There are strains of Richard Curtis and even Shakespeare in this charmingly cheesy Bollywood film about a thirtysomething manchild who falls for a woman way out of his league. Set in Gujarat and directed by Sameer Vidwans, Kartik Aaryan plays Sattu, an unemployed loafer who spends his time moaning about his enduring virginity and doing the housework (badly) for his despairing parents. When he goes to a dance and sees the resplendent Katha (Kiara Advani) performing, he resolves to win her heart – only to discover that she has a flash boyfriend. Sattu’s chances with her soon rise, however, when he gallantly saves her life and is promised her hand in marriage by her sinister father, for reasons that are slowly teased out.
This is a film bursting with colour and movement, with talky, dramatic sections ceding to epic dance sequences involving hundreds of impeccably turned-out performers. There’s been grumbling in some quarters about one of the songs, which is a reworking of the Pakistani megahit Pasoori; here, the original’s melancholy beauty is ditched for a blander, more upbeat sound. But the rest of the music, on the whole, is catchy and involving.
