The first thought that came to my mind while watching this Tamil remake of the Hindi movie “Bandh Bajaa Baaraat” was how slyly the entire team has tried to fit the plot of this movie into the Tamil ethos and I should say that they were almost successful in selling an essentially ‘non-Tamil’ concept to the more ‘upmarket’ Tamil audience. By ‘upmarket’ I don’t mean the elite and affluent class, but people who are open to embrace experimental neo-noir be it with a commercial wrapper or sans that!
The movie attempts to make a decent rom-com with a plot that involves two wedding planners (Naani and Vaani) who run around to earn a name for themselves, then fall apart due to their differences and then predictably reunite at the end after realizing that neither of them can’t be without being dependent on each other. The structure for the plot comes right out of Hollywood’s tried and tested oven for rom-coms, but coated with an Indian (Bollywood) masala.
How many Tamil marriages in Chennai are happening the way that was depicted in the movie? Well I agree that slowly the famous ‘Sangeet’ function is becoming a vital part of the upmarket (here I also mean the more affluent) Tamil weddings as well, but it might only be a handful. At the same time I also agree with the concept of the movie that this lucrative business sector have to be much more organized by transferring the powers from the hands of the age-old contractors to the so-called “wedding planners” who claim to make things happen by leveraging their expertise in conducting a marriage in a much more grand and peaceful manner as it meant to be.
There were many complaints with the plot as it was just placid and had little leeway for any subplots or twists, but at the same time there was more than enough room for melodrama, but thankfully the director has settled with a colorful narrative that just about escapes from being labeled as naive with a few laughs here and there.
Songs by Dharan were hummable and some were jazzy enough to croon along, especially the one which bore the lyrics of all the famous punch dialogs from Tamil movies, thanks to lyricist Madhan Karky!
Last but not the least, this is also marks the debut for the famous Bollywood production house, Yash Raj Movies in Tamil. Hope they soon master the nuances of Tamil cinema that is believed to root from simple down-to-earth stories unlike their Bollywood counterparts that are more jazzy in their plot and appeal!
Verdict: Average
Rating: 2.5 / 5
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