Band Baaja Baaraat

"Shaadi Karwane Ke LIYE BHI BINNESS sense hona Chahiye..." Even getting married can be a cut throat business, I am not talking only for the bride ... read more

"Shaadi Karwane Ke LIYE BHI BINNESS sense hona Chahiye..." Even getting married can be a cut throat business, I am not talking only for the bride and groom but also for the wedding planners. They need to fight the big fight just to make the special day for the couple go without a hitch. This is what Band Baja Baarat is all about. A girl dreams of starting a wedding planning business and a carefree lad jumps in to first flirt with her and later on looking for a job. They start small by first working under a famous wedding planner of the Delhis wedding planning circuit but start off on their own when they are blamed for something they werent responsible for.

Ranveer Singh along with Anushka Sharma make a good appearance as for a newbies in the bollywood. Ranveer (Bittoo) and Anushka (Shruti) keep the momentum going and there are no slow parts in the movie which moves on fast from one scene to another. No sobbing faces when Anushkas heart breaks and no unnecessary acting overdose from debutant Ranveer.

Songs are apt for the movie no long boring songs, no item numbers with short clothes and belly shaking hot girls. Especially songs like avi avi lut gaya had the crowd blowing whistles and surely it seemed people enjoyed this movie without any regret of having wasted their money. The first venture of director Maneesh Sharma, whose last stint was as an Associate Director on the immensely successful Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi, seems to be taking small steps but taking the correct ones.

Do watch out for Ranveer Singh's funny punjabi ascent, Anushka Sharma's 'Rule' book and the second verison of 'Ainvayi Ainvayi' in the end.

Footer: the movie was in sync with the marriage season and seems will do a decent business by catching eyeballs of many people, hopefully due to its new concept, peppy numbers and correct timing to hit the screens.
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"Jisse vyapar karo, usse kabhi na pyar karo", the moment you have these words uttered in a YashRaj film you know right off the bat that Inception's... read more

"Jisse vyapar karo, usse kabhi na pyar karo", the moment you have these words uttered in a YashRaj film you know right off the bat that Inception's 'Don't think of elephants' theory is going to reign supreme here. Its next to impossible for the audience to think nothings going to happen between the two nor is it going to be easy for the lead pair to do anything truly constructive with their lives other than race towards their respective goals through circumstances that only conspire to bring them together romantically. Everything will be about their personal equation than anything else and that's the biggest success and stumbling block of 'Band Baaja Baaraat'.

A success, thanks to the constant sparring between the two leads and the fact that they look and act like natural people do...most of the times anyways.

Failure thanks to the unconvincing manner in which their romantic relationship is given a seal of approval over one night of unplanned sex. The admiration can be seen over a period of time but was it genuine enough for a 'rigid-about-her-rules', 'independent-to-the-core' girl to throw everything aside in barely anytime? Atleast to me it didn't seem believable...not the 'throwing away rules' part but the 'in barely any time' part.

The plot revolves around two Delhi University students; the straight-arrow with dreams in her eyes Shruti (Anushka Sharma) & the "vela" street-smart Bittoo (Ranveer Singh) who's only dream is to never return to his village. Fueled partly by certain aspirations and circumstances the two end up opening a wedding planning "biiness" called 'Shaadi Mubarak' which over the course of the first half of the film pretty much hits the jackpot, moving from a modest 2.5 Lakh Rupees wedding in Janakpuri to a 4 crores wedding in Sainik Farms. Trouble starts to brew when Shruti breaks her own rules about love, life and business and starts to fall for Bittoo who for an unconvincing reason seems to stick to Shruti's rules steadfastly. Thus 'Shaadi Mubarak' goes kaput soon after and the two become business rivals. So will things take a turn for the better or worse?

The acting combined with the authentic Delhi lingo keeps the movie alive. Ranveer Singh inspite of his unconventional looks still manages to play the 'thug-with-a-heart-of-gold' role pretty convincingly; though hes far more comfortable playing the fool than being emotive. Anushka Sharma does well playing the spunky yet vulnerable Delhi gal. The supporting cast includes some nice turns from YashRaj regulars.

