Just Married Film Review

Producer: Pritish Nandy and Rangita Pritish-Nandy

Writer & Director: Meghna Gulzar

Cast: Fardeen Khan, Esha Deol, Kirron Kher, Satish Shah, Mukul Dev, Raj Zutshi, Sadia Siddiqui, Tarina Patel, Bikram Saluja, Perizaad Zorabian, Neelima Azim, Apra Mehta, Kiran Karmakar.

Rating: 2.5/5

There are times when a film looks just right on paper and waiting to explode on celluloid. That is exactly the case with Meghna Gulzar’s second film, Just Married. It is waiting to explode but never really does.

The story is about two individuals caught in a marriage in a way they did not want to. The film deals with them coming to terms with their new status during their honeymoon and how they come out shining (and in love) in the end. The premise, that of an arranged marriage between two educated, urban youngsters of the 21st century is not unbelievable. It is a fact. What is extremely unbelievable is that arranged marriages, where the bride and groom do not even meet once before tying the knot, happen among the mileu that the protagonists are shown to inhabit. First of the various faults in a loose, un-smart screenplay.

But for now let us forget the fact because thankfully it does not really hinder the rest of the film. However, other glitches in the writing do. For example, the introduction of the subsidiary characters - convenient and disenchanting; the mood of the Honeymoon Hotel - unreal and the fight between the newly weds - at best a tiff and not really a full-blown war. The climactic situation is unmentionable. Worst of all too much is told, an absolute anathema for a love-story, which has to be seen and felt and not heard. Sadly, the screenplay is inept at handling a story, which had a lot of potential.

Despite that, the film has its moments. There are times when Fardeen steals your heart with his boyish...