Nautanki Saala! Review

Nautanki Saala – Review

Cast: Ayushmann Khurrana, Kunal Roy Kapur, Pooja Salvi

Director: Rohan Sippy

The last couple years have proved that 'small films' [in terms of pricing] have big stories to tell with huge hearts. Recall films like DELHI BELLY, KAHAANI, PAAN SINGH TOMAR and VICKY DONOR, and one would agree that the content is the king.

 Rohan Sippy, who has worked with formidable names in his earlier endeavors, casts several relative newcomers in his new outing, NAUTANKI SAALA! Nautanki Saala is an official remake of the French film Apres Vous. Crafted on a small budget, has Ayushmann Khurrana and Kunaal Roy Kapur cast as the lead. Thanks to spot-on star turns by the two male leads, Ayushmann Khurrana and Kunaal Roy Kapur, and a stable flow of amusing, if not outright hilarious, comic punches, Nautanki Saala! is, in the main, a watchable film. 

Ram who portrays Raavan (Ayushmann Khurrana) – ha, ha, get the irony guys? – On stage is such a nice guy that he allows the portly Mandar (Kunaal Roy Kapur) to blow his life to smithereens. Seems Mandar is hopelessly in love with a florist sales gal (Pooja Salvi), but she isn’t, and so our Ram-cum-Raavan must play Cupid. The story is about a good soul Ram (Ayushmann Khurana) who saves a stranger, Mandar Lele (Kunal Roy Kapur) on the verge of suicide, post his breakup. Ram traces Mandar's ladylove, Nandini (Pooja Salvi) and then tries to befriend her so that he can salvage Mandar's gloomy life. But eventually he falls for Nandini (shown very crisply). Between emotions of love and guilt, he is left in a catch-22 situation.

The second half slows down a bit but to its credit, the film is showered with dollops of tongue-in-cheek humor, a pleasant change from the slapstick or nonsensical gags that most recent comedies have to offer. The theatre backdrop makes for a unique setup and Mandar's audition for the role of Ram and his subsequent stage antics make way for some hilarious moments. Nautanki Saala also boasts of one of the most side-splitting scenes in recent memory where Ram has to strike a conversation with a complete stranger in a restaurant. Ayushmann's comic timing along with the stranger's expressions in the scene is just priceless! 

Technically, the cinematography is cool but uneven. The songs in the second-half, marvelously composed but indifferently shot. The background music is as attention-seeking as it gets.

The camaraderie between Ayushmann and Kunaal is magnificent and the best part is, the roles are clearly divided. Situations such as trying to outdo the other, therefore, just don't arise. Ayushmann gets yet another demanding role and the actor, who impressed us with his acting skills in VICKY DONOR, casts his spell yet again. Kunaal is tremendous too. The actor, who scored brownie points with DELHI BELLY, is incredible.

Of the leading ladies, Gaelyn Mendonca [as Chitra] is most confident. Pooja Salvi could do better if she spruces up her acting skills, though she flaunts the vulnerable look well. Evelyn Sharma's presence is restricted to a few sequences only. Sanjeev Bhatt [as Chandra, the theatre producer] is a riot. He brings the house down every time he appears on screen, especially during the sequence when Kunaal is being auditioned.

I am going with 3.5 out of 5 for NAUTANKI SAALA! On the whole is uncontaminated, witty and amusing, offers an interesting premise with plenty of good laughs.