Talking Movies

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Talking movies

Friday 20 April 2012

VICKY DONOR: Good News, Balle Balle


      With a title like ‘Vicky Donor’,you expect crass comic misfire in the movie. But here’s the good news. The sperm (plentiful) here not only meets the egg and  creates adorable children but  also a most delightful little story though slightly overstretched.

The premise is unusual. Vicky Chopra (Ayushmaan Khurrana), an aimless, unemployed 25 year old,5.10 ft tall(a plus for a donor), youth from Lajpat Nagar refugee colony in Delhi. is in demand for his highly bankable sperm. The connoisseur of this fertile, productive young man is Dr Chadda (Annu Kapoor) ,owner of a fertility clinic and a sperm bank. His reasons for settling in on this prize catch are simple. The cause of infertility on the rise is “strass”(stress) which Vicky does not have. He is a simple, “ happy, stress free,upjaao” full of life young man who doesn’t even stress over a stolen TV from his house or over his dog who he sells to get money or over a lack of a decent job. He has the looks and the brains of King Alexander’s lineage.. “Aryaputra” according to Chadda who tries to explain History and Biology parameters for a healthy sperm to a freaked out Vicky. Who better than him to give someone else a life?

But Vicky is happy to wander around shopping with his mother’s hard earned money from her beauty parlour where he is at home threading eyebrows and massaging tired legs. The determined doctor’s chase leads to this happy man’s stress when he meets a cute Bengali girl, Ashima Roy (Yami Gautam). He calls her fish, she calls him butterchicken.Now, how would the twain meet without creating strange flavours and ‘straass’ for both themselves and Chadda?

Written by Juhi Chaturvedi, the story of a sperm donor may not be an ideal one for an overpopulated country like India, but is an ideal example of a simple idea treated well with gentle humour ,warmth and understanding. Delicately handling it like a baby, the director, Shoojit Sircar, critically acclaimed for his first film, “Yahaan”; gives the simple script just the right feel good treatment. Filled with earnest moments from real family conversations amongst Bengali and Punjabi families, there are hilarious versions of Bhangra meeting Tagore scenes ending up in something less melodius, more balle balle.

The dialogues (Juhi) win your heart over even though they are laced slightly with much done to death Punjabi lingo. There is an honest appeal in Vicky’s character. His transition is aptly described by Dr Chadda from “heartless sperm” to “complicated sperm” to “greedy sperm”. His interactions with his mother, Dolly (Dolly Ahluwalia) and “modern as Metro” grandmother, Beeji (Kamlesh Gill) and their drunken bouts, tugs at the heartstrings more than a Karan Johar movie. The comic touch and the laughs generated by almost every scene comes as a pleasant surprise.

If one can overlook a few over the top, some mushy and some stretched moments in the latter half, the movie is full of several scene stealers. The script itself with a well crafted screenplay, great attention to fine detailing and funny, heartwarming dialogues steals the show. Next in line is Annu Kapoor who masters the act of making a point about the sperm’s job  with his two fingers in a way that’s funny but not crass. Ayushmaan  with his cute dimples, a TV Anchor till now, is a delightful find and plays Vicky so convincingly that you can’t imagine him as anyone else. Dolly Ahluwallia  and Kamlesh Gill  both deserve applause for  both their wonderful casting and their supporting performances. Debutant Yami  plays the next door sweet Bengali girl with aplomb and can teach Rani Mukherjee how to shed copious tears without irritating. Finally the best performance comes from John Abraham: both in his cameo dance and his debut as a gutsy producer to back an unlikely subject.

Music(mostly Abhishek-Akshay) is foot tapping, pleasant but average and doesn’t interfere with the story. “Rum and whiskey” has the techno  bhangra touch and  “paani da rang”, sung and co composed by Ayushman with Rochak Kohli, touches you with simple lyrics like “ Tu bhi aa…sabko chod ke..meri aankhiyaan jo anju rul de”(Kusum Verma). “Rokda” is the best song in the movie, written beautifully…”Yeh bhi laado woh bhi laado..paison ki yeh holi hai..jo bhi laado kum padega..aasmaan se badi jholi hai”.
The only noticeable flaws lie in the camera work and the edit which give the film an incomplete feel.

Overall, skillfully written, directed and performed, here’s a movie that will make the weekend as fun as fish, butter chicken, rum and whiskey .

 No stress.

4 comments:

  1. Another nice review. And another movie I promise to see, except that I have a convenient excuse not to - the only theater in Bangalore in which Vicky Donor is running is 30 km from my home. Therefore, I have to be content with watching the trailer on YouTube. I will see it though, as soon as it becomes available on DVD.

    Your reviews are getting nicer and nicer. Whatever happened to your spicy, and enjoyable, sarcasm?

    BTW, I hate to be a nitpicker, but you do need to take a look at your punctuation.

    Also, by definition, a blog is not a once-in-a-week activity. Shouldn't keep your avid readers waiting for a week. Surely a person of your talents has more to share than just film reviews. For mundane men of science like myself, the world of movies is hard to understand. One looks for insights, opinions, advice, and demystification.

    Suggestions are offered in good faith. No criticisms are intended or implied.

    Cheers ... Chari
    Bombay Dak (svrchari.blogspot.in)

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  2. आज ही यह फिल्म देखकर लौटा हूं। फिल्म बनाने में की गई मेहनत साफ तौर पर झलक रही थी। बतौर लेखक मुझे एहसास हो रहा था कि फिल्म के रिसर्च वर्क में कितनी मेहनत की गई होगी। स्पर्म डोनेट करने जैसे कॉन्सेप्ट, उससे उपजी विसंगतियां, उससे उपजा हास्य...सब कुछ शानदार।

    फिल्म खत्म होने के बाद मेरी बगल में बैठे शख्स ने ताली बजाई थी जोकि आजकल के आम दर्शक वर्ग के बीच से स्वत:स्फूर्त मिलने वाला एक 'रेर सिनेरियो' है। इस प्रतिक्रिया से ही समझा जा सकता है कि विकी डोनर कितनी बड़ी फिल्म है।

    Nice Review !

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  3. Thanks for the feedback again.Will try to post more often.Hope you get to watch Vicky Donor soon.

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  4. Satishji, aapki likhawat itni saaf hai he padh kar bahut khushi milti hai:)Kisi din aapki tarah Hindi keyboard ka istemaal karne ki koshish karoongi.
    Jahan tak taaliyon ka sawaal hai,Interval point ke shot main mujhe bhi taali bajane ka man kiya tha-Annu Kapoor's reaction of folding his arms and sitting back dumbstruck when Vicky says-"sperm ke upar dil bhi hota hai..its called love" or something like that.
    Thank you for your feedback again.

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