Badhaai Ho has sitcom recipe written all over it. It has some finely constructed humor, moments of emotional outburst, and not to forget, a 'happy' ending. The film is about a Delhi-based middle-class family with its set of isms. The concept that it tackles (of 'late pregnancy') is one that hasn't been explored in Indian cinema quite a lot. I really enjoyed the director's eye for the little details like the sticker (in an atrocious font) on the back of their car that says 'Kaushiks' (with an apostrophe missing), the house in which they stay (the grandmom's bed is bang opposite the television), and more along those lines.
The humor is simple, situational, and mostly relatable in the first half. The mom of the house (who is nearing her 60s) is unexpectedly expecting and the whole family somehow has to accustom themselves to this fact. What makes this unusual scenario work on screen are the terrific performances of the older couple (played by Neena Gupta and Gajraj Rao), the grandmother (Surekha Sikri), and to an extent the sons (Ayushman Khurrana and Shardul Rana).
The warm, affectionate relationship shared between the dad and mom of the house is what makes the first half of Badhaai Ho an engaging affair. Khurrana's scenes are pretty fine too (the romance track between him and Sanya Malhotra thankfully isn't a cheesefest), but the comic timing of the seniors often outdo the rest. The dialogues have been written well and ensure sufficient laugh-out-loud moments.
However, the second half isn't without its share of flaws. The film, all of a sudden, turns into a collection of moments: the sons choosing not to accompany their parents to a family wedding, the younger son getting into an altercation at school and the older one coming to his rescue, the ugly spat between boyfriend and girlfriend and the eventual reconciliation, and the grandmom coming to the aid of the pregnant daughter-in-law while she gets shamed, and plenty more. The film loses its focus a wee bit here and tries to rely too much on cinematics. The songs do not help in making the proceedings appear less dramatic either.
'Badhaai Ho' needs to be applauded for placing a fair bit of emphasis on the characters of Neena Gupta and Gajraj Rao (who can easily have a whole movie to themselves) in the initial half even though their issues sort of recede into the background in the latter half. The angle between Nakul (Khurrana) and Renee's mother also seemed rather pointless. Would I recommend the movie to a friend/peer? Yes, for the fantastic performances of the senior Kaushiks.
The humor is simple, situational, and mostly relatable in the first half. The mom of the house (who is nearing her 60s) is unexpectedly expecting and the whole family somehow has to accustom themselves to this fact. What makes this unusual scenario work on screen are the terrific performances of the older couple (played by Neena Gupta and Gajraj Rao), the grandmother (Surekha Sikri), and to an extent the sons (Ayushman Khurrana and Shardul Rana).
The warm, affectionate relationship shared between the dad and mom of the house is what makes the first half of Badhaai Ho an engaging affair. Khurrana's scenes are pretty fine too (the romance track between him and Sanya Malhotra thankfully isn't a cheesefest), but the comic timing of the seniors often outdo the rest. The dialogues have been written well and ensure sufficient laugh-out-loud moments.
However, the second half isn't without its share of flaws. The film, all of a sudden, turns into a collection of moments: the sons choosing not to accompany their parents to a family wedding, the younger son getting into an altercation at school and the older one coming to his rescue, the ugly spat between boyfriend and girlfriend and the eventual reconciliation, and the grandmom coming to the aid of the pregnant daughter-in-law while she gets shamed, and plenty more. The film loses its focus a wee bit here and tries to rely too much on cinematics. The songs do not help in making the proceedings appear less dramatic either.
'Badhaai Ho' needs to be applauded for placing a fair bit of emphasis on the characters of Neena Gupta and Gajraj Rao (who can easily have a whole movie to themselves) in the initial half even though their issues sort of recede into the background in the latter half. The angle between Nakul (Khurrana) and Renee's mother also seemed rather pointless. Would I recommend the movie to a friend/peer? Yes, for the fantastic performances of the senior Kaushiks.