A section of trade and moviegoers often complain that our makers don’t make enough masala films or films that are relatable and ‘Hindi films’ in real sense. In that regard, Sweetiee Weds NRI is that Hindi film that can appeal to a vast section of moviegoers. It has romance, a crazy family, music, madness and villains as well. But still it emerges as an apology in the name of Hindi cinema. The script is amateurish and third grade and it’s bewildering how it got approved in the first place!
The story of the movie: Bhoolabhai Desai (Darshan Jariwala) is a rich man based in Vadodara whose only dream is to get his daughter Sweetie (Zoya Afroz) married to an NRI. Sweetie however is in love with Akash Patel (Himansh Kohli) from her college. Akash is an orphan and has no clear plans for future which prevents Sweetie from confessing to her father about their relationship. She tries a lot to ensure no potential NRI comes to see her. But sadly, a prospective groom, Rasiklal (Ankit Arora) arrives and all hell breaks loose.
Sweetiee Weds NRI is a dud from the word ‘Go’. From loud background score to overacting to supposedly funny dialogues that are anything but funny, the film has many such elements that don’t work in today’s times. The romance is half-baked too. Suddenly, a villain’s track is introduced in the film in the second half. The film reaches a highpoint in the pre-climax when baaraatis start running helter-skelter a la climax of a Priyadarshan flick. One assumes that it’s the end but no! The film still goes on and on needlessly leading to another bhagam-bhag style sequence which was indeed the finale.
What works are few performances and songs. Himansh Kohli has a great screen presence and is quite good. The character however doesn’t allow him to do much. Zoya Afroz looks stunning and delivers a fine performance. Darshan Jariwala is okay in most scenes but overacts in some of the sequences. It’s sad to see that an actor who has played Mahatma Gandhi and who even won a National Award is playing such a silly character. Shreyas Pardiwalla (Einstein) is decent in a supporting role. Ankit Arora (Shekhar) and Shekhar Shukla (Amit Shah) leave a mark. Others like Kiran Juneja (Jigna), Adi Irani (Jazz), Babloo Mukherji (Bubba) and Shruti Gholap (Bubba’s wife) are okay.
Music is melodious. Songs are not just well composed but well shot as well. Amar Mohile’s background is loud and outdated. Udaysingh Mohite and Madhu S Rao’s cinematography is quite good. The locales of Vadodara are beautifully captured. Tariq Mohammad’s story is poor but could have still worked if screenplay was better. But even that fails. The conflicts in the second half make zero sense. Dialogues are childish. Hasnain Hyderabadawala’s direction is strictly okay and with such a bad script and dialogues, there’s little he could have done with his execution.
On the whole, Sweetiee Weds NRI should be avoided at all costs.
My rating – * out of 5!