As if there haven’t been enough Punjabi wedding-themed movies, here is another. There’s little to distinguish Wedding Pulav from the ones that have gone before and the ones that are bound to follow, as sure as day follows night. The rambunctious and alcohol-swilling families, pre-nuptial ceremonies and rituals, the insistent cheeriness and the big twist that threatens to derail the whole shebang are all there in renowned cinematographer Binod Pradhan’s directorial debut.

For the sake of novelty, the plot revolves around two couples who are getting married at the same Thai resort. Aditya (Diganth Manchale) appears to be as deeply besotted with Rhea (Sonalli Sehgall) as Anushka is with Jay (Karan Grover). Aditya and Anushka are childhood friends, and it takes the nuptials for them to realise that their hearts actually beat for each other.

Like a great unsolved crime whose truth will never be known, the love between Aditya and Anushka remains a mystery from the first frame to the last. Only the Thailand resort manager Luv (Rishi Kapoor) manages to guess their mutual feelings, and by the time everybody else cottons on, it’s time to bring on the other clichés of the genre – the tears and the showdowns, the pre-nuptials jitters, and the grand reunion just before it’s too late.

Pradhan is known for his glossy camerawork, but is unable to inspire cinematographer Gopal Shah into creating any lingering frames or moments. The insipid writing, functional performances by an ensemble cast that includes Satish Kaushik, Kitu Gidwani and Parmeet Sethi, and contrived emotions add up into a stale serving of a cinematic sub-category that has run its course.