#KhandaaniShafakhana wants to deliver a serious message about the importance of being open about sex – so entire scenes play out like public service announcements, in which characters espouse the cause. The film puts too much pressure on #SonakshiSinha. She is in almost every frame of the film. We see her in close-up – literally and figuratively. Here's Anupama Chopra's review.
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Somewhere inside Khandaani Shafakhana is a
sparkling film about a small-town girl who inherits her uncle’s sex clinic. After her father’s death, Baby Bedi is struggling
to support her family. She’s spirited and hard-working but besieged
by mercenary relatives, an affectionate but lazy brother and a dead-end job. And then, out of the blue, her estranged uncle,
a Unani hakim, bequeaths her his sex clinic. The clinic is located on prime real estate. Selling it would solve Baby’s problems. However,
the will dictates that she needs
to run it first for six months. We’re in Hoshiarpur, Punjab where people
can’t even bring themselves to say the word 'sex'. So how does a young, single woman make this
prickly situation work? It’s a lovely idea but debutante director
Shilpi Dasgupta and writer Gautam Mehra make a hash of it. The template for tackling taboo subjects with
humor has been set by Vicky Donor and Shubh Mangal Saavdhan. You combine naturalistic textures with solid
performances and crack
ling writing. Khandaani Shafakhana gets only the first one
right. The film has an authentic ambience. DOP Rishi Punjabi ably captures the narrow
bazaar lanes covered with these thick electricity wires and beautiful latticework windows and
the sprawling fields of Punjab. Stray moments are genuinely funny – like a roadside hakim who, while concocting a dubious-looking jadi booti mixture, declares that it will
turn ‘kamzor chewing gum into Singham.’ Or the character of Gabru Ghatak, a homegrown roc
kstar. Badshah, making his acting debut, injects
a dose of much-needed energy into the film. Gabru lives in flashy metallic jackets and
says lines like: 'Everything is image' or 'I respect jazba'. That’s a keeper. But the rest of Khandaani Shafakhana is a slog. The film takes forever to get started. We spend too much time getting to know Baby’s
tough circumstances. And the tonality is all over the place. The film wants to be funny but the writing
is too weak and the feeble jokes are underlined w
ith loud background music, cueing us to laugh. The film also wants to deliver a serious message
about the importance of being open about sex – so entire scenes play out like public
service announcements, in which characters espouse the cause. There’s also very little logic – I don’t
know much about Unani medicine but surely it’s a fairly complex science. Baby figures it out in a few months. Before
you knew it, she can identify diseases simply by looking into people’s eyes. We also see her in a l
ab coat mixing medicines. Khandaani Shafakhana puts too much pressure
on Sonakshi Sinha. She's in almost every frame of the film. We see her in close-up – literally and figuratively. But her performance is largely confined to
pouting and scowling. The moments of heartfelt emotion, mostly in
the scenes between her and her mother, are few and far between. It’s a pleasure to see the wonderful Nadira
Babbar back on screen but again, there isn’t enough meat in the role. Varun Sharma repeats his trade
mark act of
bumbling, foolish sidekick. Annu Kapoor as the English-spouting lawyer
seems to be having some fun. As does Rajesh Sharma as the judge who presides
over the climactic courtroom showdown. This is when the film really comes alive but
it’s too late. Shilpi Dasgupta is a graduate of the Film
and Television Institute. Her student project Mangali - An Exorcism
received a special mention at the National Film Awards. How does a CV like that lead to a tepid film like this? But I' m hoping bet
Comments
Is Khandaani Shafakhana your pick this weekend?
I am so happy that such crappy films of star kids doesn't work anymore on box office. Things looking good for Bollywood ahead.
Her earlier movie where she fights an acid attacker is equally mediocre. I think Sonakshi can act but she needs to figure out what sort of stories she wants to be part of, where she organically fits in. I think, and this is a personal opinion, she needs an extraordinary story like Tumhari Sulu. Other than that, she can keep making those cameo appearances and she will retire into oblivion in couple of years.
Actors are becoming singer and singers are becoming actor. This is Bollywood.
It should’ve been a web series.
another flop by sonakshi sinha but still she will keep getting work🙄
I feel bad for sonakshi she is talented but always stuck with either male dominated movies or movies where she acts good but either her role is underwritten or the movie is just trashy . I hope she gets due for her talent
Not surprised by this review. Other than lootera havent liked sonakshi in anything else.
Who decided that sonakshi can shoulder a movie on her own.
Ye sachme ek film hai? I thought it was a new music video of baadshah when I saw it on tv
I am gonna be honest. This format of review is very confusing. Sometimes at the end of the review, i am not sure if the movie is good or not. I can understand removing the star system, but instead of that, can you pls suggest if the film is worth watching or not?
She aint no kangana to be able to make a movie work on her own. 😐
Actually I quite liked the film.. apart from the moral science lecture in the end.. I liked the subtle humour and the small town mood of the film :) for once I disagree with Anupama :)
I also did a review of this film and it was really difficult to find a positive part. You have only a few dialogues which are good. But except that there is nothing.
Y have u stopped giving Star Ratings in the end ?
I already knew this is just #anotherbollywoodmovie .
Anupama always goes easy on celebs...Have some guts...Sonakshi is a liability ...Say ut ckearly
Hey Anupama. I watched the movie on amazon prime and loved it. Loved the authenticity of the places, the acting and the music. Especially the music. Given that we consume movies on different mediums do you think it’s still valid to review all movies by the same yard stick. May be there is an audience that would love to consume this on OTT and you might need a different lens.
That last 2-3 lines about the director. Quite harsh,
i bet she has never even opened any of those books used as a show piece in the background