With advances in technology, the invasion of privacy that takes place in Vicky Vidya Ka Woh Wala Video would be more likely today. But director Raaj Shaandilyaa seems determined to pay a tribute to the 1990s, so then a CD it is.
A private sex video acquires a life of its own over the course of the film. Kumar Sanu gets honorable mention, Daler Mehndi makes an appearance, Sunil Shetty duplicates drop by, and some music from the decade is used too.
The movie is set in Rishikesh in 1997, which, you are informed, was then in Uttar Pradesh since Uttarakhand did not exist. A detail as gratuitous as the heroine’s profession: she’s a doctor, but is never seen in a medical set-up. Vidya (Triptii Dimri) marries her childhood admirer Vicky (Rajkummar Rao). Vicky is a mehndiwala, who unlike his wife, is actually seen at work.
Right at the start, the comedy hits the loud notes, when characters rattle off pages of dialogue when a line would do, and every character seems to have a weird look or quirk. Vicky’s grandfather (Tiku Talsania) has odd spectacles. Vidya’s mother (Archana Puran Singh) wears a silly bonnet and always has paan masala in her mouth. A random kid in the household lisps f instead of s. The maid has the same name, Chanda, as Vicky’s sister (Mallika Sherawat, still flogging her sex symbol image) just to cause needless confusion. The sister, incidentally, keeps eloping and coming back home, boasting that a whistle would fetch her any number of admirers.
Vicky persuades Vidya to make a video of their wedding night. A thief steals the video player with the CD inside, among other objects from Vicky’s house, which brings the inept inspector Laadle (Vijay Raaz) into the picture, more to flirt with Chanda (the sister, not the help).
Vicky tries to trace the CD himself, which, for a very short while, actually injects some humour into the narrative, but then Shaandilyaa completely runs out of ideas. The film gets increasingly absurd, and not in a nice way. Too many characters flit in with nothing to do except try hard to be funny. There’s a whole painful segment in a cemetery, as a nod to Stree and the current horror hits.
Vicky Vidya Ka Woh Wala Video goes on for far too long (152 minutes). The tone shifts from comedy (such as it is) to melodrama. A cringe-worthy monologue by Vicky should not have been written, leave aside included in a film.
Every actor must have been told to ham because that’s what comedians do, right? Tripti Dimrii is relatively new, but Rajkummar Rao’s career is on a high, and this film can only be seen as a blip on his graph.
Shaandilyaa’s filmography includes the two successful Dream Girl films – crude comedies but also crowdpleasing. His latest film’s topical subject is wasted for lack of imagination. Yet, there is a promise (threat?) of the return of Vicky and Vidya. Maybe the next time round they will have the sense to eject the CD from the player.
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