BEWAKOOFIYAAN: YASHRAJ YUPPY CHARM

A stunningly shot interval point of Bewakoofiyaan is so good that it actually saves the rest of the film from being dismissed totally as a Yashraj popcorn entertainment.

Post interval, the film fails to live up to the promise of what could have been a meaningful and entertaining take on yuppy life of  malls and credit card relationships.

Yet, the film attracts for many reasons. Firstly, it’s writer, Habib Faisal. He has written some original and fine work like ‘Do Dooni Chaar”,”Band Baaza Baraat” and “Ishaqzaade”. It is no surprise then that Bewakoofiyan has a relevant and good storyline revolving around unemployment.

Secondly, the director, Nupur Asthana, who made her foray into direction with the popular series,  ”Hip Hip Hooray”, has made a fairly successful Yashraj produced film, Mujhse Fraandship Karoge”.

Thirdly, the pairing of Sonam Kapoor and Ayushmaan Khurrana is quite charming in the promos.

However, it is the pairing of Rishi Kapoor and Ayushmann, which ends up dominating the major part of the film. This is fun at times but tiresome when it gets repetitive.

The premise is fairly common. Mohit and Maira are in love. They enjoy the good life, comparing their credit card limits every time they make progress at work. But Maira’s dad, Sehgal (Rishi Kapoor) is tired of living the ordinary life of a Safari suit clad bureaucrat. Mohit’s salary is not good enough for his daughter Maira’s lifestyle. To make matters worse, Mohit loses his job. Along with his credit cards, he risks losing Maira more than ever. The two decide to fool Mr. uncool ‘Osama’ until Mohit gets another job.

This is where the primary hitch lies. The film sets out to explore the changing dynamics of the good lifestyle seeker Maira and the unemployed Mohit. But instead it settles on a caricaturish Kapoor and Ayushmann playing squash and hide and seek at Ayushmann’s office or Kapoor’s home.

Sonam Kapoor in a bikini, is a nice change from her usual self. She has improved in the acting department too but dithers in crucial moments.

Rishi Kapoor seems to be a Habib Faisal favourite. So much so that his role is overstretched. His tyrant of a dad,’Osama’ act is mostly loud and over the top.

Raghu Dixit’s music, especially the title song and Ayushmann’s performance full of comic and poignant variations, make Bewakoofiyan a charming watch.