Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga Review: Sonam Kapoor, Rajkummar Rao starrer is a refreshing tale of love and acceptance

Film: Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga (Romantic-Social-Drama)

Cast: Sonam K Ahuja, Rajkummar Rao, Anil Kapoor, Juhi Chawla, Regina Cassandra, Seema Pahwa, Madhumalti Kapoor, Abhishek Duhan, Brijendra Kala

Direction: Shelly Chopra Dhar 

Written by: Gazal Dhaliwal

Producer: Vidhu Vinod Chopra

Language: Hindi (U/A)

Critic's Rating: 4/5

Story:

'Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga' peeps into the diary of a closeted Punjabi girl, Sweety, who is contending a doting family that wants her to get married, a writer who is completely smitten with her, and a secret that she harbors close to her heart.

Review:

When my US-return classmate first told me about the concept of homosexuality in standard 8, I remember, I had shut my ears. My reaction was not any less dramatic than the mother-in-law of an Ekta Kapoor serial, I admit. But, I'm sure those who could not decipher the main plot of the film from its trailers, would not get many instances to react so dramatically while watching 'Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga' for first-time director Shelly Chopra Dhar and screenwriter Gazal Dhaliwal have managed to do the unimaginable. 

Honest confession: I didn't have very high hopes from this film. Though a part of me was really rooting for it to be good, other half was way too sceptical. I had my own well-placed doubts about Sonam playing a lesbian in a mainstream Bollywood film. But, the film surprises and how. Shelly tells an uplifting love story whose protagonists just happen to be both girls. 

During my exclusive chat with Sonam, when I had asked what gave her the courage and motivation to play a homosexual character on screen, she had said without blinking an eye that for her, 'Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga' was no different from any other romantic drama she has earlier been a part of and it's only after watching the film that I have been able to comprehend the true meaning of that sentence. 

Sheela has handled the subject with such sincerity and ease, that it makes you question why was it a tabboo subject at the first place. While the film does touch upon the sensitive issues related to homosexuality such as it being seen as a curable bimaari, Shelly does it without being overtly preachy. The writer and director have restrained from making a social commentary out of the film and managed to stay true to the genre.

There's a scene in the film where it strikes Sahil Mirza (Rajkummar Rao), a struggling writer-director, that all this while he was failing because he was trying to 'create' stories while what he actually needed to do was to 'find' stories. He realises that that for him to become a successful director, he must tell true stories. And, that's how his play 'Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga' comes into being. It was perhaps this same conviction and honesty that helped Sheela to tell this 'unexpected' love story with such abandon.

Sonam is unbeliavably convincing in the role of Sweety. The innate sadness and suffocation of Sweety comes tearing through Sonam's forlorn eyes and compromised smiles. Rajkummar Rao once again delivers a flawless performance. He holds his own thoughout and makes you yearn for a confidant like him in your life as well. 

Anil Kapoor, as always, livens up the scenes with his mere presence. He projects a convincing combination of a jovial Punjabi man and a vulnerable father in a way that only he can. Juhi Chawla is an absolute scene-stealer. She has certainly not lost touch with her craft and is pitch-perfect as ever.

Be it Seema Pahwa as the woman in charge of the Chaudhary household, Brijendra Kala, the well-meaning neighbour, Madhumalti Kapoor in the role of the Punjabi matriarch, Abhishek Duhan as the over-protective brother or Regina Cassandra in the role of Sonam's love-interest - the film benefits a great deal from the perfect casting.

In the end, 'Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga' is a huge leap forward from 2008's 'Dostana'. The film, in true sense, marks Bollywood's coming out and redefines the genre of 'new age romance'.

Verdict: DO NOT MISS 'Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga'. Let's take this story to the smallest of towns. Let the Sweetys in every village and every town know that they are normal!