Nautanki Saala

My review: Nautanki Saala

When we saw "Vicky Donor" most of us would have felt bad for Ayushman Khurana, bundle of talent who was till then not given his due. Now when one sees his second movie "Nautanki Saala !" one can't but feel happy for this man who has not only taken advantage of his long overdue success, but intelligent enough to choose movies that are intelligent and at the same time entertaining. Though movie doesn't live up to expectations considering the huge success of his first movie "Vicky Donor", "Nautanki Saala !" is not bad either. It is definitely watchable and at the end one does feel good at the time well spent.

As credited by the team, movie is inspired from a French film "Apres Vous". The team deserves credit for its honesty in these days of "Barfi" and blatant uncredited plagiarisms. Rohan Sippy not only deserves credit for that, the manner in which he has weaved the story suiting the Indian milieu and the parallel allegorical references to Ramanaya which all gets connected well in the end. Movie boasts of sizeable number of  wow! moments with seamless confluence of situational comedy as well as witty word play. The unintended proposal scene is one example of many such.

Ayushman Khuranna is fast developing as one of the most reliable actors who can take up any role with elan and confidence. Here he is first class effortlessly portraying myriad of emotions, body language and timing comedy. His enthusiasm onscreen rubs onto the narration as a result though the pace gets sluggish at many points, his liveliness keeps the movie going. Though it is not that a complicated of roles, one wonders who else would have done justice to it and made the movie pleasant to watch as he has done.

Kunaal Roy Kapur tries his level best to keep his end going but it is always a big ask to compete against such a talent like Ayushman on the opposite end. Among the three ladies, Pooja Salvi has the larger screen space and more scope to perform. She has done her part well like a seasoned performer. She is cute and easy on the eyes. Gaelyn Mendonca is also good, confident onscreen while Evelyn Sharma doesn't have much scope.  Abhishek Bachchan makes a lackluster guest appearance.  

Music of the movie is another highlight of the movie. Ayushman Khurrana composed "Saadi galli aaja" is already ruling the charts while "Mera mann kehna laga" and "Tu hi tu" are good situational melodies. "Dil ki toh lag gayi" is interestingly rendered by Saba Azad matching up with the mood of the situation.  Mickey McCleary is the music director. Overall the album is one of the best in recent times with variety and novelty.

Technically the movie is sleek and of international standards. Overall, "Nautanki Saala" is a definite one time watch, especially for Ayushman Khuranna and his "Saadi galli aaja".

Bottomline: All's well that ends well.

3.5/5