Badhai Ho : The stork visits ... uninvited !!!

There comes a sunny phase in one’s career when one can do nothing wrong.

Paulo Coelho first said it in a book and then Shahrukh Khan repeated it in some movie , that "When u want something bad, from the heart, dil se, the entire Universe (Coelho’s word) or Kaaynat (Shahrukh’s usage) conspires to give it to you". Ayushmann Khurana is going through just one such zingy time in his life. 

After such a humdinger of a complex plot in Sriram Raghavan’s AndhaDhund he signs up for just a one line story in “Badhai Ho” written by Akshat Ghildiyal & Shantanu Srivastava and directed by Amit Ravindernath Sharma. Yeah , I too wondered why did they need two guys to write a one-line-story? Then I looked at the dialogue writers and they are the same pair, the story writers, and here they have scored really wonderfully. When the plot is just a single line then you need loads of dialogues and conversation to fill in 124 minutes of screen time, and here the pair does a splendid job.

We have a poor IT dude Nakul Kaushik(Ayushmann Khurana, in a rocking form) whose life is cruising at an even pace despite having the typical milieu surrounding him of urban yet decidedly middle class Gurugram. This milieu is so type cast, so type cast that one bursts into immediate laughter at the comfortable familiarity of it. It has pesky inquisitive neighbour's who feel it is their birth right to peek into your house and personal life and offer advice as if they were designate consultants from the big 5 of the world. It has the saucy neighbouring fresh bhabhiji who gives our man the lecherous glad eye, the tiresome yet crafty younger brother, the smart and sassy grand-mother (Surekha Sikri, absolutely superb), the slightly scatter-brained but loving father (Gajraj Rao) and a very warm, kind and once upon a time exceptionally pretty mother who his father just can’t get enough of. There even is one dish, where Nakul in his IT Multi-National company despite his middle-class background has managed to snag for himself; a very pretty , grounded n rich girl ( Saniya Malhotra, very charming) who adores him very much, understands him and wonder of wonder even her mother (Sheeba Chhadda) likes him too. 

So where is the fly in the ointment? The Parents decide to rumple the bed sheets again and in a fit of passion the father makes a deposit and does not withdraw in time. The cruel cold finger of fate then plays its hand and it’s the time for congratulations to be in order…again. There is a baby due and it is the parental decision to have it that blows Nakul’s world away. It’s just not done…he screams at the skies. Society is not too kind either and the kindly and the meaningful barbs keep flying here there and everywhere, each finding its mark on Nakul & his brother. It’s just his girl Renee (Saniya) who takes it casually and she even advises Nakul to take a chill pill… parents are allowed to do it you see, she cheekily tells him. Yet its easier said than done, as he has not come to terms with the shock. He blows his top at her mum, and both he and the girl split for a while and mope. The show, whenever the spotlight moves away from the young lead pair and shines on the conjugally active parents, simply rocks. The older pair are so much in character it is unbelievable and makes one feel both exasperated and warmly fuzzy at the same time. Neena Gupta and Gajraj Rao are fantastic and when the old Surekha Sikri gets her footage, does the veteran set the screen on fire or what? Mutual love, family values, the right things all rush the characters to the predictably happily ever after ending…but where the plot is linear the treatment is nuanced and sublime.

There was a time in the late 70’s and early 80’s when the Bachchan blitzkrieg swept Hindi cinema like the Tsunami tidal wave that hit many a coast… a thin, fumbling, non-descript yet charming middle-class hero called Amol Palekar stood the action onslaught and scored winner after winner with the directorial trio of the two Basu’s and a Mukherjee. Today in the big budget 100 crore bonanza movies mostly from the Khans and a few big Heroines…Ayushmann is doing his work in just as outstanding a manner as Palekar did decades back. He though is much better looking than Amol Palekar ever was but it’s his easy performances that ensures perennial longevity for the films he is a part of; wonderful. It’s a movie that can be missed because it is small and there are other movies to watch. However mark my words if you have bought a ticket for this one because the other screens in the cinema hall were full then believe me, your money is definitely well spent. Amit Ravindranath Sharma as the captain of the ship, its director can take a proud bow on a job very well done. Family drama's are a genuine balancing act and one can be excused for losing it, but not here, the accusation cannot stick. Its a top class controlled effort and deserves its rightful mention.