Early on in the film, the cinematography covers Delhi in such a manner that seems to surround it in a shroud of feel-good warmth. The small lanes, the Metro, the houses, the buses, the bread pakodas, etc. everything only adds to creating an environment which the movie utilizes well in providing itself a unique flavor that doesn't go overboard with its histrionics.

The songs are a mixed bunch with the likes of 'Ainvayi Ainvayi', 'Tarkeebein' & the movie theme being quite hummable while others like the one which looks like an item song during the final wedding (not the one in the credits) are just plain running-length-padding-materi al.

'Band Baaja Baaraat' works well at capturing its environment and character traits but falls flat in terms of plot & narrative. If you can overcome the languidly paced second half you might find something to be an intermittently amusing distraction, else you might be looking at your watch every ten minutes post-interval. view less

When the trailer of the film came out I told my wife ladke mein spark hai. My wife said chirkut hai. But when we walked out after watching this fil... read more

When the trailer of the film came out I told my wife ladke mein spark hai. My wife said chirkut hai. But when we walked out after watching this film my wife said ranveer was fantastic.

Off late I have been tired of watching Delhi in most of the films. I think 2009 had a lot of films set in Delhi but this year when I saw Do Dooni Chaar I enjoyed the Delhi captured in it. So, when I read the credit list of Band Baaja Baarat the only thing that excited me about the film was that it was written by Habib Faisal. I had liked his writing in Jhoom Barabar Jhoom. The characters & lines he had created were quite funny and interesting for that time. With Band Baaja Baarat he creates two of the most affable & lovable characters of recent time. Bittu & Shruti have an infectious energy about them and Ranveer & Anushka play them to perfection. Whats most remarkable was watching a Bandra boy nail a Delhi character. I dont know how much of hard work Ranveer has put in for this performance but in the film it looks like it comes very easily to him. Director Maneesh Sharma wastes no time in setting up the film and the world he explores of wedding planners is novel to look at. In terms of its premise it had a lot of Rocket Singh in it. Young Entrepreneurs trying to do binness (as Bittu would say) honestly but this one has a love story and that makes its reach much wider than Rocket Singh. My personal favorite is still Rocket Singh. I would've loved to see the writer & director focus more on the struggle to make their Shaadi Mubarak venture work instead of their love track.

Final few words: Moral of the story is daaru peene ke baad rest nahi karne ka warna kaand ho jaayega. One of the must-mast watch of 2010.

Rating: ***

Ticket meter: Worth any amount!!! view less

For starters, Band Baaja Baaraat is a wondrously dished out colorful palette of full-on entertainment! Be it the new and vibrant star cast or the f... read more

For starters, Band Baaja Baaraat is a wondrously dished out colorful palette of full-on entertainment! Be it the new and vibrant star cast or the feet tapping peppy music, BBB has been packaged with all the elements that are required for a complete paisa vasool entertainment. Although some of you might not love the movie as such, but you will surely not hate it and thats a promise.
Director Maneesh Sharma has done a commendable job in putting forward a successful family entertainer to the Indian audience. However, thankfully, this family entertainer is very much unlike the typical Sooraj Barjatya films comprising mammoth family trees of both the actor and the actress, heavy dose of emotional drama and much more. This film takes you to an altogether different ride and travels across different scenarios before and during the Big Fat Indian weddings!

The story is completely based in Delhi and mainly revolves around two characters Shruti & Bitto which are played by Anushka Sharma and debutant Ranveer Singh respectively. Shruti is a typical middle class Delhi chic who graduates from Delhi University aspiring to become a Wedding Planner. On the other hand, Bitto is a fun loving guy who also graduates from DU but, with no particular future ambitions. Both the characters have been sketched and executed in a very natural way and Anushka and Ranveer have done hundred percent justice to their roles by playing these characters with perfect ease and also by imitating the exact Delhi accent. Various things take place in such a way that Shruti and Bitto end up becoming each others' business partners as they start up their own company 'Shaadi Mubakarak' as Wedding Planners and BBB is the journey of 'Shaadi Mubakarak' along with Shruti and Bitto. The journey of organizing weddings right from tip to toe and the problems that they face during that. During this journey, Shruti fails to follow her so called business rule and falls in love with Bitto and hence, that results in a lot of emotional disturbance and fights between the two of them. The lead pair of BBB shares a crackling yet very casual chemistry throughout the film.

