Eros International and Colour Yellow Productions Pvt. Ltd.’s Shubh Mangal Saavdhan (UA) is the story of a young man who, on the verge of marrying his lady love, realises that he is suffering from erectile dysfunction.
Mudit (Ayushmann Khurrana) flips for Sugandha (Bhumi Pednekar) and sends an online proposal which her parents accept. The families meet and both agree to the liaison.
Before the marriage can be solemnised, Mudit and Sugandha get intimate one day at Sugandha’s home. But Mudit realises that he is unable to sexually satisfy Sugandha because of erectile dysfunction. He conveys the problem to Sugandha and, just a couple of days before the marriage, he even wants to call it off, but Sugandha insists that the two get married. The wedding is scheduled at Hardwar where Sugandha’s uncle and aunt live.
Somehow, Sugandha’s father (Neeraj Sood) gets wind of Mudit’s ‘gents problem’ and takes him to a veterinarian who dismisses it off as one born out of stress and anxiety. Soon, more and more people in the families learn of Mudit’s secret problem. Mudit’s father is unwilling to accept that his son can be at fault even though Mudit himself doesn’t quite get along with his father. As for Sugandha’s father, he is keen to call off the marriage. However, Sugandha’s mother is not in favour of calling it off.
As if Mudit’s ‘gents problem’ were not bad enough, Sugandha finds Mudit in bed with his ex-girlfriend in Hardwar even as the pre-wedding ceremonies are underway. That’s the time she walks out in disgust.
What happens thereafter? Do Mudit and Sugandha get married?
The film is based on Tamil film Kalyana Samayal Saadham which was written by R.S. Prasanna. The story is very unusual as erectile dysfunctioning has never been the core issue of any Hindi film so far. Although the problem is serious, the story is written in a way that the drama becomes comical. By its very nature, the story would appeal more to the male audience because a lot of jokes are male jokes. The references to the problem are subtle, which makes the otherwise mass-appealing subject more class-appealing. The screenplay, penned by Hitesh Kewalya, is fairly engaging but it also sometimes appears scattered rather than concentrated. It does have heartwarming moments like when Sugandha insists that she would not call off the marriage despite Mudit’s medical condition. The humour is sometimes universal and at other times, sectionally appealing. It would mostly be the menfolk and the youth (including young girls) who’d feel tickled by the jokes about Mudit’s erectile dysfunction. A section of the ladies audience and the families may feel embarrassed by the humour and constant references to the man’s reproductive organ not being in perfect condition.
Hitesh Kewalya’s screenplay appears to be unconvincing at times. For instance, Mudit is shown to be doing nothing to address his problem till Sugandha’s father takes him to a doctor, that too, a doctor for animals. Why he is taken to a veterinarian is not clear. The comedy in some scenes doesn’t come across – for instance, Sugandha’s father taking his prospective son-in-law to a veterinarian; Mudit repeating the baaraat entry; etc. Frankly, Hitesh Kewalya had a tough job at hand – to write a humorous screenplay around a serious problem.
The scene in which Mudit takes Sugandha in a room and locks it from inside, making all the guests outside wonder whether he’d be able to get physical with her or not ends in a peculiar fashion – Mudit says, he could do it, only to be corrected by Sugandha who says, he couldn’t do it. The viewers are left wondering how Mudit himself could not know whether he had done it or not. But the writer simply avoids explaining the anomaly. Again, in the climax, Sugandha is shown stomping out when she, and then her parents, see Mudit in bed with his ex-girlfriend, but Mudit continues to talk about his problem of erection even after that, as if his being caught red-handed was never supposed to be explained to anybody. The audience is completely at sea about the culmination of the track of Mudit and his ex-girlfriend in a compromising position. In fact, one doesn’t even know whether the issue was resolved or not! In that sense, the climax is not upto the mark. Hitesh Kewalya’s dialogues are funny at several places and evoke laughter.
Ayushmann Khurrana does a very fine job and delivers an impactful performance of a man whose manhood is being questioned. Bhumi Pednekar is sincere and natural to the core. Seema Pahwa shines as Sugandha’s concerned and practical mother. Neeraj Sood makes an impact in the role of Sugandha’s father. Chittranjan Tripathy leaves a mark as Mudit’s father. In the role of Mudit’s mother, Supriya Shukla is good. Brijendra Kala makes his presence amply felt as Sugandha’s paternal uncle. As her aunt, Flora Bose is effective. Anshul Chauhan has her moments as Sugandha’s friend. Master Anmol Bajaj is cute as Sugandha’s brother. Gopal Datt does justice to his role of a veterinarian. Manoj Sharma (as Duggal) and Rajan Tripathi (as Tyagi) lend the needed support. Jimmy Shergill adds star value in a special appearance.
R.S. Prasanna’s direction is good. Credit is due to him for ensuring that his narration doesn’t make the drama vulgar or obscene. But he has not been able to camouflage the shortcomings of the script. Music (Tanishk-Vayu) is quite good but none of the songs is a chartbuster. The ‘Kanha’ and ‘Rocket saiyan’ songs are appealing. Lyrics (Tanishk-Vayu) are alright. Raka’s choreography is functional. Rachita Arora’s background music is fair. Anuj Rakesh Dhawan’s cinematography is nice. Action scenes (Sunil Rodrigues) are okay. Production designing (by Laxmi Keluskar and Sandeep Meher) is appropriate. Ninad Khanolkar’s editing is reasonably sharp.
On the whole, Shubh Mangal Saavdhan has an unusual story and good male-oriented humour to appeal to a section of the public, mainly males and youngsters among the multiplex audiences. Its positive word of mouth will definitely see its collections pick up, mainly in the weekend. Overall, it will carry mixed reports and ultimately prove to be a safe bet, considering its investment and returns.