Keyur Seta
Mumbai, 17 Feb 2017 0:33 IST
The Taapsee Pannu and Amit Sadh starrer suffers from the second half syndrome.
Some films have subjects that are era-specific. First-time director Amit Roy’s Running Shaadi is one such. With youngsters today getting modernized in their outlook, the generation gap is bound to get wider. This difference is most noticeable in personal matters like marriage.
So, the timing of the idea of Running Shaadi is perfect. But the same cannot be said about the film itself. It’s a light-hearted saga that has its moments but is hardly impressive.
The film is set in Amritsar, Punjab. Ram Bharose (Amit Sadh) hails from Patna in Bihar. He works in a garment shop in Amritsar and is thick friends with the owner’s daughter Nimrat Kaur aka Nimmi (Taapsee Pannu). Ram is shy while Nimmi is the bindaas (bold) type.
The guy isn’t happy to be treated like a slave in the shop. After a heated argument with his boss one day, he quits his job. He then gets an out-of-the-box business idea. He and his roommate start a service called Running Shaadi. It’s an agency that helps couples, whose elders are against their relationship, to elope and get married.
Nimmi joins the firm as partner. The business starts on a successful note and slowly but surely flourishes. But the road ahead isn’t smooth.
This is one of those films where you can feel the location. A small town like Amritsar is brought alive through some believable local characters, a witty Punjabi touch to the lingo, and real locations. It is appreciable how the makers have not gone overboard in showcasing the identity of the town, which is the Golden Temple. The shrine simply appears in the background, which gives the film a realistic touch.
It was certainly a challenge to show the emergence and working of a business as unusual as an agency that helps couples to elope and marry. Although the film is about the marriage business, the idea of eloping makes it very different from, say, Band Baaja Baaraat (2010). The writers and director have succeeded in overcoming this challenge. Of course, there are situational errors, but the presentation manages to hide them, and, more importantly, entertain the audience.
But Running Shaadi turns out to be a film that suffers from the second-half syndrome. At the halfway mark, the story takes an unexpected turn, which is not only weird but unconvincing. And being an important plot twist, you cannot forgive it. This point hampers the film's progression the most. Plus, from here on, proceedings start treading on a formulaic path. This means more flaws start to show up.
It is natural to lose hope by now. But the climax does manage to make you smile and you leave the hall with at least some satisfaction.
The music (Anupam Roy, Abhishek-Akshay and Keegan Pinto) does not quite lift the narrative. The songs ‘Mannerless Majnu’ and ‘Bhaag Milky Bhaag’ are the best of the lot but they only fall in the average category.
Amit Sadh was good in films like Kai Po Che (2013) and Sultan (2016). He once again proves he is an actor to be reckoned with. He smartly underplays his character. Taapsee Pannu impresses you with her talent yet again after Pink (2016). She gets the different facets of a complex character right. Arsh Bajwa does what was required of him as the close friend of Ram Bharose. Brijendra Kala is a fine but underrated talent. He is terrific as Ram Bharose’s uncle. Sandip Ghosh makes his presence felt in a cameo.
Clearly, Running Shaadi had an interesting concept at its heart, but it fails to run far.
Reviewed by Keyur Seta