Movie Review: Aiyyaa! | The Institution Of Marriage Goes Wakda! Aiyyo!

Loud, gaudy and wild- these are among a few attributes that come to mind the moment you try describing Aiyyaa. And what else to expect of a film whose title itself is a statement of exclamation? Thankfully, the loud factor doesn’t compromise much on the entertainment front, rather, it adds up to it. Blending in gaudy and crazy in the premise of Bollywood, writer-cum-director Sachin Kundalkar churns out a script that manages to attract the viewer’s attention, but a 15-20 mins scrapped off the total run-time would’ve made it a more enjoyable affair.

Welcome to the quirky Deshpande household, headed by a father who is quite capable of smoking three cigarrettes at once, an over-zealous mother trying to find a suitable groom for her daughter, a son who is all hearts for the street dogs, a granny who sports goggles and a gold-plated teeth- on a wheelchair, and a dear daughter Meenaxi (Rani Mukherjee) who’s just too lost in her dreamy world passing herself off as Sridevi, Madhuri and Juhi. At work, in the Arts department of a college, her olfactory senses invite cupid as she gets immensely attracted to a possible drug-addicted Tamil-speaking student Surya (Prithviraj), who is totally unmoved by Meenaxi’s several desperate attempts. Her friend Maina, who lusts for John Abraham, totally sympathises with her for the same. At parallels back home, Meenaxi’s parents have arranged for her big hiccup in Madhav (Subodh Bhave), a simple old-fashioned man. Meenaxi in this tight spot has to make a decision that’ll change her course of life forever.

Rani is totally rich with her expressions, throwing in enough dramatics for Meenaxi, and manages both her middle-class reality and her wayward erotic fantasies with aplomb. It’s because of Rani that the hopelessly mad-in-love Meenaxi becomes so adorable. Prithviraj has a strong presence on-screen, though he has pretty few dialogues to mouth. The supporting cast sticks to the overall feel of the film- loud and fun. Music is nice, and the choreography adds to the carnal vibe the movie tries to create.

Even though the film is a spider webbing out a web of stereotypes, it does entertain. First half is too dragged, and it’s only the second half that acts savior. While cinematography and the direction win hands down, the script needed to be a little stronger (and pacy) to do justice to the concept. And keeping in mind Sachin Kundalkar’s previous M-town creations, the expectations were bound to be plenty. Overall, Aiyya is a casual entertainer which’ll entertain both Streelingums and Pullingams alike. Go watch it for the sheer joy of gung-ho filmmaking.