Film Review: Bewakoofiyaan plays it too safe to rise above the ordinary

Cast: Ayushmann Khurrana, Sonam Kapoor, Rishi Kapoor Director: Nupur Asthana Rating: **1/2

What's it about

Love in the time of recession! Bewakoofiyaan is a simple love story about a couple that has to battle not one but two villains to make their relationship work. Mohit (Ayushmann) is a senior sales executive in an airline company who wants to marry his successful and fashionable girlfriend Myra (Sonam).

Their romance hits a major bump when Myra's father retired IAS officer VK Sehgal (Rishi Kapoor) decides that his daughter deserves to be married off to a millionaire and not some middle class employee. However, the bigger jolt in this love story comes when Mohit loses his job and has to figure out a way to convince his to be father-in-law that he's bringing home a fat paycheck.

The second half is a cat and mouse game between Rishi Kapoor and Ayushmann as both try to outsmart each other. Unfortunately there isn't much for the actors to chew on with a wafer thin plot that offers very little scope to grow.

What's hot

Nupur Asthana makes an effort to make these characters likeable from the very beginning. The dialogues are smart and the conversations seem real. Rishi Kapoor brings the right amount of color and life to his character and his introductory scenes with Sonam and Ayushmann are hilarious.

The writers tackle the issue of unemployment with a sense of believability bringing a sense of realism to the changed dynamic and equation between the couple. Borrowing money from your girlfriend and living off her might seem an alien idea,

but the film smartly uses the track to bring a dramatic twist to the climax. Sonam and Ayushmann might not have great chemistry, but their banter manages to keep you entertained. However, Ayushmann needs to work towards not getting stereotyped with this lovestruck Delhi boy image.

What's not

The story takes a tumble as soon as we get into the second half. Mohit losing his job and then eating a humble pie much later on to accept a job at a junior position seems a bit too contrived.

There was scope to explore the humorous side to Sehgal and Mohit's odd bonding, but instead we skip that and get into a parallel track that doesn't really benefit the film much. By the time we hit the predictable climax, there is a sense of deja vu to what we have watched. Music is average except for the Gulcharre track that adds some spunk to an otherwise ho-hum soundtrack. Most of the humor is written about Rishi Kapoor and that too gets monotonous after a certain point.

What to do

Bewakoofiyaan had the opportunity to be smarter and funnier, unfortunately it plays it too safe to rise above the ordinary.