Review : ‘Paisa Vasool’ entertainment : ‘Suraj Pe Mangal Bhari’

The corona virus pandemic had compelled entertainment industries across the world to shut and the theatres too were closed indefinitely. In India, after relaxation in lockdown, cinema theatres are allowed to operate, albeit restrictions. And a first big ticket movie, ‘Suraj Pe Mangal Bhari’ is releasing in theatres and for that Zee Studios should be congratulated for leading the way. And importantly this Diwali release is entertaining enough for sure. During lockdown, quite a few films claimed to be entertaining and comic, but most of them could not be impactful. But ‘Suraj Pe Mangal Bhari’ definitely doesn’t fall into the above category and audiences will walk out of the theatres with a smile on their face after watching it. It’s a ‘paisa vasool’ movie.
The story starts in Bombay in 1995 and ends with the city’s name restored to Mumbai. Suraj (Diljit Dosanjh) is the only son whose present aim is to get married. The dairy ‘Jai Mata Rani Dudh Bhandar’ owner parents ((Seema Pahwa and Manoj Pahwa) are trying to find him a match. When they are about to meet the girl’s parents, Suraj gets rejected because of some ‘obscene’ photos. He comes to know that the one sneaky wedding detective Madhu Mangal Rane (Manoj Bajpayee) is the culprit. This sleuth’s motto is to break marriages where he suspects that the boy is not worthy of the girl. Rane slips into many disguises to extract the ‘evidence’. Why he indulges in this has a backstory which unfolds in the end. Deciding to take revenge Suraj stumbles upon a girl Tulshi (तुळसी) (Fatima Sana Shaikh), and falls in love at first sight. But when he comes to know that she’s Madhu’s sister who is going to get married soon, he clicks her pictures at the night club and ensures that she’s rejected by the boy’s family. His revenge of defaming Madhu is over but he is hooked onto Tulsi. But she snaps ties with him the moment she comes to know that he was behind in defaming her family. This punjabi ‘munda’ is head over hills in love with ‘Marathi mulgi’. But will they come together again? The answer lies in the entertaining storytelling of ‘Suraj Pe Mangal Bhari’.
Full marks to director Abhishek Sharma (Tere Bin Laden and it’s sequel, The Shaukeens, Parmanu, The Story Of Pokhran) for keeping the proceedings alive with wit and humour. His cast selection is impeccable and he has given ample footage to everyone to display their flair of acting. Screenplay is pacy, propelling and keeps you engaged in whatever is happening on screen. Music is good and ‘Basanti’ (Karishma Tanna sizzles), ‘Ladki Dramebaaz Hai’, Marathi wedding song etc have turned out good, visually too.
Cinematography is excellent but most of the time South Mumbai’s Ballard Pier and it’s surrounding areas are seen in the background. Art director should have been more creative in creating 90s era. Costumes, unfortunately, do not have retro look. Dialogues are the life-line of the film and they are the stars in this movie. (Additional half star is for dialogues) The film scores heavily in acting department. Diljit Dosanjh’s comic timing is excellent and his one-liners are effortlessly delivered. Fatima Sana Shaikh doesn’t have much screen time, but the story revolves around her character. She looks very pretty and does a decent job at hand. No complaints here. Manuj Sharma (Diljit’s chaddi-buddy), Supriya Pilgaonkar (Manoj and Fatima’s mother), Manoj Pahwa, Seema Pahwa, Vijay Raaj make the scenes watchable and enjoyable. Everybody, including Annu kapoor, have extensively contributed to the comic quotient of the film. Manoj Bajpayee is magnificent and his disguises are mind blowing. He has performed with hearty enthusiasm and proves his ability of playing diverse role effortlessly. Only hitch here is that he couldn’t master the Marathi accent. Do watch the end-credits as they are entertaining too.
‘Suraj Pe Mangal Bhari’ is a feel good movie with ‘Paisa Vasool’ entertainment and could be watched to enhance the Diwali’s festive mood. ***1/2

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