Daadi Ki Shaadi hints at a laugh-fest about senior citizens doddering down the aisle for another round of matrimony. But the grandmother in Ashish R Mohan’s movie is svelte and stylish, which makes it surprising that her grown children are shocked about news of her nuptials.
Vimla (Neetu Kapoor) is living all by herself in a cottage that resembles a heritage hotel in Mashobra, with only a few friends and a fabulous wardrobe for company. Vimla’s sons Jeevan (Deepak Dutta) and Naag (Jitender Hooda) and daughter Sunaina (Riddhima Kapoor Sahni) don’t have the time for her, busy as they are with their own families in other places. All of them are forced to visit Vimla when she declares that she is going to remarry.
The announcement lands seconds before Vimla’s granddaughter Kannu (Sadia Khateeb) is to be engaged to Tony (Kapil Sharma). Kannu is relieved – despite being an adult, she is unable to tell to her parents off, and welcomes the distraction.
Tony is annoyed. He’s been in love with Kannu since college. He isn’t going to wait for Vimla to finalise her wedding. Kitted out in a series of colourful sweaters, Tony schemes with Vimla’s brood to ruin her threatened union with Theeran (R Sarathkumar).
What was supposed to be a silver-haired romance with trimmings of comedy deteriorates into an enervating ode to the supposed joys of the joint family system. Written by Ashish R Mohan, Bunty Rathore and Saahil S Sharma, Daadi Ki Shaadi is a granny diary narrated by that bore of an uncle who can be found in every clan.
The genuinely madcap moments are few and far between, supplied mostly by Kapil Sharma and, on occasion, a suitably overwrought Deepak Dutta. Sharma bounds through the 150-minute Daadi Ki Shaadi with unwavering enthusiasm. The rest of the cast, which includes Tejaswini Kolhapure, Aditi Mittal and the Telugu actor Mohammed Ali, flaps about looking foolish, befuddled or guilty.
Once Vimla’s wedding preparations get underway, Daadi Ki Shaadi largely abandons humour for emotional blackmail and copious account-keeping. The film promotes abstract family values while drawing up detailed bills of how much Vimla has spent on her children’s upbringing. Any feeling about Vimla’s supposed struggle is cancelled out by how unperturbed she appears at the chaos she has caused.
In her miserliness with emotional expression, Neetu Kapoor is matched by R Sarathkumar, who alternates between stern and mildly not stern throughout. The homily-heavy movie also gives Riddhima Kapoor Sahni, making a stiff acting debut, a scene too many.
You’ve read Scroll.
Now help sustain it
Scroll is funded by readers, not corporate owners. If you believe our work matters, support our newsroom. Become a member today!
We’re not driven by clicks or corporate interests – just honest, independent reporting. Keep us going. Support Scroll today!