Hamari Adhuri Kahani : Movie Review by Ajay Shastri

Hamari Adhuri Kahani : Movie Review by Ajay Shastri

Rating: 2 Stars (Two stars)

Star Cast: Emraan Hashmi, Vidya Balan, Rajkummar Rao

What’s Good: It’s a treat to listen to the songs ofHamari Adhuri Kahani in theater. Also some of Shagufta Rafique’s dialogues may find their place in your heart.

What’s Bad: What could be worse than watching a love story and not feel its sting. It fails to involve you and suck you in on any level. Thanks to the larger than life cinematic liberties taken by Suri, you cannot enjoy this film.

Loo break: Badly needed!

Watch or Not?: No! There are better things to do on a weekend than watch a love story that is painfully slow, illogical and has no conclusions whatsoever. Unless you loved Aashiqui 2, this may be your type of film.

Vasudha (Vidya Balan) is a single mother but not by choice. After being forced into an arrange marriage with Hari (Rajkummar Rao), Vasudha’s life takes a spin. Hari turns out to be a chauvinistic husband who wants his wife get his name tattooed on her hand to make sure she belongs to him for the next 7 janam. In a brief amount of time after the duo have a child together, Hari takes off to Orrissa and has been missing since then. But we are later told that he works for a terrorist group in Bastar.

Vasudha’s son Saanjh turns 5 without meeting his dad while she is supporting the family by working in a plush hotel as a florist. In a chance meeting that could only be called a ‘Bhagwan ka connection’ she meets Aarav Ruparel (Emraan Hashmi), a multi-millionaire hotel owner. After a heavy exchange of dialogues which seem to connect them on an emotional level, Aarav is in love with Vasudha and offers her to work for his hotel in Dubai. Intimidated by the job offer that could better her son’s life Vasudha moves to Dubai and falls for Aarav too. Certainly after denial at first, Vasudha is convinced with Aarav’s offer to give her the missing happiness and light of her dull life. Just then her dark past catches up with her and guess what? Hari is back.

What entails is Vasudha’s struggle between the past and present. Will Vasudha and Aarav’s Kahani remain Adhuri?

Hamari Adhuri Kahani Review: Script Analysis

There are a hell lot of problems in this script and well it is definitely ‘Adhoori’ of logic. For starters the love story of Aarav and Vasudha is too far fetched. Another problem is that Mohit Suri cannot come up with relatable love stories. In times of instant make-up and break-ups, Suri shows us his idea of timeless romance which blooms with dialogues which are so deep that you fail to understand the concept of love. Just like Ek Villain, we are served with philosophies of ‘Sukh Dene Se Hi Dukh Kam Hota Hai’.

On the other hand the story rides on highly regressive cliches and Vasudha is seen wearing her mangalsutra as if she is taking her drug and without which she would not survive. Shagufta Rafique tries to induce a lot of pain which the story revels on but it fails to create an impact thanks to the other missing logics. Hari’s character is presented in such a cut short manner that we can hardly hate him enough. One of the best characters for me was Apoorv who plays Aarav’s assistant. The poor soul is so frustrated with his boss’ affair that he just keeps saying ‘I don’t get you man’ all through the film. I have to say, Mahesh Bhatt goes too far to represent love outside marriage and separation. The constant references to mythological women such as Seeta, Radha and Meera are conveniently shuttled between the regressive and progressive concepts.

Of course, the same Vasudha used to wear her Mangalsutra as a drug has suddenly become progressive too and the script has to have a lecture on women’s emancipation.

Hamari Adhuri Kahani Review: Star Performances

It irks me as to why an actress like Vidya Balan come on board for a film like this. Her choices seem to be deteriorating by the day and I am waiting for her to get back. In this film, she does not seem quite comfortable with the role and hence a disconnect persists all through.

Emraan Hashmi is once again limited to a Bhatt hero role and there is nothing extraordinary that you see. His potential is curbed and the only thing that impressed me in this film was his genuine act of crying. His teary-eyed scenes are quite powerfully emoted.

Rajkummar Rao is wasted in this film and it hurts to seem him in such a minimal role. He tries his best to be the badass husband but his character lacks the fodder to make him meaner. Nonetheless, his honest act is worth appreciation.

Madhurima Tuli, Namit Das and Suhasini Mooley, Saara Khan are seen in cameo roles but none of their characters impact the story much.

Hamari Adhuri Kahani Review: Direction, Editing and Screenplay

Mohit Suri had promised us an emotional roller coaster of a painful romantic journey but what we get in return is an altogether disappointing story. While I thought I would have to stock up on tissues to watch this one, sadly the tissues came handy for wiping the yawn tears. Who knows what’s wrong with Mr. Suri’s direction and well, it is completely unacceptable to have scenes with characters whose heads have been chopped off in a frame, hell that’s a crime while clicking pictures too. When it comes to the pace, the first half is already slow and the curse of the second half too strikes making this a sloppy ride. The inclusion of K-serial ideas such as the ‘diya bujhna’ is some things he would have rather stayed away from. The only thing that works in Suri’s favour is the film’s music which is already popular enough. The stretched ending is so boring that the only pain you feel is that why can’t it end sooner and I am angry at the editing department for that. Suri it seems fails to re-create Mahesh Bhatt’s vision and what could have been an Arth turns out worse than Aashiqui 2.