Even before you have watched it, you can sort of gauge what kind of a film 'Mere Husband Ki Biwi,' will be. To begin with, the title itself is a dead giveaway - another love triangle -- 'Pati, Patni Aur Woh' types. All in all, this could be like hundreds of others we've seen before, and yet, the hope that there will be something new on offer, something different than what has come before, something that can get us talking for days on end about the story, the acting and more...
And with that optimism, I went in to catch the afternoon show of the Mudassar Aziz directorial (Happy Bhaag Jaayegi and Khel Khel Mein fame), and must confess that the cast was a pull too - the strange pairing of Bhumi Pednekar and Arjun Kapoor, along with Rakul Preet Singh.
I sat through the entire film, reluctantly. It was neither making me laugh my heart out nor making me feel an outburst of emotions. Rather I could feel an angst run through me for putting up with bland, meaningless and unintelligent drama unfolding on the screen, with no care for logic. Is this what filmmaking has come down to? I wondered.
At the heart of the story are three lead protagonists, each of who it seemed was competing with the other in Tomfoolery. Bhumi Pednekar is loud, Rakul Preet Singh is vain and Arjun Kapoor is wasted.
Pednekar as Prabhleen Dhillon is the ex-wife while Singh's Antara Khanna is the current girlfriend and both are here to win over Arjun Kapoor's Ankur Chaddha, an overly pampered brat who has no agency whatsoever; and is confused in life and love. Yes, there are quirks and tongue-in-cheek humor, but few and far between. The film tries to cover aspects of love, break up, separation, betrayal, and all the paraphernalia that comes with a love triangle.
Arjun Kapoor tries so hard to portray his vulnerability, that his presence itself feels like an overdose. Pednekar is brilliant in her portrayal of the delightful firecracker Dhillon but suffers at the hands of a poorly fleshed-out character that could otherwise have had such a tremendous potential to light up the screen. Rakul Preet Singh, it seems did not have to do much other than look pretty on camera, which she does to the best of her calibre. Supporting characters have done their best to salvage this film, from Harsh Gujral who manages to keep things fun and light to Dino Morea, Shakti Kapoor, Mukesh Rishi, and Aditya Seal, they have all given their best shot to this poorly executed film.
Film: Mere Husband Ki Biwi
Director: Mudassar Aziz
Cast: Bhumi Pednekar, Arjun Kapoor, Rakul Preet Singh, Harsh Gujral
Rating: 1/5
