WATCH THE TRAILER HERE
First, the Recap:
Seeking out an unworried, easygoing, ideally hassle-free life. Is it actually something that truly exists? If it does, will it arrive and unfold with no burden whatsoever, or do we soon come to realize that finding it will end up costing us more than we think, testing us beyond the limits we set in our own minds? A conventional young lad from Delhi, Dharam (Ranveer Singh) lands in the city of Paris with plans to settle in via a new stand-up comedy act at a friend’s local establishment plus an unwavering belief is his own lady-killer charm and suaveness to be unleashed in the “City of Love”. Despite his initial attempts, his self-styled “Romeo” attitude gets him nowhere–until he meets the wild and carefree Shyra (Vaani Kapoor).
Resisting his advances at first, Shyra’s life views and spontaneous personality capture Dharam from the start. Soon, after some persistence on his part and some serious testing of his true sense of intention and commitment towards her, the two become closer and burst into a whirlwind romance, much to the liking overall of Shyra’s parents Jogi & Juhi (Akarsh Khurana & Ayesha Raza Mishra). However, it becomes apparent that Dharam’s ultimate desires for the couple don’t totally line up with Shyra’s playful, nonchalant demeanor, and a rift develops between them. From this point, as each makes further attempts to move on with other loves, their undeniable and still-present attraction constantly challenges their resolve towards one another as friends or anything beyond.
Next, my Mind:
Director/co-writer/co-producer Aditya Chopra, who gave us the still classic 1995 effort “Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge”, returns for his fourth overall project in the lead chair and delivers one delightfully entertaining romantic dramedy in the style as only Bollywood can deliver during a year where the bar has been set to new heights. The witty banter brought out between the two lead characters thanks to the excellent writing here is accompanied by several energetic dance sequences, moments of truly affecting drama, and an overall air of playfulness and pure chemistry that turns this narrative into one rollercoaster ride of emotional upheaval, contemplative melancholy, and heated passion. There’s certainly no lack of content to keep the viewer engaged, beautiful cinematography embraces the story’s Parisian backdrop to a “T”, and the music score, as with so many a Bollywood film, acts like its own character, enhancing the mood.
It was quite the surprise for this reviewer to see not only the second film to date with Singh (after 2015’s epic “Bajirao Mastani”), but to see how adept the actor is at comedic delivery. His enacting of Dharam is a wonderful study in goofy slapstick and tongue-in-cheek snarkiness played out in such a way as to be totally hilarious yet endearing at the same time. Singh still gets to bring the dramatic chops and dance moves to the table here as well, yet it really is his comedy here that absolutely grabs you most. Similarly, newcomer Kapoor completely shines as Shyra, a free-spirited young woman whose sole goal it is to simply live, love, and take on life as it comes, moment by moment, without a real concern about the future or what it might hold. Yet, watching the character’s often hidden vulnerable side come out is a real testament to Kapoor’s interpretation of Shyra’s overall manner, and the actress very much embodies both sides of Shyra well.
Some fun supporting turns are supplied by Khurana and Mishra as Shyra’s wisdom-filled and Dharam-loving parents, while additional characters played by Julie Ordon and Armaan Ralhan as the two respective loves of Dharam and Shyra post each other. In total, “Befikre” becomes yet another worthy addition to the 2016 pantheon of excellent Hindi cinema releases and offers up a cool, fun-loving life lesson that could at least allow us to take a breath, step back, and find new ways to daily encounter our existence by being a little–well–befikre ourselves!
As always, this is all for your consideration and comment. Until next time, thank you for reading!
