Like the title which takes off from an old chartbuster, writer-director (and former cinematographer) Laxman Utekar sprinkles a variety of popular songs in the background to tell his story. Like ‘Main aayi aayi aayi…’ for Somya Chawla Dubey (Sara Ali Khan) and Kapil Dubey (Vicky Kaushal), the much-in-love Indore couple that’s celebrating its second marriage anniversary.
The film has already opened with an original composition spotlighting how every couple aspires to have its own sweet little home.
Going a bit overboard with the Dubeys gorging on the cake like they’ve never seen one, Utekar (with co-writers Maitrey Bajpai and Ramiz Ilham Khan) plants the characteristics of various family members. Deepa Mami (Kanupriya Pandit) is the acidic one who strikes the first match to set off a verbal fire. ‘The cake’s got egg, it’s this Punjabi girl’s doing…’ Somya, proud of her Chawla identity, is no pushover. She gives it right back especially to the Mama-Mami who’ve made themselves comfortable in the house for months, showing no signs of moving out.
You get the picture of an otherwise serene joint family with clashes sparked off by an aunt who’s like Lalita Pawar of the 60s. But there’s also a cute young boy (Vivaan Shah) happily tucking into the cake while some are bickering and others are busy putting the fire out.
Utekar manages to keep it light-hearted even as he introduces the family and Somya’s ardent dream of having their own home and space.
But dreams come with hurdles and Kapil and she aren’t cash-rich. She’s a teacher, he runs yoga classes. Besides, Kapil’s a small-town guy who penny pinches. There are a few scenes in the restaurant which are great fun with a waiter who knows Kapil’s ‘cheapdo’ nature – a soft drink is always shared by the couple, he never orders one for each.
But hovering above them is Somya’s omnipresent dream. Kapil goes along with her when a hare-brained idea is put forth by an agent to get an allotment as a single woman under a government housing scheme.
There’s fun in what follows if you can look past obvious silliness – a couple that’s wanting a divorce on paper cooing together before the judge, a lawyer who shouts in court to raise a laugh, a judge who makes funny movements with his lips to show despair.
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But you can take it with a pinch and get by for there are other comic moments. Somya and Kapil going through a charade at home with only the kid catching them off-guard or when Somya’s father (Rakesh Bedi) has his drunken moment with Kapil in a car.
The old Piya Ka Ghar concept of the 70s is modernised with Somya retaining Chawla in her name and she and Kapil being equal partners in raising money. Kapil’s parents are also inclusive in their own unobtrusive way.
But it gets predictable and dramatic before the big obvious message of the film sinks in. Somya renting an apartment after the fake divorce makes one wonder why Kapil and she couldn’t have temporarily rented one for themselves instead of this whole bizarre scheme for a house of their own.
The unnecessarily nosy watchman (Sharib Hashmi who calls himself the daroga) is an initial addition for laughs which tends to annoy more than amuse. And the laboured end also throws up questions: can a government-allotted apartment be handed over to another like a gift? Would someone with serious tear-inducing problems create problems in another’s family?
Laxman Utekar probably went with the thought that he’s serving so much fun, nobody will look under it. But parts like neighbour Mehjabeen (Srishti Rindani) turning up with her parents and the hospital scene are unnecessary and problematic.
Vicky Kaushal goes through the roller-coaster like a pro and Sara matches him almost all the way. Although Sara overdoes the emotions like she’s on a theatre stage, there is a likeable chemistry between her and Vicky, making them credible as a couple that can’t live without each other.
The pattern of old songs in the background continues with ‘Dekha maine dekha ek ghar apna’ playing softly and only instrumentally when Somya gets her dream house. Laxman also uses original songs for a large part of his narration but the best is the romantic ‘Tu hai toh mujhe phir aur kya chahiye’, a Sachin-Jigar composition with Amitabh Bhattacharya’s words and Arijit’s voice that will linger after the movie is watched – it’s a one-time watch.
For its odd mix of humour and a long-winded route to say that cement and bricks don’t make a home, perhaps an OTT release would have been the safer option.
Watch the trailer of Zara Hatke Zara Bachke:
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