The premise of 'Shaadi Ke Side Effects' had the potential to make for a firecracker of a film, with dollops of humour. But unfortunately, it doesn’t live up to the potential
Farhan Akhtar and Vidya Balan
Shaadi Ke Side Effects
U/A: Drama / Humour
Dir: Saket Chaudhary
Cast: Farhan Akhtar, Vidya Balan
When a woman, who can’t wait to be a mother, weds a man, who’s still a bachelor in his head, it is sure fire recipe for disaster.
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Farhan Akhtar's timing and Vidya Balan's charm keep you glued
This premise of Shaadi Ke Side Effects had the potential to make for a firecracker of a film, with dollops of humour. And it has a charming set of lead stars to add to the value. But unfortunately, it doesn’t live up to the potential.
Siddharth (Farhan Akhtar) weds fun-loving, chatterbox Trisha (Vidya Balan) after he falls head over heels in love with her. Trisha “accidentally” gets pregnant and once the child comes into their lives, their relationship starts going downhill as Siddharth had feared. He watches in horror as Trisha slowly turns into nothing but an obsessed mother and he finds it really tough to settle into blissful fatherhood.
The on-screen chemistry between Siddharth and Trisha is not crackling but is comfortable as expected of a married couple. The two competent actors make their marriage and the film real and believable. While some changing equations of a relationship after marriage raised by Saket Chaudhury, as a director and writer, are relevant, some of them are sweeping generalisations based on clichés, perhaps inspired from SMS jokes and the like.
Saket raises a pertinent point about how romance and sex life of a couple go for a toss after parenthood because of their changed attitude towards each other. In the first half, the storyline laced with oodles of humour keeps you hooked. Farhan’s comic timing and Vidya’s natural charm is enough to keep you glued to and concerned about the story of their failing relationship.
The second half starts dipping midway and the “twist” introduced just before the climax seems contrived and unnecessary. One major concern is that the marriage that Saket shows in this film is somewhat outdated. Wish he had indulged in the grappling issues of the truly modern urban marriages where both partners are career-conscious and gender roles are no longer clearly demarcated as they were perhaps a decade ago. It could have been a far better film if it stayed away from predictable situations and at times, jokes.
The film is fun but shallow, nevertheless. A pity, because with a subject of this kind, the possibilities were immense.
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