Sonu ke Titu ki not-so-Sweety…

Luv Ranjan film proves Bollywood’s lack of intelligent content, reliance on comfortable stereotypes

DUBAI: When I first heard about Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety (SKTKS), I breathed a sigh of relief. Finally, there was a film that would provide respite from the terrible Bollywood offerings of 2017. The last good feel-good film that I had the pleasure of watching was Piku and that was 2015! Unfortunately, I was disappointed.

The film is the story of Sonu (Kartik Aryan) and Titu (Sunny Nijar), two friends-slash-brothers with an unbreakable bond that’s put into jeopardy when the latter falls in love with the ‘chaalu’ Sweety (Nushrat Barucha). Everyone in this world is pretty and rich and dances every chance they get. They fly off to Amsterdam at a moment’s notice, drive sports cars and are gifted apartments as present.

PHOTO: FILE

The first half of SKTKS relies on the slapstick, millennial punchlines almost completely. While it’s admirable that there are relatively unknown actors who have managed to captivate the audiences’ fancy (SKTKS is nearing INR100 crores at the box office), there is much to be said about the screenplay and story of the film that’s clearly been written by a bitter misogynist. Luv Ranjan, the director, recently said he’s a practical film-maker who has just made a story about women who are “wrong.”  And that’s fine, since women can be villains, psychopaths and thoroughly vile human beings too.

But SKTKS offers nothing but a one-dimensional, half-cooked view of its female characters. There is little to no explanation offered as to why Sweety is so evil and why she’s a threat to Sonu and Titu’s bromance. There is also no establishment of motive for any character except Titu, who is simply craves commitment and that’s why, he’s marrying Sweety.

PHOTO: FILMFARE

That’s a solid enough reason for most human beings but it does not sit well at all with Sonu. This guy’s a fast-talking free spirit and Titu’s full-time emotional-bodyguard. When Titu decides to marry Sweety, he decides she is not right for him, as he decides most things for best friend (read baby). Towards the end of the film, Sonu even tells Sweety, “I know things about Titu which Titu doesn’t even know about himself” and I wonder why does he treats Titu like an infant? Am I expected to go along with this mediocre reasoning and root for Sonu as he helps Titu see the light? I guess I am…

A lot of useless and expensive twists later, we still don’t know why Sweety is such a ‘villain,’ even though she says it herself. Bharucha’s raised eyebrows and piercing stares should apparently be enough to convince us. While she’s is a great actress, there is no substantial depth to her role that she can provide her talent to. Oh, but there are echoes of “gold digger, gold digger” in the background score at some point, so we’re to believe that even though Sweety’s family seems to be at par with Titu’s in terms of financial status, she’s a gold digger.

PHOTO: HINDUSTAN TIMES

Perhaps they could have added a scene where Sweety’s family is being investigated for fraud or something? Would it have made SKTKS a slightly better watch? I don’t know. Would it have stopped my intelligence from being insulted? Probably not; I would still be squirming in my seat as cheap copies of Balam Pichkari splash the screen sans a likeable soundtrack.

There’s a lot to be said as to why SKTKS is doing so well. People are craving a fun and frothy film so even something so average has managed to get them hooked. The film’s success is a reflection of the lack of intelligent content and reliance on comfortable stereotypes to sell second-rate, barely likeable productions.

Rating: 1 out of 5 stars.

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