Sadda Adda Review

The way 'Sadda Adda' begins, it immediately makes you recollect last year's cult comedy 'Pyaar Ka Punchnama'. Just like the three main protagonists there ('Sadda Adda' doubles it up with six of them here), the boys out here too belong to the next door. Their common interest in girls, the banter that follows, career aspirations - these are standard situations which are again visible in 'Sadda Adda'.

Yes, there are moments where you do end up smiling. In fact a couple of them also make you roll over in laughter. Still, there are too many characters and each of them comes with a unique problem/predicament which means 'Sadda Adda' ends up becoming uneven in pace.

At one instance you are really enjoying the proceedings while a few minutes down the line; you end up being stoic to what unfolds on screen. Also, at times you want a particular episode to be nourished further but since the makers had a job in hand to squeeze in six stories, the end result comes across as a rushed job. Ultimately it turns out to be a film which you don't quite end up putting high on the recommendation list but don't mind while it is played on for those two hours.

This means that despite Karan Sharma enjoying the maximum screen time, his love story with Shaurya Chauhan is hardly convincing. As a theatre actor who dreams of making it big in the film industry, his characterisation is inconsistent as his downfall in this profession just doesn't cut much ice. On the other hand Bhaumik Sampat's track is interesting too and so is his budding romance with Kahkkashan Aryan. However yet again there is a sense of inconsistency that one sees in his track where he is short-changed by his architect boss.

While these two tracks are the lengthiest of them all, others are not even half baked. Rohin Robert, Kunal Panth and Parimal Alok as a Jat aspiring to work in USA, a struggling MBA and an IAS aspirant respectively merely come across as supporting actors. Well, if the idea was to basically bring across different shades to the film then the results come across as merely decent but that's about it.

Thankfully the common thread here is the character played by Rohit Arora who maintains a neutral stance right through the film and provides some endearing moments. Otherwise there are times when you really wonder about the direction in which the film is headed. Also, as mentioned earlier, Karan-Shaurya track is weird because not just are there some unanswered questions (was there a mysterious drug peddler involved?), one is also confused about Karan's flip-flop after dumping Shaurya.

The pre-climax with a theatre act doesn't cut much ice either and though the intention was to basically join all the dots, the effect isn't as enthralling as one would have expected. Still, what still succeeds in keeping you reasonably engaged is some friendly banter as well as spoken dialogues between the boys which manages to bring on smiles. Also, the epilogue is done well when all the friends meet five years after they had gone their own way.

One gets a sense of deja vu by merely looking at the poster of 'Sadda Adda'. You do get an impression that this would be yet another movie about youngsters, their life together and their numerous escapades. Nothing wrong with that as long as the movie promises to be entertaining. However what can one really expect from a film which has not been promoted at all. With nothing known about the cast or the makers, you don't really feel much enthused about 'Sadda Adda'. Still, what you see on screen turns out to be an okay watch at the least.

Rating: **