Love is a dish that has been served regularly in Bollywood, with just a slight changes in the garnishes. Shirin Farhad Ki Toh Nikal Padi serves up the same dish with a few completely new ingredients, plus a Parsi tadka. And it tastes pretty good. The characters are not Mills and Boon-esque, and the comic add-ons are way more mature and hilarious than other middle-aged or Naughty at Forty kind of stories. Bela Bhansali Sehgal in her debut directorial venture has got enough meat to offer, literrally and figuratively. She has painted a picture on an unconventional outline so beautifully, that it will appeal to every age group alike, fondling every known emotion in the web of love. The crux of the story is fresh, though other factors in the film may force it under ‘typical’ category.
The story is stitched around a Parsi community, and needless to say is full of stereotyped characters with their typecast peculiarities. In this community belongs the well-meaning Farhad Pastakia (Boman Irani), whose bio in the matrimonial profile reads- 45, Male, Single, Salesman at a bra and panty shop. Yes, he’s bestowed upon with superpowers every man yearns to have- guessing out a woman’s perfect size in just a single look. The only women he’s really close to are his overexcited mother (Honey Irani), and an equally relaxed grandmother (Shammi). They all want Farhad to settle down, and cupid nays everytime until the dramatic entry of the secretary of the Parsi Trust, Shirin Fuggawala happens (Farah Khan). Paunches bump, Love blossoms, but right afterwards mother plays villain when she finds out that her son is hitched to her biggest enemy. The start may be at snail’s pace, but gains speed soon afterwards.
Okay, the story may seem somewhat cliched, but what’s different in here are the adorable moments Boman and Farah share. The time they hold hands, their try at sharing a kiss, the way they coax each other, everything has such a juvenile texture and obscurity to it that you actually end up cheering them. Their first encounter and the innerwear-use in expressing love brims up on hilarity. It’s SO cheesy that it’s cute. Also the time when Shirin meets Farhad’s family is downright hilarious. Performance wise, Boman Irani captains his expressions like a charm, and steals hearts as the 45 year old bachelor. When he speaks of his love for Shirin at the very end, you may want to look around for weeping aunties. Yes, what he says is touching. Farah Khan forays into acting like a bomb, and is every bit herself on-screen- loud and wonderful! Honey Irani and Shammi just add up to the cute factor and pep up the drama quotient exponentially whenever in frame. Jeet Ganguly’s music manages to set the mood quite right, and almost every song is situational. Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s writing sticks to simplicity throughout, and that actually works in favor of the film.
All in all, this is one twisted film that’ll jovially touch tour heart. And make sure you catch this with your better half, you would like to share the sweet-‘o’-love tit-bits together.
[highlight]Overall rating: 3/5[/highlight]
Love is a dish that has been served regularly in Bollywood, with just a slight changes in the garnishes. Shirin Farhad Ki Toh Nikal Padi serves up the same dish with a few completely new ingredients, plus a Parsi tadka. And it tastes pretty good. The characters are not Mills and Boon-esque, and the comic add-ons are way more mature and hilarious than other middle-aged or Naughty at Forty kind of stories. Bela Bhansali Sehgal in her debut directorial venture has got enough meat to offer, literrally and figuratively. She has painted a picture on an unconventional outline so beautifully, that it will appeal to every age group alike, fondling every known emotion in the web of love. The crux of the story is fresh, though other factors in the film may force it under ‘typical’ category.
The story is stitched around a Parsi community, and needless to say is full of stereotyped characters with their typecast peculiarities. In this community belongs the well-meaning Farhad Pastakia (Boman Irani), whose bio in the matrimonial profile reads- 45, Male, Single, Salesman at a bra and panty shop. Yes, he’s bestowed upon with superpowers every man yearns to have- guessing out a woman’s perfect size in just a single look. The only women he’s really close to are his overexcited mother (Honey Irani), and an equally relaxed grandmother (Shammi). They all want Farhad to settle down, and cupid nays everytime until the dramatic entry of the secretary of the Parsi Trust, Shirin Fuggawala happens (Farah Khan). Paunches bump, Love blossoms, but right afterwards mother plays villain when she finds out that her son is hitched to her biggest enemy. The start may be at snail’s pace, but gains speed soon afterwards.
Okay, the story may seem somewhat cliched, but what’s different in here are the adorable moments Boman and Farah share. The time they hold hands, their try at sharing a kiss, the way they coax each other, everything has such a juvenile texture and obscurity to it that you actually end up cheering them. Their first encounter and the innerwear-use in expressing love brims up on hilarity. It’s SO cheesy that it’s cute. Also the time when Shirin meets Farhad’s family is downright hilarious. Performance wise, Boman Irani captains his expressions like a charm, and steals hearts as the 45 year old bachelor. When he speaks of his love for Shirin at the very end, you may want to look around for weeping aunties. Yes, what he says is touching. Farah Khan forays into acting like a bomb, and is every bit herself on-screen- loud and wonderful! Honey Irani and Shammi just add up to the cute factor and pep up the drama quotient exponentially whenever in frame. Jeet Ganguly’s music manages to set the mood quite right, and almost every song is situational. Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s writing sticks to simplicity throughout, and that actually works in favor of the film.
All in all, this is one twisted film that’ll jovially touch tour heart. And make sure you catch this with your better half, you would like to share the sweet-‘o’-love tit-bits together.
[highlight]Overall rating: 3/5[/highlight]