Ayushmann delivers, yet again
Dream Girl is funny and clever and a better comedy than we’ve seen out of Bollywood in a long time. Raaj Shaandilyaa, making his directorial debut, uses Ayushmann Khurrana and Nushrat Bharucha to great effect in an effort that is endearingly quirky.
The story starts with Karamveer Singh as a child, unwillingly agreeing to play the role of Sita in his town’s production of Ramlila. He grows to his mid-20s (now played by Ayushmann Khurrana) and is still at it.
He’s unemployed, and has acquired the nicknames ‘Ramlila ki Sita’ and ‘Krishanlila ki Radha’. When he finally does land a job, it’s at an adult hotline, where he poses as a woman. It pays handsomely, and he has by now, of course, perfected his female persona.
On the phone, his name is Pooja, and he’s so good, he’s turning out to be tough competition for the sari-clad middle-aged women working the rest of the lines.
He soon has an enviable roster of regular callers — there’s an alcoholic middleaged cop (Vijay Raaz) who calls so he can unleash his inner poet; a young Haryanavi (Raj Bhansali) with bleached blonde hair that he is unreasonably proud of; a woman journalist (Nidhi Bisht) who says she’s been dumped three times and has had it with men; and the two that cause the real problems — his fiancee’s brother (Abhishek Banerjee) and his own dad (Annu Kapoor).
Each of these characters falls in love with Pooja and wants to be with her. A harried
Ayushmann at one point compares his plight with that of Draupadi from the Mahabharata.
In his delicate yet hilarious portrayal of a fractured personality, Khurrana is masterful. He proves once again why he is one of the industry’s most bankable talents, and just how much he deserved the National Award he got this year for Andhadhun.
His female impersonator sounds and talks like a woman, not a man’s idea of a caricature of a woman. For Bollywood, this is several strides forward; coming from Khurrana, it’s really no surprise.
Dream Girl gives him the kind of vast canvas he deserves. It is Karam / Pooja who leads the narrative and weaves the plot together bit by bit. Bharucha steps convincingly into the shoes of his demure yet ‘modern’ love interest, Mahi. Their love story, though, is underdone at best.
Annu Kapoor, as usual, entertains, amuses and wins your heart. Abhishek Banerjee and Vijay Raaz hold on to their characters so well you miss them when they’re not on screen.
The second half, where Ayushmann tries to extricate himself from the façade he has built, drags a bit but is nonetheless entertaining. Expect a slightly preachy climax, but all in all, Dream Girl is a winner.