‘Veere Di Wedding’ Review: A film that tries too hard to be ‘cool’ and ‘trendy’.

As you watch certain films, you tend to reflect upon how the film would have been if it released in the early 2000’s. No doubt, ‘Veere Di Wedding’ would have perhaps been a fresh, and bold subject matter back then. The one liner is in the title of the film itself: ‘Veere Di Wedding’. Yes, the entire film revolves around this and journey of 4 friends till the big day! In a film with such a simple premise, the smaller moments matter. The scenes, the situations, and the drama. Right from the beginning, it becomes quite prevalent that this is going down the true ‘chick flick’ route, targeting mainly the female audience. No doubt, this becomes obvious by the trailer itself, but the beginning of the film basically indirectly tells us, “If you’re a man, you will get bored.” Usually the term “chick flick” has a very derogatory connotation during these days of hyper feminism, however the problem with this film is that it is cliche.

As the film continues, it was less about being bored and more about just being disinterested at what is happening. The ‘Funny’ moments failed at provoking any laughter. Certain things just seemed so childish and over the top. Many moments were so extraordinarily cringe worthy that you actually feel bad for the makers. The way the film showcases an ‘independent woman’ is also debatable. Yes, they can smoke, drink, yell out expletives, and wear the most revealing clothing imaginable, but are those the only traits that describe an independent, free thinking woman?  I don’t think so. Perhaps they genuinely felt such content would work. Who knows, maybe it will work with a certain segment of the audience, but broadly speaking a large chunk of the film gives a ‘been there done that’ vibe.  Thankfully the film slightly improves during the second half, where we see a bit more depth in the narrative. But still, the film is handicapped.

From a technical standpoint the film is ok. Sometimes the framing and blocking looks very choreographed, and mechanical. The cinematography is decent. The editing is nice, however a few of the transitions between one shot to the next were straight out of the default transitions that one can find in Final Cut Pro. The songs are ok. Now to the performances. If there were times when a smile appeared on my face, it was due to the performances of Sonam Kapoor (Now known as Sonam Ahuja, after ‘Sonam di wedding’) and Kareena Kapoor. Both of them do a commendable job. Their characters are the most relatable from the bunch, which is perhaps why they struck a cord. Shikha Talsania is decent, although her characterization is bizarre. Swara Bhaskar tries hard, but her character is the most caricaturist of them all. The performances are the main strength of the film.

Overall, this is a film that can perhaps be seen when it releases on Netflix or Amazon  or on some other online platform. This way you can pause, take a deep breathe, and either choose to continue, or switch to another movie. That’s definitely easier than sneaking into another theater screen! Unfortunately, this film is a let down.

Rating: 2 stars.