Katrina Kaif makes a guest appearance in this crazily evanescent comedy. But don’t get excited. She is just a poster on the wall, and a dial-a-direct-reference gimmick for Vicky Kaushal who is clearly the star attraction here. Again, don’t get excited, unless you relish the thought of Kaushal doing a Govinda on speed.
Directed by Anand Tiwari (who in the past has done the well-received series Bandish Bandits) the ‘romp’-com has those joyful Karan Johar vibes stamped in every frame. It is idyllic to the eye and serves as fast food, ingested off paper plates, digestible for those who are into sprightly storytelling about badly behaved people who have never been told the difference being demanding and annoying.
So we have Saloni Bagga (Tripti Dimri, fresh off the marquee after her blockbuster cameo in Animal) making the best of her role as a chef who vents her frustrations on her husband Akhil Chaddha (Vicky Kaushal) when things don’t work out at her work place. She also has issues with her husband’s repressed Oedipal complex (you can look that up while looking up heteropaternal superfecundation), raging hormones and goofy Punjabi antics.
Vicky Kaushal does a decent imitation of Ranveer Singh’s over-the-top Punjabi boy from Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani. But half the time, Kaushal seems to be rehearsing for Comedy Circus with his exaggerated expression and dance moves, rather than staying in character. Nonetheless Vicky Kaushal comes up with a crowd-wooing performance. Those who liked him in last year’s Zara Hatke Zara Backhe will find his antics in this one entertaining. He even has a marital moment with a Katrina Kaif poster on the wall. And when someone tells him not to behave like Vicky Kaushal he retorts, “Now you’re getting personal.”
As far as retorts go, Bad Newz is no Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani. But it makes you giggle. Half an hour into the film and Amy Virk shows up Saloni’s turbaned suitor. One night Saloni gets drunk and has sex with both the men. She is then pregnant with twins, one each from the two men. Sati Savitri ?
I kid you not: all this actually happens in Bad Newz. This has got to be the zaniest anything-goes comedy on this side of Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro. The actors are fully into the feisty mood. Characters pop in and pop out at their will. My favourites are the wacked out detective Uncle Sukhi and the chap who insists on wooing Saloni with Karan Johar’s music playing in the background, even though she treats him like trash.
Speaking of music, the background has some interesting things happening. Mere Mehboob mere sanam from the film Duplicate plays from first to last. It is a bit irksome to begin with, but kind of grows on us.
Just like the film. The writers (Ishita Moitra and Tarun Dudeja) seem to have had fun with the characters and their horse play (speaking of which, in his introductory song Kaushal moves like a horse). The mood of fun is infectious. While all in the team let their hair down, we the audience never feel let down by the ongoing mood of jollification. This is party you may not want to attend. But you are certainly not going to complain about the disturbance of peace.
The good news is that Bad Newz is a whole lot of fun, provided you aren’t into asking too many questions about what’s happening, or why. To take one example—I promise after this I won’t ask any more questions—why is Neha Dhupia hanging around with the rest of the cast like a lucky charm?
Charm, this lightweight romcom with a heavy theme– heteropaternal superfecundation, no less—certainly has. It is hard to not fall for the obvious charms of Bad Newz. It is a goodlooking film with no pretensions of saying anything serious or important.
As a timepass entertainer Bad Newz ticks all the boxes.
