Review: Vicky Donor a laugh riot from start to finish

Film: Vicky Donor
Director: Shoojit Sircar
Cast: Ayushmann Khurrana, Yaami Gautam, Annu Kapoor, Dolly Ahluwalia, Kamlesh Gill
Rating: ****

Make every drop count.

Vicky Donor makes every minute count. 

The setting is a middle-class Delhi house. Widowed and middle-aged Dolly (Dolly Ahluwalia) runs a beauty parlour, while her mother-in-law (Kamlesh Gill) lusts after a 32 inch LCD TV and an iPhone. Then there’s the jobless, good-for-nothing (only until his sperm is discovered to be of superior quality, or so we’re told) son of the family, Vicky (Ayushmann Khurrana), who sells his dog because it didn’t bark and alert them when a robbery took place.

A certain Dr Chaddha (Annu Kapoor) runs an infertility clinic in Delhi’s Daryaganj area that helps victims of modern evils like “strasss” conceive via artificial insemination. When the 'shakal dekh ke bande ka sperm pehchaan jaata hun' Dr Chaddha spots Vicky wriggling out smartly from a neighbourhood tiff, he’s convinced Vicky is a qualified donor and can save his sperm bank and infertility clinic. Then begins the haggling to convince Vicky to donate sperm.

In between all this there’s a whole lot of fun for the audience, thanks to Juhi Chaturvedi’s impeccably funny screenplay, that includes witty yet conversational dialogues and typical 'dilli' mannerisms that are smartly woven to guarantee a paisa vasool entertainment.

When Vicky falls in love with “Bong” banker Ashima Roy (Yaami Gautam), the film takes an emotional turn. That doesn’t mean it stops entertaining. It only gives Ayushmann a window to showcase his versatility as an actor. From a phuddu Dilliwalla to somewhat (in his own words) chyep sperm donor to a responsible lover boy, Ayushmann does it all with ease and confidence.

The casting director and Juhi Chaturvedi must pat each other’s back. How can anything go wrong with such enlightening story-telling backed by perfect casting? Nothing does.

From the flashy and loud Punjabi mother Dolly, to the amusingly progressive grandmother and from the naturally convincing Annu Kapoor to the understated Jayanta Das as Ashima’s father — every character makes her/his screen time worth a million dollars. Even the neighbourhood Pepsi aunty’s daughter is a treat to watch! Yaami Gautam makes an impressive debut and bears a strange resemblance to Mahie Gill.

The drunken conversations between Dolly and Vicky’s grandmother are an absolute delight to watch. So are the songs, Rum Whiskey, Pani Da Rang, Mar Jaiyian that work separately for different reasons.  

Vicky Donor marks the debut of John Abraham as producer and in choosing a sensitive topic like sperm donation, John makes sure he has the pulse of young audiences understood well. Like sex, nobody discusses infertility. Nobody goes “Oh my wife can’t conceive so we’re seeing an infertility specialist” over a drink. Vicky Donor takes the closet issue, turns it on its head and spins a light-hearted tale around it, one that fertilises genuine fun at the movies.

Run to the nearest theatre and surrender yourself to the charm of Vicky and his team. This “Aryaputra” provides only good quality sperm…err… entertainment.