Film's lead pair of Boman Irani and Farah Khan had maintained that 'Shirin Farhad...' is as simple and uncomplicated as it gets.
Well, as it turns out, the film is indeed over simplified. Nothing wrong with that since one didn't quite wait for a heavy duty drama to unfold either.
However what one definitely expected was a light hearted tale with dollops of humour poured in. Sadly, the film is over simplified in this department as well due to which it turns out to be a barely average affair.
The way film begins, Boman and Irani don't really fall in love. It is more about the necessity of finding someone suitable, especially with both being on the other side of the 40s. It is due to this very reason that there is no `haan-naa-haan-naa' scenario, any heavy duty courtship or someone playing cupid.
It is almost like an arranged marriage with lingerie bringing them closer. Yes, really! Boman showcases some specialities for Farah, she smiles, find it all rather cute, doesn't take much time to go out on a coffee with him and the man, despite expecting resentment from his mother, spends some time with his love in a moonlit night.
It's okay if Bhansalis wanted to pay an ode to Basu Chatterjee and Hrishikesh Mukherjee in the current times. However a couple of things could have worked much better for their 2012 tale.
First and foremost the jokes could have been many more than the ones that were already exhausted in the promos. Secondly, the pace could have been tighter.
Here the film move at a very leisurely pace and some of the songs only turn out to be further speed breakers. The end too arrives out of nowhere but frankly, by the time it happens the narrative had slowed down to such an extent that you don't really mind end credit titles roll.
Thankfully, one can still sit through this less than two hours affair are performances by Boman Irani, Farah Khan and Daisy Irani. Boman is just perfect.
Period. Right from the beginning when he is frustrated about constant questioning of being unmarried till date to the time when he actually falls in love (without making a mockery of affairs), he is truly balanced.
Farah scores in being natural. Though in the first half of the film there are moments where it seems like she is hurrying through her scenes, she comes on her own in the second half.
In fact while one expected her to be a riot in the comic scenes, she actually does quite well on the emotional front as well. On the other hand Daisy Irani is truly funny, especially in the scene where she is drinking beer and Boman-Farah pay her a visit.
One had decent, if not humungous expectations from 'Shirin Farhad Ki Toh Nikal Padi'. In that aspect, the film just about fits the bill, if not surpasses them.
Though it isn't really a terrific scenario, considering the fact that one hoped to be surprised, at the end of it all this Bela Seghal film turns out to be a venture that can be given a dekko on an idle holiday, but that's about it.
Rating: **
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