Band Baaja Baaraat is a simplistic easy going rom-com and anyone can very easily relate to characters. Music director duo Salim-Sulaiman have done a marvelous job with the music of the film and the tub thumbing compositions like Aivayi Aivayi with a flavour of Punjabi pop music and the fresh and refreshing track Tarkeebein crooned by Benny Dayal and Salim and written by Amitabh Bhattacharya are already topping the music charts. It is a delight to watch scintillating Anushka in gorgeous Salwar Suits and Sarees during the different weddings. BBB is just like an Indian Wedding, never ending dose of entertainment and masti. Although, the film seems a bit dragged towards the end, BBB still promises a nice joyous experience while watching it. So, overall Band Baaja Baaraat is a completely fun filled entertainment package with an extremely engaging, realistic and fresh plot underneath.

GO FOR IT:
1) If you love Indian Weddings.
2) If the sight of sizzling Anushka or the new hottie Ranveer pleases your eyes.
3) If you are looking out for time-pass.

IGNORE IT:
1) If you want to watch a sensible concrete story based serious film.
2) If you are a true Mumbaikar and don't want to watch a film based in Delhi.
3) If you are simply very boring and don't like entertaining films! view less

Not so long ago, Yashraj had launched a series on television called Rishta.com. Although the series was critically acclaimed, it did not come out f... read more

Not so long ago, Yashraj had launched a series on television called Rishta.com. Although the series was critically acclaimed, it did not come out for a second season due to commercial failure. At a first glance Band Baaja Baaraat seems like a page out of Rishta.com. But it creates its own space and is pretty different from its television sibling. It also is probably one of the finer Romantic comedies of this year.

Shruti Kakkar (Anushka Sharma) is a college student who has aspirations to start a business of her own pertaining to wedding planning. At a certain wedding she bumps into Bittoo Sharma (Ranveer Singh) who has crashed into the wedding. Over the time the two become friends and decide to start a company of their own. Shruti's funda in life is "Jisse Vyapar karo usse kabhi na pyar karo". But ironically she breaks her own rule, and falls in love with Bittoo. Bittoo does not understand her love and does not know how to react due to her motto and this creates a rift between the two. This rift causes them to break their partenership.

Yashraj is synonymous with punjabi these days. I feel they are over doing the punjabi bit. A couple of songs are entirely in punjabi and I had to read the subtitles to understand the lyrics. That being said I really enjoyed the lingo that Ranveer's character Bittoo Sharma uses. His English pronunciation of calling business as "Binnes" or question as "quechun" is simply hilarious.

Musically, Salim Sulaiman are back after a short hiatus. They deliver a strong soundtrack with Aivayi Aivayi and Mitra being my favorites. The vocals by Amitabh Bhattacharya and Sunidhi Chauhan in both these numbers are outstanding. Salim Sulaiman keep showing why they are the first choice for Yashraj.

Ranveer Singh as Bittoo Sharma is a revelation. Hands down one of the best performances from a new comer this year. He is going to be a stiff competition to Rajat Barmecha (Udaan) for the best new comer award. Award or no award we have a fine talent to look out for in the future. Anushka is great in the peppy happy scenes but you immediately see her flaws in the emotional scenes. She just cannot carry off the crying scenes. Her smile is worth a million bucks though. The rest of the ensemble cast full of unknown faces pull off great performances.

Maneesh Sharma has assisted on some major films in the past and he dons a dual cap for this film as he has penned the script and screenplay as well. I must say I am mighty impressed by Maneesh's efforts. The tight screenplay and the funny dialogues probably make this one of the finest Rom Coms that have come out this year. Take a bow Maneesh, its a job well done.

Overall this movie does strum the strings of your heart and tickle that funny bone.

Rating:
Love Rom Coms? Do not miss it !!
Ranveer who? Ranveer Singh. A new comer nobody making his mark. Always good to see dreams coming true.
Bored By YRF? This is one of the good ones coming out of the factory.

Repeat value: Surely on DVD if not twice in the theater. view less