'Veere Di Wedding': Trite and cliched (IANS Review, Rating: **1/2)

Film: "Veere Di Wedding"; Director: Shashanka Ghosh,; Cast: Kareena Kapoor, Sonam Kapoor, Shikha Talsania, Swara Bhaskar, Sumeet Vyas, Ekavali Khanna, Edward Sonnenblick, Vivek Mushran, Neena Gupta, Manoj Pahwa; Rating: **1/2

"Veere Di Wedding" is about celebrating life with all its mistakes. Trite and flighty, packed with fluffy moments that swing erratically and then settles down on a predictable note, that is how one would describe this film.

In the spirit of sisterhood, four friends Avni, Kalindi, Sakshi and Meera, years after they finish their school meet again in Delhi when Kalindi (Kareena Kapoor) who is now in Australia decides to get married to her long standing boyfriend Rishab (Sumeet Vyas).

Avni (Sonam Kapoor) is a divorce lawyer. She is a spinster and her concerned mother is constantly trying to get her hooked. Sakshi (Swara Bhaskar) is married and going through a rough patch. She is contemplating a divorce. Meera (Shikha Talsania) married to John (Edward Sonnenblick) a foreigner against her parents' wishes is now a mother of a young boy. And, Kalindi, coming to terms with her disintegrated family, is unsure of herself.

The plot rambles with the complexities that adorn the lives of the quartet - "family, relationship and rishte-daari". There is a stage in the film when Avni screams, "Bakwaas bahut ho gaya, baas." That's the exact time when she voices the audiences' sentiments too.

That apart, somewhere down the line, the film hooks you on, especially when Kalindi decides it is time for her to go back to Australia. And with Rishabh admitting that he is unsure of getting out of his family mess, you feel sad for the couple. How the other three friends rally around, to set things right for the couple, make for an interesting but cliched viewing.

The film tries to be bold and feministic in its approach, but fails to make a solid dent. The dialogues as well as some scenes certainly create ripples and the four don't mince their words either. They are all natural and competent as they lead their lives on their own terms.

While Kareena Kapoor and Sonam Kapoor look svelte and gorgeous, it is Swara Bhaskar as the outrageously foulmouthed Sakshi and Shikha Talsania who spice up the screen with their naturally uninhibited performances. One wished they were allotted more screen time.

On the other hand, their male counterparts, apart from being dandy, are mere pawns in the narrative. They have nothing much to offer.

Of the senior lot, Manoj Pahwa and Ayesha Raza Mishra as Rishabh's considerate but overbearing parents, Kavita Ghai as Kalindi's sensitive mom, Ekavali Khanna with her heinous laughter as Kalindi's step mother, Vivek Mushran as Kuki -Kalindi's gay mama and Neena Gupta as Avni's mother, are simply themselves and endearing, onscreen.

Designed on a lavish scale with a big fat Indian Wedding, a runaway bride and music thrown in in ample measure, the film is glossy and rich enough to watch it, if you have nothing better to do.

--IANS

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