Review
Shadaa
Movie
Release Date: 21 June 2019
Starcast: Diljit Dosanjh, Neeru Bajwa, Jagjeet Sandhu, Hardeep Gill, Anita Devgan, Gurpreet Bhangu, Prince Kanwaljit, Anita Meet, Ravinder Mand, Manveer Rai, Rupinder Roopi, Seema Kaushal, Baninder Bunny
Producer: Atul Bhalla, Amit Bhalla, Anurag Singh, Aman Gill, Pawan Gill
Director: Jagdeep Sidhu
Synopsis: Shadaa is the story of an unmarried man named Chadta (Diljit Dosanjh) who is 29 and for his society, he's way past his marriageable age. A wedding photographer by profession, Chadta happens to meet Vanjali (Neeru Bajwa), a wedding planner, at a local wedding that is planned by her. Both these unmarried professionals initially are repellent towards each other but later on develop a liking. Chadta falls for Vanjali who even comes to know of his feelings but confronts him and clarifies that she is in no mood to marry anyone and that marriage is not her cup of tea. Convinced by her thought process, Chadta too gives up the idea of getting married and convinces his mother for it too. Finally how these two fall for each other and tie the knot is what Shadaa is all about.
Review: If you've just read the synopsis and are still trying to understand how can such a story be called novel then let me tell you right here that the story wasn't out of the world, nor was anything in this film brilliant but what worked for us was the onscreen charisma of Diljit Dosanjh and Neeru Bajwa.
It has been quite some time since we saw Diljit on the Punjabi screens and the buzz in the theatres clearly showed that he was being missed by his Pollywood fans. After Kala Shah Kala, it was Shadaa that had such a crowd in the theatre. Though the trailer of this film made us cringe but we were pleasantly surprised by the fact that Diljit has finally evolved from his over the top laughter and his senseless comic self to a better actor who has tamed his craft and is now more watchable for not just his fans but for everyone on the whole.
Shadaa has an entertaining first half that's gripping, funny and keeps you hooked onto the screen. As soon as the interval ends, and you feel that it's a director's film, you're made to change your mind because it suddenly dips when Neeru is nowhere to be seen for a long time. Towards the latter half when Neeru enters again and you're offered the Diljit-Neeru pairing again, the film gains momentum and ends at a fairly high note. Hence proving that Shadaa is purely a Diljit-Neeru film and it is the enigma of these two together that will make this film a hit with the audiences.
Neeru Bajwa in this film is a delight to watch. After Laung Laachi, the actress has not been presented as beautifully but Shadaa has been a relief from the typical rural enactment that she just doesn't fit in, to a Chandigarh based modern girl, which was apt for her keeping in consideration her looks, her accent and her overall personality.
Besides the lead couple, the character artists such as Rupinder Rupi, Seema Kaushal, Baninderjit Bunny, Anita Devgn, Hardeep Gill, Ravinder Mand, Gurpreet Bhangu and Jagjeet Sandhu were all a pleasure to watch though we thought Jagjeet has now raised his bar above such characters but he was good in this one too. Anita Meet was not the perfect choice for nonsense mummy.
Also Read: Here's A Unique Clause That Needs To Be Added To Diljit's Agreement Before He Signs It!
The film was cinematically vibrant with a lot of bright colors used throughout which made it visually appealing. There was a lot of wedding based background as the film is all about weddings so one gets a celebratory feeling when watching it though the photographer's(Chadta) camera lens makes you go 'es lens naal kaun kam denda wedding photography da'. The background score did not sound absurd at any point in the film, hence it was nicely done too. The algoza bit was one point which made the film more fictional and prompted us to say 'aah bekaar krya kam'.
Shadaa's music is foot tapping but most of the songs have been forcefully added to the sequence.
Verdict: Shadaa is an entertaining film that will make you feel happy to welcome Diljit and Neeru back onscreen together. This one will surely be a hit only because of Diljit and Neeru's strong onscreen chemistry and nothing else. Besides the 'kutta hovey jehda vyah krave' dialogue, rest everything is ok for the kids to watch, in case you wish to take them for a movie outing.
Rating: 3.5/5 (Go watch it over the weekend)
