Movie Review: Shubh Mangal Savdhan

In a tongue in cheek attempt, we have a film dealing with a young man coming to terms with a sexual problem that he has and realises at the cusp of his marriage. Outdated? At a time when pre-marital sex is the order of the day, it is a weak premise. However as director Prasanna revisits his Tamil original (Kalyanam Samiyal Saadam), he ensures a proper town setup to keep the tale simple and believable. What further helps the narrative is that the characters bring in the right mix of energy and fizz to the tale.

The story of a young man realising that he suffers a erectile dysfunction can go awry. It is a breeding place of double entendre and vulgar innuendos. The strength of the narrative lies in eschewing this path and still not going in for any thing too serious or sanctimonious. The film maker keeps it simple and it works for a major part of the film.getting Mudit (Ayushmann Khurana) and Sugu (Bhumi Pednekar) are in a love-cum-arranged marriage. Do not bother to decipher the paradigm and move on. While Mudit is all excited about the ensuing event in his life, Sugu has a dampened spirit since she has been deprived of the thrills of a runaway marriage. She ensures a few pre-marital indulgences and in the course of this, Mudit realises that he has a problem . “ A gents problem” as everyone in the two families (Mudit’s parents - (Supriya Shukla and Chitranjan Tripathy) and Sugu’s parents (Neeraj Sood – Seema Pahwa) terms it. They all get concerned and are willing to move from quacks to blind faith. Nothing works. The gals parents are willing to call off the marriage. As is Mudit himself.

Sugu is undecided. She loves him enough to take the challenge and not enough to take the plunge. She is clear with her ideas and disappointed with the events. While the elders in the two families are sure that things have to be corrected before the marriage, the young couple decide to go ahead and give the marriage a try. The Mom’s prayer that Alibaba must enter the cave though stated in isolation sounds crude Seema Pahwa gives it the right texture. Finally how Mudit makes up for the problem is the rest of the narration.

Everyone in the cast give the film their best. Special mention to the lead pair of Bhumi Pednekar and Ayushman Khurana. They deserve more success. I guess the cinematic perseverance will help. For the audience a breezy comedy with just the right degree of laugh and concern.