Kahan Shuru Kahan Khatam is a feel-good rom-com

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A romantic comedy that is also a family entertainer: nothing new in that. This is also a North Indian small-town centric show that has guns and goons as well as girls and even gays, thought as a passing distraction. My gut feel is that the ‘comedy’ generated from the last was a lampoon for a now over-used trope in Hindi cinema.

But Kahan Shuru Kahan Khatam is a feel-good, breezy fare with a heart, though the heart becomes a shade in-your-face towards the end with direct preaching. Surprisingly, the Australia-returned Meera, the protagonist, is docile even then, though she is bold enough to run away from an arranged marriage,

And therein lies the nub for her: Meera would have had no objection whatsoever, had her father (Rajesh Sharma) had asked her if she was okay with the match! In a passing situation, she has explained to Krish (Aashim Gulatyi) why she has run away (because of the line above) but as a progressive, educated woman, I wonder why she has no objection to a match of convenience where her father’s professional interests and public image are served!

Now that is the premium flaw in this script, along with the very lowbrow comedy and some characters that prevent KSKT from a higher rating, a la a Bareily Ki Barfi, Happy Bhag Jayegi or Tanu Weds Manu kind of rom-com. The director and his writers go unnecessarily too ‘earthy’ in the treatment of this simple story when they could have made a strong family entertainer with a message.

But then maybe that is creative producer and co-writer Laxman Utekar’s intention in the first place: no holds-barred entertainment because his very average movies like Luka Chhupi and Mili (on OTT) found favor with the audience. Quality humor is replaced by the “tickle-and-maybe-laugh” kind in most situations, though there are some intrinsic funny lines and sequences that are spontaneous. Like when Gautam (Vikram Kochhar) offers a bottle of water when his brother Gambhir (unknown actor) says, “Hamein chullu bhar paani mein doobna chahiye (We should drown ourselves in a handful of water)!” Gautam Gambhir is the well-known cricket coach, incidentally!

Oh, before that—here’s the plot. Meera runs away from an uncongenial marriage match on the wedding day itself, By chance, Krish, a priest’s son who loves gate-crashing weddings and spreading cheer, is almost caught as an uninvited guest and pursued and he almost comes under the car of the bride. He then jumps into the car and the rest of the film is about how the parties looking for her chase them. Krish is also targeted because he provides shelter to Meera. There are many turns in this plot but no prizes for guessing that the chauvinistic males in her family reform and no rewards either for guessing whom she chooses as her groom.

As Meera, Dhvani Bhanushali is the epitome of confidence. In no way does this film seem like her debut and she carries the film almost on her shoulders. Aashim Gulati is good and the typical hero and small-town lad but is dwarfed by Dhvani more because he overdoes his act on occasion. Supriya Pilgaonkar is impressive, and even more so is the grandmother who is mobile-savvy. Vikram Kochhar’s subtlety works, but Rakesh Bedi hams big time, predictably. The rest of the actors are adequate for their roles, as is the technical side. Director Saurabh Dasgupta meekly follows the Laxman Utekar canon and must do better and be more original.

The music is a pleasant surprise. The title-track, based around the cult Lata Mangeshkar-Shailendra-Shankar-Jaikishan creation, Ajeeb dastaan hai yeh (Dil Apna Aur Preet Parai / 1960) ranks among the best-ever re-created songs ever. The riff of Kishore Kumar-Majrooh-S.D. Burman’s Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi classic, Ek ladki bheegi bhaagi si, is used often by Sandeep Shirodkar (who has done the BGM) but the re-created song is missing, except on audio on Spotify. Oh, yes, there is a fleeting use of Lata’s phrase, Ae phansa from Bobby, but that is not credited, though Laxmikant-Pyarelal and Anand Bakshi should have been ideally mentioned too, even if it is for these two words set to music.

All the original songs are nice, but standout melody and words (Kausar Munir) are found in Sachin-Jigar’s Sehra, one of the tracks in which Dhvani goes back to her core strength—singing.

All in all, this is a nice, relaxed watch that, perhaps, could have ironed out some needless tropes and perceived box-office compulsions to become extraordinary.

Rating: ***

Bhanushali Studios Limited’s & Kathputli Creations’ Kahan Shuru Kahan Khatam  Produced by: Vinod Bhanushali, Laxman Utekar, Karishma Sharma & Kamlesh Bhanushali  Directed by: Saurabh Dasgupta  Written by: Laxman Utekar & Rishi Virmani  Music: Shankar-Jaikishan, S.D. Burman, Sachin-Jigar, Akshay & I.P., Sandeep Shirodkar & Sunny M.R.  Starring: Aashim Gulati, Dhvani Bhanushali, Rajesh Sharma, Rakesh Bedi, Supriya Pilgaonkar, Akhilendra Mishra, Vikram Kochhar, Sonali Sachdeva, Himansh Kohli, Chittaranjan Tripathy, Gaurav Manwani, Dhanashree Verma & others