Ek ladki ko dekha tho aisa laga

Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge achieved a cult status and is still playing in Maratha Mandir. And rightly so because it blended family emotions with acceptance of love which sent a very positive message and touched a cord with the emotional indian heart. And boy, has that formula been used again and again ? There is a web series based on gay love. There too the maker has used the same formula. And yes, somehow it works. Most of the times if not always. Why ? Because it is a nice way to soften the blow. It upholds our values of treating our parents like God and undying love for the family.

A very similar plot is seen in this film too. A larger than life punjabi family with dollops of ghee laden emotions and tandoori passion. But in all that concoction one forgets the film, the story. Homosexuality, love between two women in itself is a complex and poignant issue. Mixing it up with an indian family melodrama made the whole film indigestible. Was the director too scared to put the issue out in the public domain ? So he covered it with ghee and makhan.

The oppression of the homosexual person as a child and while growing up could have taken center stage instead of indulging so much into the punjabi drama. The role of Rajkumar Rao is ambiguous. The story and plot is boring and distracted without a central theme. It hence fails to connect with the audience and send out the message it intends to. The second half is a relief and has some substance to it. Sonam Kapoor too has a pale and dead performance, keeping up with the film. Indian society has a long way to go in accepting the LGBTQ and films like these could dull the current of the movement.

Rating - 2.5 / 5