OK performance Watch it once it comes on TV n i am sure it will come very soon

HUPTY SHARMA KI DULHANIA is a typical Dharma Productions movie. Fat Indian weddings, mehenga designer lehengas, meaningless interrupting songs and a lot, A LOT, of melodrama.Eight minutes into the film and we have seen a boy selling question papers for kisses from girls and the female lead convincing her Dad to buy a lehenga on a dining table from which her divorced sister gets up and leaves because she chose a wrong man for herself. The guy who goes around flirting and kissing girls becomes emotional at a tragic DDLJ scene and feels guilty on a traditional lecture given by the female lead.The whole group and the father of the boy start making contributions for a completely strange girl.The love that was in the form of a bud until late, without any further development shows an intense bed scene. I mean, how can we not have a bed scene, it has been one full hour! The minor amount of logic they were making in the first half goes on decreasing exponentially in the second hour. The climax is unbelievably stupid. There is no spoiler in this film, we have seen it all in Dilwaale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai and all such Blockbusters.Varun Dhawan famous for his flawed imitation of loud actors like Govinda was heavily annoying in the few starting scenes. Alia Bhatt who had been a surprise packet in the last two movies was strictly average in this flick. The supporting cast, however, is pretty strong.Music is below average. Direction and cinematography needed much more attention. Editor must be fired quickly.The movie, however illogical and irritating it may be at times, does have it spots of tickles. Despite brutally filled with clichés, the movie has its cheerful moments. The chemistry between the lead pair is warm(if not sizzling). You may give this movie a miss but you wouldn't be wasting your time much if you have nothing else to do. A generous five-and-a-half-out-of- ten for the rare freshness.