Befikre Review

Director– Invisible

Starring– Incredible

Rating– Inconsequential

Big round of applause for the writers of the film for coming up with such a fresh story and an even more creative screenplay in Befikre. It requires serious talent to write a script that can be summed up in a few lines: lovers meet, lovers kiss, lovers break up, lovers meet other people, lovers kiss other people and then lovers reunite to kiss again. And because we haven’t hired writers, let’s spend money on foreign locations and go to Paris, something that Bollywood has never tried before. Wow! Amazeballs!

Befikre breaks all clichés and gives us a brand new definition of ‘carefree’. When was the last time you saw a couple drink merrily, dance crazily and kiss unabashedly?’ You know, they even ‘live in’ and all? Hawwww!! Shadi se pehle? Of course, we are Befikre yaar. Come on man, don’t be boring. Yes people who don’t sleep around are tagged boring, like the banker in the film. I totes agree. Befikre is indeed the most progressively carefree film ever since Neal ‘n’ Nikki.

Ranveer plays Dharam, a Delhi boy who is aww so cute and charming!! He has to be or else how do you justify his MCP behavior? You see in Hindi films all you have to do is give our misogynist macho man a couple of -quote unquote funny lines-, and instantly we justify everything; from sleaze to chauvinism!! See such clever characterization!! Dharam is the kind of guy who would say ‘so gay’ like it was a disease; body and slut shame his lady love, with such authority that it’s both appalling and disgusting.

Like the time when his heart gets broken, he calls his ladylove a slut! So what if he can snort Shakti Kapoor for breakfast and be the tharkiest man around but when the girl dates multiple men, she has to be tagged loose!!

Hey come on Lokesh, he apologizes for that bro. Yeah! And then he attacks her character yet again at her wedding!

But that was funny!!! Written for good laughs bro, come on, loosen up!

Of course of course!! It’s indeed so funny to defame a woman, call her fast, chudail and sundry, because you don’t have the balls to say the truth. Hahaha! So funny. My cheeks hurt!

What’s interesting is that Ranveer’s libido was in a severe competition with his hamming!! And thankfully both worked consistently, because nothing else in the film was!

And then there was Vani Kapoor, the only reason I could sit through the film. She is electric, super confident and so comfortable in front of the camera. She held me by my collar and demanded attention and I simply obliged. And this is when she shares screen with Ranveer who has such a strong screen presence himself!

There is a scene where Shyra dares Dharam to break her marriage, a beautifully written scene indeed, where Vani doesn’t miss a single beat to express love, confusion, ego, hope and helplessness in just one simple smile. Oh man! I am a fan for life Vani!

I also enjoyed Shyra’s relationship with her parents who are mere mute spectators of her life. Shyra’s mom beautifully admits at her daughter’s wedding; ‘aisa lag raha hain, padosi ki shadi mein aye hain’. The cute Indu chachi of Dil Dhadakne Do, Ayesha Raza is such a delight to watch.

For me Richa Chadha’s character in Masan was far more ‘befikre’. There are set societal rules and repression. She goes against all to satisfy her libido, challenging all the expectations that small town mentality expects of its women. Befikre empowers the already empowered.

The film is about a few dares shamelessly copied from Dare to Love. I have a few dares for Bollywood.

1. Can you ever make a ‘befikre’ film with characters who don’t have chiseled bodies and take off their clothes with equal confidence and abandonment?
2. Can you ever be more mindful of the ‘side heroes’ and ‘side heroines’ who are hired only for the jealousy factor and are conveniently forgotten and abandoned at the aisle?
3. Can you ever, for Emran Hashmi’s sake, show a good onscreen kiss? Lips lock, not to kiss, but chew, ewww!!

Befikre to me was French, frothy, forced and flavorless!

(This is my weekly review on Masala. For all my movie reviews, click here-

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