Satyaprem Ki Katha movie review: Imperfect but much-needed breath of fresh air from Bollywood, Kiara-Kartik shine bright

Director: Sameer Vidwans

Cast: Kartik Aaryan, Kiara Advani, Gajraj Rao, Supriya Pathak, Anupriya Patel, Siddharth Randeria

Where to watch: Theatres

Rating: 3.5 stars

Satyaprem Ki Katha is a different film, and I mean it in the best way possible. A throwback to 80s’ love stories mixed with a tale that has a message in it, it is the kind of story that Bollywood has desperately needed. The only problem is that it is far from perfect. The idea is brillian, the execution lacks. But all is not lost. With some commendable performances from the two leads, able support from a stellar support cast, and some mature, nuanced scripting, the film sails through, providing the kind of freshness in entertainment that Hindi cinema has yearned for for quite some time.

Satyaprem Ki Katha is the story of the titular characters – Satyaprem (Kartik Aaryan), a loser with a heart of gold, and Katha (Kiara Advani), the girl of his dreams who is way out of his league. But circumstances conspire to bring them together and to Satyaprem’s amazement, they even get married. However, all is not well as Katha is carrying the weight of a secret. How Satyaprem wins her over and how Katha lets go of her inhibitions to find the courage to face her truth forms the crux of the story.

The makers of the film have marketed it as a pure love story. And while I think that’s a smart idea (there are more takers for love stories than films with messages), it does some disservice to the film. Because Satyaprem Ki Katha is much more than just a simple love story. It is a film with a heart, and one that takes a fresh, entertaining route to talk about an issue that plagues our society. Without revealing or spoiling much, I can simply say that unlike many other films in the past, Satyaprem Ki Katha tackles a social message without sermonising or degrading it. It entertains but sensitively.

The beating heart of the film is the performances of the two leads – Kartik and Kiara. Kartik Aaryan has found his groove as the likable buffoon. Be it Shehzada or this, he manages to generate likability for these characters. This time, he has the support of a better script. He looks effortless in certain scenes even as his Sattu does come across as too polished, too annoyingly good-to-be-true in other parts. The actor falters in some intense scenes but carries his weight well.

The suprise package, at least for me, was Kiara Advani. I have never been a fan of her performances, I will be very frank about that. In more than one film, I found her twoo wooden. But here, Kiara delivers a performance she can be proud of. She takes a difficult role and brings the fears, inhibitions, and anger of Katha so beautifully that you are surprised. I mean, if Kiara can act this well, where was she all along? I can call it her career-best performance but the bar is low there. I will simply say that with this film and role, Kiara will prove her naysayers and doubters (like me) quite wrong.

The support cast is strong. Surpiy Pathak and Siddharth Randeria, in particular, deliver extremely mature and strong performances. They are helped bya script that does not let go. Whenever the story veers into the serious territory, the film does not descend into monologues or long rants or sermons. It tries to say the heaviest of things in the simplest of manner.

Yet, Satyaprem Ki Katha falters. The first half, the build up to the real story, drags. You don’t feel that afection for Sattu as you should, not for long. You don’t sympathise with Katha when she acts aloof or annoyed. A tighter script could have fleshed out these characters and their motivations better. But the actors do their part and try to make these characters likable. The problem lies in how the overall package never appears completely cohesive.

But the second half is the saving grace of the film. The evolution of Satyaprem and Katha’s relationship, along with the evolution of their characters is well fleshed out. The film takes issues like consent in a relationship and does justice to how it presents them, without over-dramatising. Perhaps, the best aspect of the movie is how quickly it ends, without a long-drawn climax or any melodrama. The ‘keep it simple, silly’ mantra works here. And full marks to director Sameer Vidwans for that. Yes, there are faults. Yes, the film falters. But there is enough good to make up for all that.