Sandeep Aur Pinky Faraar Review: Parineeti Chopra And Arjun Kapoor Starrer Promise A Surprise That We Never Get!

• Reviews
• Updated:March 19, 2021 03:42 IST

• Authors: Zinia Bandyopadhyay (Editorial Team)
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Sandeep Aur Pinky Faraar is finally here in theatres after a year-long wait. The film, which reunites Arjun Kapoor and Parineeti Chopra, is about a lady- Sandeep Kaur (Parineeti Chopra), who has to abscond to save herself, and Pinky Dahiya (Arjun Kapoor) who thought he was doing his job but gets embroiled in this without his knowledge and has to abscond too to save his life. Truth be told, there weren't much expectations riding on this film; yet with Dibakar Banerjee helming it, we were waiting for a surprise, something to make the audiences' jaws drop. The buildup to it was also perfect. However, by the end of the film, I could only feel anger at the course that it took!

The film is a dark comedy, but it also has good elements of a thriller. You wonder, what's going to happen next. Till the interval, the build-up is such that you wonder what dhamaka would be coming your way. It all goes perfect until you realise that the dhamaka never happens. There's so much done, so many sub-themes that come up but ultimately, these ends are never tied back.

Am I angry at how open-ended the film was? Absolutely not. However, I do feel angry at how the various ends were tied back, only to leave some of the brilliant, and potent ones loose. Giving away more would reveal key points (remember how I mentioned it to have the qualities of a good thriller too). One thing that has to be mentioned is the subversion of the names and the gender associated with them. It had made me wonder if there would be some connection between this subversion and the plot. It needs to be said that gender bias, and upturning patriarchal notions are present prominently in the film. However, the end will make you question whether even that was properly dealt with in the film.

Dibakar Banerjee has directed the film. He has also given the background score and has co-written the screenplay. With This man, the expectations go way up. But, like I have said before, the end could have been wrapped up together better. The momentum the film builds, despite the slow pace throughout, comes to a sudden and unpalatable halt and we did not want this surprise for sure. But Banerjee, as the music director deserves applause

Arjun Kapoor, who is no superman here, but a Salman ka fan nonetheless, has often been criticised for not having range. However, his performance here was good. True, there were parts where his dilemma was to spark through his eyes and Arjun missed that, but overall, he is earnest. You root for him by the end of the film and even with the super zoom angles, he and his expressions do not falter. Parineeti Chopra plays the driven Sandeep, who is absconding for a big reason and isn't some local chammiya, as she herself puts it. She is nuanced and really puts her acting chops to test. She passes with flying colours too. It was a treat watching her play the character with subtlety. There is Jaideep Ahlawat, Raghuvenndra Yadav and Neena Gupta too, and even though they do not have much arc in their characters, they play their parts with perfection.

The film is like a missed opportunity. Moreover, the slow pace adds to the frustration by the end. It works only in bits and parts. Go for it if you want to watch a film in theatres just to relive the before corona times.