Dum Laga ke Haisha

Dear Sharad Katariya (c/o Aditya Chopra),

After Gunday, i had lost all hope from Yashraj, It was as if you people gave us the date-rape drug to steal our money. But then came Mardani, where Bahurani salvaged the banner. And now you come up with a gem of a small film called 'Dum Laga ke Haisha'. Bravo !!

The film is set in Haridwar during the early 90's, where cassettes and pencils made sense. Where Kumar Sanu was Honey Singh. The story is about an illiterate loser who gets married to an educated plum girl. The whole family tries to seduce them to have sex but the loser still doesn't get over his wife's weight leading to differences and divorce. But all is well, which ends well, The mismatched couple take part in a traditional race to give the hero a life time of slip disc and missionary position.

The details of the 90's era is painstakingly assembled. It reminds you of the simple era where the whole family would listen to a couple fornicating. The simple nature of the film makes it stand out. A film where the narrative is taken forward without losing the audience's interest is a masterstroke in itself and DLKH manages that in the first half. The second half is fun as well. The scene where the wife buys a nylon night wear and adjusts on the creaky bed, musical war on cassette, the shakha scenes, family bonding over divorce are the highlights of the film.

The climax is a bit over the top but what the hell, its Yashraj, so just suck those caramel popcorns in your ass and watch the film.

Ayushman's career has been reborn with this film. His simple UP lingo is superb and he carries the film on his back. Literally.

Bhumi as the Big Mac (Royale with cheese) is the mota packet bada dhamaka. Watch out for this firebrand.

Sanjay Mishra excels as the authoritative father.

Chandrachur Rai as the Deepak Tijori of Jo Jeeta Woh Sikander, is brilliant and is bound to do good work in the future (He stars in our film 'Meeruthiya Gangsters', that's why the free publicity :p)

Overall, DLKH is the small film like Queen that you should watch. It's not as brilliant as Queen but it will make you nostalgic about the era most of us have lived in. Also, the film teaches us a valuable lesson that sex .. oops i mean love is bigger than looks, weight or ego.

Rating: ***half