There is a scene in Nautanki Saala when the perfect evening
plan has just gone wrong. Only one of them is aware of the fact. The second is
too preoccupied with his disastrous performance as Ram on stage. When told, it
was fine; he asks which was the best scene. The former, still recovering from
his secret plan wreck, replies, "Interval." The two sip their wine in
silence, their expressions perfect. The camera pulls back gently, with soft
music defining the mood of the rest of the film.
Rohan Sippy's film is full of such simple, light, breezy moments
that make you smile, chuckle and even clap at times. After making a thriller
like 'Dum Maaro Dum' last, Sippy displays surprising panache for subtle humor and
aesthetics. There are plenty of credits here. The film is based on a French play,
‘Après Vous' written by Pierre Salvadori and Benoit Graffin. The screenplay and
dialogues by Nipun Dharmadhikari, Charudutt Acharya and Rohan Sippy make the
film exceptionally funny and entertaining despite an unconvincing premise and
predictable story.
Ram Parmar (Ayushmann Khurrana) is a stage actor and
director whose life revolves around theatre where requires him to dramatize
everything. The same works for his personal life too until he meets a man more
dramatic than him, about to hang himself from a tree. Mandar Lele ( Kunaal Roy
Kapur )takes every setback so seriously that he wants to either die or simply
drink. All for a girl called Nandini Patel (Pooja Salvi).
Ram, who 'likes to
play God' and help every soul in sight, forces Mandar to play Ram in his play
Ravan Leela in which he plays Ravan. Little does he know that in the process of
helping his newfound buddy, he will end up falling for Ram's real life Sita aka
Nandini .
This old story of stealing your best friend's girl finds a
charming and fresh treatment through the characters of Ram, Mandar and the
'bromance' between the two. Most of the scenes are kept simple, flow smoothly
though a bit too easily and without much conflict. The humour rests on flawless
performances enhanced by skillful direction, like a balcony scene where Ram and
his girlfriend, Chitra (Gaelyn Mendonca) react to a 'marriage proposal' with
their hands on their mouth, for completely different reasons. Or the scene when
Mandar gives his audition and ends up rendering a totally hilarious raga of
sorts to an unintentional orchestration by the producer. The film is full of
moments like these including one where both Ram and Mandar are drinking over the
loss of the same girl, but unknown to Mandar.
Besides the comic moments between the friends, the romance
is as sweet and fresh as the flowers the lead lady sells in the film. Here, Ayushmann
simply steals the scene with a steamy, long kiss that makes Emraan Hashmi seem
a novice.
Manoj Lobo's cinematography especially the way it captures the theatre
setup with its curtains and glorious costumes in well lit green rooms, along
Aarif Sheikh's smooth edit makes the film a pleasure to watch.
Kausar Munir's lyrics
for 'dramebaaz' are light and
situational. A lovely sequence involving the two friends climbing the girl's
balcony, is made doubly funny because of a wonderful remix track(Mikey
McCleary) of 'dhak dhak karne laga' playing in the background. Full marks to
Rohan Sippy's sense of aesthetics.
Ayushmann Khurrana comes across as effortless and smooth in
his comic timing and expressions. His charm is reminiscent of Shah Rukh Khan in
his early days. Kunaal Roy Kapur is good but fails to match upto what Deven
Verma does with Sanjeev Kumar in Angoor,
considering his role demands that kind of rapport. Both the girls, Gaelyn Mendonca and Pooja
Salvi are competent but lack anything special. A cameo by Abhishek Bachchan
does not add any value.
Nautanki Saala, provides little drama yet is a delightful
little film guaranteed to provide lots of chuckles. Besides, there is
Ayushmann's memorable, sweet kiss.
No comments:
Post a Comment