Shaandaar

Cast: Alia Bhatt, Shahid Kapoor

Director: Vikas Bahl

Plot: A big fat ”Shaandaar” Indian wedding, which is actually a business merger between two of the biggest business families of India, is happening at an exotic castle in Europe. Mrs. Kamla Arora, the grandmother of the Arora family, the sole owner of the billion-dollar business and the property, has planned their wedding. Kamla Arora is a shrew, and treats everyone like her servants including her three sons, Bipin, Vipul and Vinay. Mr.Fandwani, the groom’s father, is a loud Sindhi businessman who is the counter to Kamla Arora: The Fandwanis dress in gold, accessorize in gold and if it was possible, they’d drink and eat gold.

Set against the backdrop of the Shaandaar wedding, is a love triangle between (our protagonists) Aliya, Jagjinder Joginder and Bipin (Aliya’s father). Bipin believes that there’s no guy who will be good enough for his daughter, while Aliya is a dreamer, but her dreams are whacked out and Jagjinder Joginder is a doer, he can make anything happen! And for obvious reasons, Bipin hates Jagjinder Joginder.

The journey of Aliya, Jagjinder Joginder and Bipin in the chaotic and lavish wedding is the story of Shaandaar. It’s a fairy tale love story that everyone has always dreamt of!

Rating: 2.5/5 Stars (Two and half stars)

Star Cast: Alia Bhatt, Shahid Kapoor

Director: Vikas Bahl

What’s Good: Acting performances, brilliant locations, overall

What’s Bad: Weak storytelling, dull scenes, frequent song sequences don’t move the story forward.

Loo Break: During the boring song

Watch or Not?: Fans of the lead pair can watch it. Fans of the director definitely skip it.

User Rating: 

Shaandaar has been conceived by its makers as a fairy tale film of the kind Disney makes. They were seemingly convinced that the story they have come up with will be able to convey the same emotional fervour which flicks like Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty have been able to do in the past. But that’s not what you’re in for. This film is a showcase of grandeur and mind-blowing locations, which keeps finding some time to tell a story. It would have helped if the narrative was well realized, but more time has clearly been dedicated to displaying visual flair than to moving the audiences with a fairy tale. An adopted daughter of Bipin Arora (Pankaj Kapoor), Alia Arora (Alia Bhatt) has fit into her new family easily despite the hatred towards her by her new mother and grandmother. Alia is a creature of the night; in the sense that she cannot sleep. Her father hopes that her insomnia will one day be cured by a man who will put her to bed. Enter Jagjinder Joginder (Shahid Kapoor), a wedding planner who eventually succeeds in doing that. Get the reverse Sleeping Beauty angle here? The sub-plot involves Bipin’s evil mother who wishes to marry off his real daughter Isha (Sanah Kapoor) as part of a business deal with the overly flamboyant Sindhi tycoon played by Sanjay Kapoor. Despite keeping the fairy tale angle alive, this sub-plot fails at effortlessly tying itself up with the main plot. There’s no crispiness in the whole affair, as the storytelling is delayed time and again by unique and ambitious sequences (the director wants to make an impression with these) and songs that fail to move the story forward.

Shaandaar Review: Script Analysis

Like we said, Shaandaar tries hard to be a live action Disney movie. The script has been laced with all the elements needed for it to be one, but the lack of focus on storytelling results in a film that’s boring in most parts. The characters are pretty well thought out though, and they’re the saving grace for the film.

Shaandaar Review: Star Performance

Alia Bhatt effortlessly fits herself into the role of Alia Arora. Her underplayed emotions and her cute facial expressions add elegance to her scenes.

Shahid Kapoor neither impresses nor disappoints. His problem is that the script doesn’t have much to give to his character other than some heroic and some funny sequences.

Pankaj Kapur embodies a loving and caring father with the same ease with which he has played all his memorable roles. Sushma Seth is great with her role of the grandmother who’s hated by everyone. Sanah Kapoor as an overweight but confident Isha and Vikas Verma as her brash and narcissistic to- be husband make the most of their roles as well.