Do Aur Do Pyaar Has Much More To Love Than Just An Amazing Vidya Balan

“Where do I start?” exclaims the timeless Henry Mancini melody. ‘Marriage is a lovely institution, but who wants to live in an institution?’ is how Groucho Marx opens Do Aur Do Pyaar.

The glittering rom-com directed by rookie Shirsha Guha Thakurta—is this truly her first movie?—seems to mock the concept of marriage. But hold on! We really believe this movie is a lot brighter, cleverer, and, yes, sexier than it seems at first.

Its interpretation of the man-woman dynamic is very different. The main couple of the movie, Anirudh, a Bengali man, and Kavya, a Tamil lady, are shown to be happy in relationships outside of marriage. This is not unlikely at all. Such incidents do occur even when couples, like Kavya and Anni, are devoted to preserving their marriage yet continue to have extramarital affairs in order to maintain their own spirits.

The lead couple gives the sultry concept a flare. Vidya Balan and Pratik Gandhi are both really compelling and believable. In their resolve to honor their marriage vows while allowing their sexual cravings a little bit of cheeky indulgence, they are both very amusing and incredibly sad.

No, we don’t think that Anni and Kavya are just having sex in extramarital relationships. They have a great sexual relationship. Simply put, they aren’t having it. And once they do, they start to believe that staying in the marriage is sufficient. Not for sex, nonetheless.

This is the critical moment when the double triangle starts to become interesting and problematic. Suprotim Sengupta, Amrita Bagchi, and Eisha Chopra’s writing is mostly accurate. However, there are moments when the jokes come a little too quickly, much like the toothpaste tube that Kavya and her attractive NRI boyfriend Vikram (Sendhil Ramamurthy) equate to weddings at the start of the movie.

The humor sometimes looks forced. A line refers to Kavya’s grandfather’s passing. She jokes that she doesn’t know when someone asks her how old he is. However, last year’s candles were more expensive than the cake.

It is the single statement Vidya Balan makes that is utterly out of context and lacks conviction, and it is not her fault. Balan is a force of nature. Her portrayal of a woman who is unable to follow her heart is so genuine and heartfelt that it seems true. Indeed, Vidya is the only actress I’ve seen since Kate Winslet in Mare of Easttown who doesn’t just act like she’s eating the meal instead of really eating it.

Food plays a significant role in the movie, particularly chicken nuggets. Anirudh questions if a vegan can eat chicken after having sex at one point. The phrase makes me giggle, but I’m not sure what it implies. Certainly not the nonstop sleazy jokes that come from Anirudh, who works at a “cork” factory.

Vidya and Pratik Gandhi have a fantastic chemistry. They provide a magnificent rendition of the 1991 song Bin Tere Sanam Mar Mitenge Hum, which was first featured in the Yaara Dildara movie. We deem Vidya-Pratik the pair of the week only based on that.

The official version of Azazel Jacobs’ 2017 French romantic comedy The Lovers is called Do Aur Do Pyaar. However, the remake, if we may use that term, departs significantly from the original work. After her grandpa passes away, there is a significant plot that is absent from the French film in which Anirudh and Kavya visit her family in Kerala and almost engage in sexual activity close to the corpse.

People who love each other grasp for each other’s jugular with a diabolical joy, as seen by the tension (rolling of the eyes) between Kavya and her father (Thalaivasal Vijay) over her becoming a dentist in a family of physicians.

This heartfelt jab at all things adulterous has a number of outstanding interludes. Anirudh from Pratik will stick in your memory as he pretends to play football with a delegation from Japan. However, the scene with Anirudh, his in-laws, and a gigantic piano is our favorite. It is ineffable, therefore we are unable to elaborate. Just like the finest things in life, it is something you have to do.

This romantic comedy has Sendhil Ramanurthy mouthing to Vidya the most romantic sentence we have heard in a Hindi film: “I feel homesick when I am not with you.” It is humorous and puckish, delicate and violent.

It also has the cutest response a woman has ever seen to her husband’s extramarital affair: “Rosy? What kind of guy leaves his wife in favor of a lady named Rosy?