Shaadi Ke Side Effects Review

What is it all about?

Pyaar phir Pariwaar.. right. PNC and Balaji Motion pictures extension to 2006 rom com `Pyaar Ke Side Effects' written and helmed by the same Saket Chaudhary is a teasy, feel good fam com (family comedy) drawing parallel sentiments with the urban working married couples with `realistic' humorous set ups but gets into an argument with its overstretched `male ego' `my time' effects that sidelines the `women' psyche in this choice never the less the solid ups of humour and perfect casting in this stylishly packaged fam com fights its `downs' decently to keep this marriage `safe' and `secure' at the B.O while hitting a home run on video and satellite circuit.

The Story

Pyaar ke Side Effects' ended on `pyaar' the writers Saket Chaudhary, Zeenat Lakhani, and Arshad Sayed take it further from there where Sid (Farhan Akhtar) and Trisha (Vidya Balan) are happily married understanding working urban couple who love to play tease games and enjoy mid night sex in hotel rooms rather than their bed rooms to `spice' up their married life. All is well and one fine day the fall out begins Trisha gets pregnant and Sid is not prepared for fatherhood financially and mentally. The once loving ready to play games type wife becomes nagging who only sees a father in Sid not her loving husband. While Sid still dreams of candle night dinners with Trisha and lazy Sundays while the kid is not even a year old. So obviously he is dragged to play games and discuss petty issues like the colour of potty and baby's crying reasons..

Loosing romance at home and often nagged by Trisha for not being an ideal father Sid starts taking advice from the so called perfect examples like Ram Kapoor who is Trisha's brother in law. Ram advices Sid to take some time out for himself never mind saying some lie for that.. Perfect till here. But the writers stretch it from here and bring in Vir Das to fill up Sid lost romance with bromance and here the threat begins anyhow the guilty Sid comes clean thanks to some `Arth' ing romance and parenthood.

What to look out for

Saket is bang on target right from the word go. His characterizations are in sync with the current times  and minds. Sid and Trisha are identifiable it can be any working married couple in any Indian city or metros. Saket with the help of his writers pulls out some howlarious scenes like the one for example when Sid starts referring to manuals for his pregnant wife Vidya - it's a laugh riot. Supports natural ways of conceiving a child by attacking the side effects of technology showing a couple becoming parents of four kids instead of one and while doing so the makers also give thumps down to those abortions which are done only for practical reasons. It does stretches the male thing a bit but doesn't make them stereotype perverts who eye women around. Sid time out for himself involves `boy' things watching football eating drinking and lazing around.

Saket direction is smooth and easy there is sense of build up for the scenes. Apart from its brilliant humour especially during the entire first half the final reels of the film are also its hallmark. Trisha's shocking revelation, the pre climax and then the climax is something unexpected and handled with care.

Using Rita Ghosh character defining costumes and in sync Jayati Bose's production management and Rita Ghosh's fine art design for the subject Saket is able to create the required backdrop for this fam com on love, life, relationships, family and parenthood amongst working couples in urban cities which are practical to `live' in but sometimes `impractical' to lead (read extant) with a child.

Cinematography by Manoj Lobo and Rishi Punjabi is fabulous. Amitabh Shukla editing is sharp. Production values are of highest standards. Casting is perfect.

On the performance front Farhan Akhtar removes some great stocks from his acting hats for a fabulous all the way engaging performance which appears so effortless. He ends up being so perfect for the role. Amazing.

Vidya Balan this vixenish actress is back and how. So believable for the role. She is in complete command over here making sure that the audience also feel and enjoy with her in the same way she does. Brilliant.

Vir  Das is entertaining. Ram Kapoor is fine.

What Not

Stretches the `me' thing a bit more. The side of Sid is explained but Trisha's side isn,t clear enough. The bromance between Farhan and Vir Das was not required. On one hand it supports natural conceiving and on the other hand doesn,t encourages natural feeding to a couple of months year old baby. Showing the baby getting feed by bottles might give wrong signals. A gesture or a simple one line dialogue would have being better to boost Trisha's motherhood and would have got her some more emotional connect from female audiences.

The whole drama and dilemma is male centric. more bonding between the kid and Farhan was required to enhance the dilemma and the trauma of Frahan and Vidya. Rati Agnihotri is wasted.

Conclusion: Combining modern, urban, bittersweet humor and dilemma on Pyaar and Pariwaar Shaadi Ke Side Effects is `real' ly funny, romantic and a feel good fam com that comes with some solid acting and some fabulously laughs. Go you will not pachatao (regret).

Rating ***and1/2