The last Hindi film to so explicitly evoke children’s literature was Sachin Kundalkar’s Aiyyaa – Rani Mukerji’s heroine was Alice, the film was her wonderland. But there is a wicked witch (Sushma Seth), who’s killed when her “curse” rebounds. Alia has a stepmother, naturally, who, if not wicked, is utterly indifferent to her existence. The story centres on an orphan (Alia, played by Alia Bhatt) who, in the tradition of fairytale heroines, is in constant communion with nature – she speaks to that frog, the insects on her sweaters keep springing to life.

There’s a castle, a frog, a coach carrying a cute pumpkin of a girl, a Cupid-like boy with a bow and arrow. I wrote in my review that it is “a sun-dappled fairy tale, with a line of fairy godmothers cherishing and protecting …” Now, we have Shaandaar, where the Brothers Grimm seem to have sat in on the screenwriting discussions. His earlier film, the pleasant enough though over-praised Queen, was one. This brings us to the climax of the film which was the best.When we say “fairy tale” in the context of a certain kind of narrative, we usually refer to the deliberate unrealness, the escapist-wish-fulfilment-happiness of it all – but Vikas Bahl seems to take the term literally. A perfect recipe made out of crackling humour, love-teased cameo, family drama and a few 'wake up' moments of life. Screenplay is dotted with a bit of animation and some 'butterfly' moments to give it a fairytale touch. What else could be expected from a good-humoured family drama? Some anecdotes of life-learning experiences, of course! Live life 'shaandaar-like', is its real message. But the good thing is, 'Shaandaar's treatment as a good-natured film with an underlying message does the trick well. Like most saas bahu serials, the ladies are the villains in the film. Sanah Kapoor showed some good acting skills in her debut. The rest of the supporting cast is equally good, minus the 'OMG' slobbering twins, who at times were annoying if redundant.

Their magnetic chemistry, lovey-dovey cameraderie is a feast to the eyes that thronged for a romantic coup, undoubtedly! All said, it can't be denied that they stole away the trophy in this.

Shandaar full movie reviews