Movie Review: BEFIKRE by FENIL SETA

When a filmmaker of the stature of Aditya Chopra is directing a film, one can’t help but not have expectations. After all, here’s the guy who made the iconic Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge. Hence, despite the not-so-good trailers, there was tremendous hype for Befikre, mostly due to the Aditya Chopra factor. But alas, Befikre turns out to be a disappointment and how! The story is clichéd, there’s nothing new and the ending is extremely childish!

The story of the movie: Dharam (Ranveer Singh) is a stand up comic from Delhi who lands up in Paris when he gets a great job opportunity. He comes across Shyra (Vaani Kapoor) and they both soon get into a casual relationship. They decide that they’ll not fall in love, have fun and be ‘Befikre’. Sadly, things turn out the way as planned.

Befikre starts on a great note with the song Labon Ka Karobaar. It sets the mood of the film and makes it clear what’s it is all about. Even the first scene is quite interesting and intriguing. Basically, the first 20-25 minutes of the film are breezy and entertaining. Trouble arises during the last portion of the first half when one realizes that the story hasn’t moved much. This especially hits the viewers during the intermission point. Post-interval, there are some interesting developments in the narrative that does hold attention. But again, the interest tapers off after a point because the conflict is something that one has seen in a lot of movies. What’s so new about it? Still, one hopes that the climax will save the film. However, the finale turns out to be even worse. It is juvenile and one is shocked that how it got approved!

Befikre thankfully has some fine performances that save the day to an extent. Ranveer Singh is completely ideal for this role. I can’t imagine any other actor playing this part. He fools around and raises laughs so well but also impacts in the emotional scenes. There’s no doubt that he’s one of the best actors and Befikre just confirms that. Vaani Kapoor once again impresses highly with her confidence. She performs well and both of them have a sizzling chemistry. Armaan Ralhan (Anay) is a surprise of the film. He leaves a huge mark. Julie Ordon (Christine) is decent. The actors playing Shyra’s parents and Dharam’s colleague are okay.

Vishal-Shekhar’s music is quite peppy and in sync with the film. The best undoubtedly is the title song followed by Nashe Si Chad Gayi, Labon Ka Karobaar and You And Me. Je T’Aime is a cool track but the visuals are similar to a famous song from Aditya Chopra’s DDLJ. Mikey McCleary’s background score is exhilarating. Kaname Onoyama’s cinematography is spellbinding. Some of the long shots are breathtaking and some shots go on and on and it’s quite nicely done. Anne Seibel’s production design is appealing. Same goes for Natalie Yuksel’s costume. Vaibhavi Merchant’s choreography is eye-popping especially in Nashe Si Chad Gayi and Dare To Love. Aditya Chopra’s story is simple but quite clichéd. Aditya Chopra and Sharat Katariya’s dialogues are fine but could have been funnier and better. The scenes of Dharam doing the stand-up comedy fall flat. Aditya Chopra’s screenplay could have taken the film to great heights but that doesn’t happen. The film looks like a bhel puri of various films like DDLJ, Neal N Nikki, Salaam Namaste, Namastey London and even some Priyadarshan’s comic capers! And when the script is poor, Aditya Chopra’s direction just couldn’t do much to salvage the situation.

On the whole, Befikre is not just the biggest disappointment of 2016 but the biggest disappointment in many years. After all, it’s an Aditya Chopra film and one doesn’t expect him to come up with a film that’s so clichéd and juvenile. On the positive side, the performances are fine, the chemistry is sizzling and Paris is shot well. But these really can’t compensate for the minuses in the movie. At the box office, it’s going to face tough task. The exhibitors playing this film sadly won’t be befikre and same goes for the viewers!

My rating – ** out of 5!