Daadi Ki Shaadi

Daadi Ki Shaadi Movie Review Rating:

Star Cast: Neetu Kapoor, Kapil Sharma, R. Sarathkumar, Sadia Khateeb, Riddhima Kapoor Sahni

Director: Ashish R. Mohan

What’s Good: The film entertains from beginning to end

What’s Bad: A slight excess of preachiness could have been avoided

Loo Break: Avoidable, as the film maintains a neat pace

Watch or Not?: Haan ji

Language: Hindi

Available On: Theatrical release

Runtime: 150 Minutes

User Rating:

Vimla Ahuja (Neetu Kapoor), a.k.a. Daadi lives alone in a huge bungalow in Shimla, studded with all luxuries but devoid of any attention from her children, who she cared for all along. Vimla has a group of female friends of her age, Shakti Kapoor Aunty (Nikhat Khan Hegde), Malhotra Aunty (Flora Jacob), and Chauhan Aunty (Parveen Kaour) and is content with their company and is fairly active on ‘Facelook’ (get it?).

Her eldest son, Jeevan (Deepak Dutta), is a quick-tempered man with a wife (Tejaswini Kolhapure) who always finds fault with him. They have a daughter, Kannu (Sadia Khateeb), and a son. Jeevan’s younger brother is Naag (Jitender Hooda), who has a rather dense wife (Aditi Mittal) and a son and a daughter. They reside in Delhi. The youngest is Sunaina (Riddhima Kapoor Sahni), a daughter who lives in Singapore.

The fun begins when it is discovered that Daadi is going to marry! This leads to chaos and a broken ‘roka’ (engagement) for Kannu. Her long-time college admirer, Tony Kalra (Kapil Sharma), is, however, determined to repair the damage.

The sons, vexed at their mother’s decision, head to Shimla with their families, and Vimla is shocked to see almost her entire clan (Sunaina is abroad) and finally delighted. Tony, who has plotted successfully to accompany them, is also welcomed by Vimla as he tells her that he is Kannu’s beau. She is surprised that she was not told about it.

The actual facts about Vimla are, however, quite different, and so Vimla arranges a fake ‘husband’ with the help of her female friends to carry on the charade for a beautiful reason. The man who agrees to this is retired Col. Theeran Devarajan (R. Sarathkumar), who comes to Shimla for a 15-day vacay each year.

Sunaina now arrives from Singapore with her cute daughter, and from here, the story takes a series of unique turns before the truth comes out.

Daadi Ki Shaadi Movie Review: Script Analysis

The script (by director Ashish R. Mohan, with Bunty Rathore and Saahil S. Sharma) has an old-world charm while remaining sufficiently contemporary. There is a small element of preachiness that should have been kept on a tighter leash, as in the broader picture (pun intended), it is perhaps permissible.

The essence of the film is that parents are often neglected, not necessarily because of a lack of gratitude, but because we get caught up in the mundane hassles of domestic life and have no time to spare for even thinking about them, except when they are ill. The businesslike attitude of Sunaina and her own life in Singapore is a pertinent showcase of how children can turn out, without realizing that while we care so much for our own kids, we must also keep in mind that someday we will also need our offspring’s sustained love and company, even when we are healthy.

Daadi Ki Shaadi Movie Review: Star Performance

Neetu Kapoor proves the now-established fact that actors are born to the manor. Decades have flown since the kid from Do Kaliyan (1968) reformed her straying parents, and now she is the parent who, with unexpected outsider help, gets to bring her thoughtless kids back on track. She was brilliant then, when she was just 10 years old, and the fire has not gone down but only up.

Kapil Sharma as Tony Kalra has a one-dimensional role but shows his mettle. Sadia Khateeb, last seen with great effect in The Diplomat, is in excellent fettle as Kannu, and her quicksilver expressions and body language are, once again, a treat. Scoring high is Deepak Dutta, as the elder son, and Jitender Hooda, his younger brother, is also excellent. The kids of all ages are adorable, and so are the old aunties, with Nikhat Khan Hegde (Aamir Khan’s sister) making a special mark.

Among the rest, South veteran R. Sarathkumar makes an impact as Col. Devarajan, and Riddhima Kapoor Sahni is decent as Sunaina. The actor playing Tony’s father is brilliant.