Vikas Bahl it seems wants to establish himself as a versatile director. His first two outings (Chillar Party and Queen) were totally different from each other, apart from being really brilliant films. Shaandaar is different from his other flicks alright, but it’s far from being brilliant. Bahl’s scenes are seen falling flat most of the time, and he isn’t even able to whip out something to keep us captivated during the boring parts. He however succeeds in bringing out the best from his actors. He and the ever so impressive Anil Mehta deserve credit for capturing some jaw dropping locations as well. The film would have received a lot of help if some of its songs and unneeded sequences were chopped off, especially the cheesy bits like the Karan Johar cameo and the long and winding scene in which everyone gets accidentally drugged. The animated bits are uninspired and yet another attempt by Bahl to capture the fairy tale vibe.
An adopted daughter of Bipin Arora (Pankaj Kapoor), Alia Arora (Alia Bhatt) has fit into her new family easily despite the hatred towards her by her new mother and grandmother. Alia is a creature of the night; in the sense that she cannot sleep. Her father hopes that her insomnia will one day be cured by a man who will put her to bed. Enter Jagjinder Joginder (Shahid Kapoor), a wedding planner who eventually succeeds in doing that. Get the reverse Sleeping Beauty angle here? The sub-plot involves Bipin’s evil mother who wishes to marry off his real daughter Isha (Sanah Kapoor) as part of a business deal with the overly flamboyant Sindhi tycoon played by Sanjay Kapoor. Despite keeping the fairy tale angle alive, this sub-plot fails at effortlessly tying itself up with the main plot. There’s no crispiness in the whole affair, as the storytelling is delayed time and again by unique and ambitious sequences (the director wants to make an impression with these) and songs that fail to move the story forward.
Rating - 2/5
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