Bhool Chuk Maaf Review: Forgive and Forget This Flick
Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)
‘Bhool Chuk Maaf’ stars off with young lovers Ranjan and Titli eloping, however, their plan’s not successful when the cops catch hold of them and call their parents. Titli’s father challenges Ranjan to get a government job in two months in order to marry her, and with the blessing of Lord Shiva, he lands a post, but in a strange turn of events, Ranjan finds himself constantly waking up on his wedding eve and re-living the day. Stuck in the time-loop, he must find a way to get out of it and get wedded to the love of his life.
Directed by Karan Sharma, ‘Bhool Chuk Maaf’ is supposed to be a time-loop comedy, that stars Rajkummar Rao and Wamiqa Gabbi as leads Ranjan and Titli, living in the vibrant city of Banaras. Unfortunately, the time-loop twist doesn’t even start until after 40 minutes, so those like me who were excited to be thrown into the ‘stuck in the same day’ madness sooner, are left bored with the prolonged prologue.
Also, the writers make it hard to root for a character who essentially does nothing, and is simply whiling away his time. At least Rajkummar Rao’s character Vicky from the horror-comedy ‘Stree’ had a tailoring job, Ranjan from ‘Bhool Chuk Maaf’ on the other hand, is unemployed and constantly borrows money from Titli, for both their dates and his own hangouts. Titli herself just takes money from her dad. Comically vilifying fathers who don’t want their daughters marrying a streetside Romeo feels very 20th century now. Also, the onscreen chemistry between Rajkummar Rao and Wamiqa Gabbi is lukewarm, Rao had better chemistry with Jahnvi in “Mr & Mrs Mahi“.
Wamiqa Gabbi is loud and unconvincing as Titli, with her puppy eyes and domineering-yet-cutesy attitude coming off as a forced attempt at playing an earthy belle. Rajkummar Rao, of course, has mastered the art of portraying the small-town lover, but the script doesn’t give him the support he needs to elevate the story. The other members of the cast in ‘Bhool Chuk Maaf’ do not have enough meat in their parts to make a lasting impression.
Once the time-loop kicks in, with Ranjan reliving his haldi ceremony day on repeat, a few funny moments follow. Desperate to break the cycle, he tries everything, until he learns the key lies in helping a complete stranger. Though this stranger is loosely connected to Ranjan, the climactic subplot suddenly tackles a serious issue, shifting the film’s tone in a jarring and uneven way. Not like ‘Bhool Chuk Maaf’ was very funny or romantic until then either way.
If you’re looking for an entertaining romantic time-loop comedy, watch ‘Palm Springs‘. If you’d prefer a romantic comedy about a man trying to win marry the girl he likes, try the Tamil film ‘Dragon’, which features a climactic twist quite similar to what happens to Ranjan on his wedding day, and both protagonists land jobs through fraudulent means.
Rating: 4 on 10. ‘Bhool Chuk Maaf’ is on Prime Video.
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