Sunny Sanskari Ki Tulsi Kumari

Shahshank Khaitan's story is fine and doesn’t have many plot points. Shahshank Khaitan's screenplay is fairly entertaining. He has peppered the film not just with fun moments but also with some serious and emotional sequences that keep the interest going. But at the same time, the writing leaves a lot to be desired. Shahshank Khaitan and Ishita Moitra's dialogues are one of the USPs, enhancing the laughter quotient. Shahshank Khaitan's direction is light-hearted and mainstream. Despite the theme, he has ensured that the film looks as massy as possible. Moreover, the jokes thankfully land as intended and would be appreciated by the audience. The manner in which Sunny develops feelings for Tulsi and the manner in which Ananya and Vikram are confused about what they want makes for a superb watch. The finale is a bit unexpected and works well.

The second half, though, turns into a muddle as confusing as the idea of love itself.

In this one, you can see the struggle to emerge from under the layers of heavy costumery and light dialogues. In too many places, the spectacle is allowed to overpower the screenplay, which is too busy whipping up hit-film-referencing dialogues and situations to bother about creating real feeling. By including bit parts from such influencers as Prajakta Koli — her character used as yet another look-at-that-bridal-outfit hook–and Dharna Durga — as the heroine’s pal, showing a bit of spark, before vanishing from the scene — the Orrification of Bollywood is complete. By bunging in a cosy-letting-it-all-hang-out-scene between Sunny and Tulsi, as they lie next to each other, displaying nary a whisper of passion, the fraternalisation of lovers in Bollywood is complete. So much so, that when they actually lock lips, it comes as a belated surprise. Kissy-kissy, sure, but not enough bang-bang.

Sunny Sanskari Ki Tulsi Kumari's strength lies in its writing, peppered with dialogues that wink at iconic Bollywood moments—from SRK’s 'Chak De' monologue to a cheeky reference to 'Mr. India’s' 'Kaante Nahin Katte'. The first half builds solidly and promises an equally strong payoff. Unfortunately, the film falters in its final act, with a rushed and illogical climax that undermines the buildup.