Kartik Aaryan, Kiara Advani shine in Satyaprem Ki Katha

Rating: ****

You get the sneaky feeling that the protagonists are called Satyaprem and Katha so that the film would get its catchy title. Like Akash Vani. Yes, that  too starred Kartik in one of his less frivolous (such as Bhoola Bhulaiya 2,  Shehzada) roles.

Satyaprem, aka Sattu, played by Kartik Aaryan brings to the Gujarati  wastrel’s part both innocence and heart. Sattu is at once endearing and annoying. His motives for marrying the dishy dandiya wali Katha are all wrong. But heck, this goofy guy knows about true love; how many youngsters today can claim the same?

Sattu’s Gujju love story, or Amour In Ahmedabad if you will, has a peculiar  rhythm to it. He pursues a girl way too classy and beautiful for him. But wins her in no time. Like Aishwarya Rai in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, Katha won’t let her husband sleep with her, ostensibly for his sleeping habits … you know, Saawan ka mahina Sattu kare snore…

But there is more.

Katha has a deep dark secret which she refuses to share with her  exceptionally supportive husband. Ridiculously enough, when she does  open up about her secret she does so before her husband’s family. Katha’s father threatens to slash his wrist with a blade. If only he had carried out his threat we would be spared a shamefully regressive father who believes  a tainted daughter is better dead.

Of course all hell break loose. Why do Gujarati families always have to be  so loud and bantering? The dandiya and dhokla formula gets in the way of a seriously beautiful love story between a wastrel and a waif played with elegance and restrain by Aaryan and Advani who quite comfortably churn out their careers' best performances in a film that keeps shooting itself in the foot by interrupting the central romance with songs dances and parental interventions.

The ‘dude’ rapport between Sattu and his father (Garjraj Rao) never quite makes it to a meaningful relationship. And the less said about Supriya Pathak’s ‘Diwali’ (she has a sister named Christmas, I kid you not) the better.

Speaking of dude, what is Rajpal Yadav doing in the film as a doodhwala (milkman)? Why is he around? What is his function in the plot? Is he the comic relief? Seriously? After the entire supporting cast insists on doing a  comedy circus?

What works wonderfully, is the crackling chemistry between the lead pair. Aaryan and Advani look more made-for-each-other than Advani and  Siddharth Malhotra in Shershah. Director Sameer Vidhwans shoots their “asexual” romantic scenes with a sensitivity and suppleness that are rare in Hindi cinema.

This film is a new beginning for both Aaryan and Advani. They shine in the emotional scenes, maybe a little more than expected, as the supporting cast is woefully sketchy. If only Vidhwans had stuck to the central story of a vagrant who finds an anchor in his commitment to a thing called love.