Film: Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety
Director: Luv Ranjan
Cast: Kartik Aaryan, Nushrat Bharucha and Sunny Singh
Stars: 3 out of 5
In director Luv Ranjan’s brand of comedy, women are thrown under the bus with glee. Either they are salon-perfect, petty airheads or scheming sociopaths, while men are let off the hook easily, as we saw in his cult comedy series Pyaar Ka Punchnama (PKP).
His latest relationship comedy, Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety, doesn’t attempt to correct this skewed gender balance and continues to paint (or should we say tarnish) women in those stereotypical broad strokes. But the interesting part is that Ranjan doesn’t even pretend to care. If you can make peace with that harsh home truth, then there’s a good chance that you would enjoy Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety (SKTKS) tremendously.
This bromance between Sonu and Titu, played by the adorable actors Kartik Aaryan and Sunny Singh, is fairly engaging and funny. They are best mates who grew up together with Aaryan’s Sonu being the dominant force in their friendship. He walks around with a saviour complex and is convinced that the wealthy Sunny needs protecting from the manipulative shrews that he gets romantically entangled with.
Enter Sweety Sharma, played by the radiant Nushrat Bharucha, who sweeps Titu off his feet. But is there more to her than meets the eye is the big question.
Sonu is willing to swear on his bouffant hair that things aren’t looking up for his bestie and that Sweety isn’t as sweet as she claims to be. In his head, she’s a vixen who needs to be taken down a peg or two. It’s the battle of wills and egos at play here.
What works wonderfully is the collective performance of the actors in this well-cast film. While the seasoned actor Alok Nath endears as the cheeky patriarch, the younger set of actors win you over with their collective charm.
Aaryan, whose claim to instant fame is his lengthy anti-women monologue in the PKP series, exudes an impish charm, which cuts through his conniving nature. He shines in this drama, which required him to pull all stops. Bharucha, as the dazzling she-devil, matches steps with him confidently. Their verbal sparring and their one-upmanship has sizzle as sparks fly between them. It’s safe to say that these two mortal enemies on-screen have more heat than her on-screen fiancee, who comes across as a tad insipid. Perhaps his character wasn’t as fleshed out as Sonu’s.
What’s interesting is that director Ranjan has done a splendid job of creating a believable extended family. The supporting actors are given as much attention and spunk as the main trio, which is rare in Hindi films. Titu’s quirky family is a riot.
While the comedy moves at a brisk pace, I wish the women weren’t painted as vixens. There’s no teeth in Sweety’s meanness towards the end. But don’t let that dissuade you from enjoying a comedy that doesn’t take itself too seriously. If you are in the mood for a spirited bromance, then be sure to watch this one.
