Yashvvi Films’ Hashtag Yaaram (UA) is the story of two bosom pals.
Rohit (Prateik Babbar), a Hindu, and Sahil (Siddhanth Kapoor), a Muslim, are very good friends. Rohit has selected his life partner, Mira (Subha Rajput). Around the same time, Sahil and his Muslim wife, Zoya (Ishita Raj Sharma), have a break-up. In fact, Sahil divorces Zoya by repeating the word ‘Talaq’ thrice.
Soon after the divorce, Sahil realises his mistake and wants to marry Zoya again but, as per the Muslim halala tradition, he can do so only if Zoya gets married to another boy and after the new husband and Zoya divorce. Sahil requests Rohit to marry Zoya, and then divorce her so that he can marry her over again. Sahil is convinced that Zoya is also pining for him.
To help Sahil, Rohit first calls off his impending marriage with Mira. What happens thereafter? How does Mira react to Rohit’s announcement of marrying Zoya instead of her? What is the reaction of Rohit’s parents (Anita Raaj Hingorani and Dalip Tahhil)? Does Sahil remarry Zoya? Or doesn’t he?
Veejay Mulchandani’s story is so silly and so childish that it’s an embarrassment to see it unfold on the screen. There is no mention of the requirement of consummation of the marriage of Zoya and Rohit, perhaps, because it was convenient to not go in that direction. How stupid can that be. Imagine making a film on the ills that plague Muslim women due to the Muslim law dealing with marriage, and speaking about halala but only incorrectly. Abir Sengupta and Anushree Mehta’s screenplay is horrible. The entire drama is so half-baked that it seems ridiculous — and that’s putting it mildly. Inane scenes unfold one after the other, leaving the audience in shock that two writers could dish out such nonsense in the name of screenplay. The light scenes are so irritating that they test the audience’s patience. The serious and dramatic scenes are bad, very bad. Romance, drama, comedy, emotions — they all seem to be non-existent in the script which, therefore, comes up as one replete with nonsensical situations and incidents. The duo’s dialogues are extremely poor. For instance, in one scene, Rohit’s mother tells his father, “Bachchon-vachchon ki fikr hai ya nahi?” Since they have only one child, one understands that the dialogue ought to have been, “Bachche ki fikr-vikr hai ya nahi?” This is one example of an incorrect dialogue, but the other dialogues are very poor.
Prateik Babbar is very ordinary in the role of Rohit. He seems to be obsessed about exposing his body which is why there are several scenes of his without his shirt even if there was no need for such scenes. Siddhanth Kapoor is ill at ease in a role that simply doesn’t suit his image. The sooner Siddhanth realises that he cannot play leading roles, the better it would be for him and his career. Ishita Raj Sharma does quite well in the role of Zoya. Subha Rajput has an expressive and attractive face; her performance, as Mira, is alright. Anita Raaj Hingorani overacts as Rohit’s mother. Dalip Tahhil lends average support as Rohit’s father. Others provide weak support.
Ovais Khan’s direction is bad. Minus marks to him for making a film based on such a half-baked script. Music (Jeet Ganguli, Rochak Kohli, Sohail Sen and Nayeem-Shabir) is okay. Lyrics (by Kumaar and Dheeraj Kumar; rap lyrics by Parry G.) are ordinary. Song picturisations (Ruel Dausan Varandani and Sneha Kapoor) are an eyesore. Amar Mohile’s background music is functional. Camerawork (Ovais Khan) is good. The foreign locations are appealing. Udai Prakash Singh’s production designing and Bhaskar Gupta’s art direction are commonplace. Santosh Mandal’s editing is okay.
On the whole, Hashtag Yaaram is a poor fare with disastrous box-office chances.
Released on 18-10-’19 at Gem (daily 1 show) and other cinemas of Bombay thru AD Films. Publicity & opening: very poor. …….Also released all over.