Hey Sinamika review: The Dulquer Salmaan film works when it doesn’t take itself seriously

Dulquer Salmaan’s Hey Sinamika, which marks the directorial debut of choreographer Brinda, wants to be both a romantic drama and a relationship comedy. Though it works fairly well as the former, it is more entertaining as the latter, especially when it doesn’t take itself seriously.

In a refreshing departure from the kind of roles Dulquer has essayed so far, Hey Sinamika allows him to tap into his comical side and bring forth a special performance.

The plot is simple. When Mouna (Aditi Rao Hydari) tires of the relentless attention and care lavished upon her by her husband (Dulquer), she hires a psychologist (Kajal Aggarwal) to make him fall in love with her so that she can end the marriage.

Dulquer plays Yaazhan, a hopelessly romantic house husband who can literally suffocate anyone with his love. He is the kind of husband that’s rare to find. He is not jealous of his wife’s financial independence and doesn’t mind staying home and taking care of things.

But the thing that annoys Mouna about Yaazhan is his incessant urge to keep showering love, without realizing how much it suffocates the other person. Mouna makes up her mind to divorce Yaazhan, but she needs a solid reason. Therefore, she hires Mazhar Vizhi (Aggarwal), a psychologist, to get close to him.

As long as the film tries to be a relationship comedy, keeping the tone lighthearted, it works like a breeze. When it deals with the drama part, the film struggles and barely keeps the viewer engaged. If only it had remained a romantic comedy till the end. The film still works to an extent, thanks to the comical portion in which Dulquer shines. Aditi Rao Hydari is earnest and delivers a mature performance. It’s Kajal Aggarwal who struggles to make an impact in a poorly written superficial character.

When the film eventually turns into a love triangle, it loses the charm it had managed to stir up in the beginning. Even the performances become uninteresting when the story gets serious and the film starts boring the viewer.

Hydari's Mouna comes across as someone who isn't sure what she wants from her marriage. She wants to get away from her husband because he suffocates her with his love and doesn’t give her any space. But when she expects him to fall for the psychologist, she starts to feel jealous and it just doesn’t go well with her character.

Hey Sinamika ought to have been made as just a breezy romantic comedy. What it ends up becoming is a problematic love triangle.

Hey Sinamika was released in theatres on 3 March 2022.