'14 Phere' review: Double marriage doesn't offer viewers double fun
ZEE5's latest offering 14 Phere, starring Vikrant Massey and Kriti Kharbanda, had a lot of expectations riding on it but fails to live up to them. A financially independent couple plans double marriages and hires fake parents to avoid getting killed by their orthodox families. However, the use of humor to downplay (read trivialize) a grave issue like honor killing stings. Here's our review.
Sanjay, Aditi plan to marry twice to seek families' acceptance
As shown in the trailer, Sanjay (Massey) and Aditi (Kharbanda) are college lovebirds who now live together. But they know this relationship will never get their families' approval as they come from two different castes. Due to certain circumstances, however, marriage becomes unavoidable. Thus the chaos of fake identities, elaborate backstories, and two different weddings of the same couple is unfurled.
The ending of an overall sober movie is a miss
The concept is, undoubtedly, novel and the Devanshu Singh-directorial sure provides us with situational comedy. But the ending is a miss. In real life, the chances of a man, who was hell-bent on killing his niece for running away, excusing her with mere grumbles are nearly nil. Another unlikely scenario is that of a patriarchal family dismissing their ego in fear of online backlash.
Attack on social evils is mellow, does little good
On the surface, the Manoj Kalwani-penned story can be seen as a commentary on the caste problem, patriarchy, and inter-caste marriages. However, the makers' conviction to create a comedy out of it harms the end product. Earlier, Singh had clarified the movie "celebrates the institution of family and marriage but questions a few basic flaws in a reasonable way." But "reasonable" doesn't always work.
Lead pair impresses with notable character artists; film gets 2.5/5
Coming to the good points, Massey-Kharbanda's chemistry is on point and I would love to see them together again. Gauahar Khan as "Meryl Streep of Delhi" gets a meaty role and justifies it with her characteristic flair. One notable point was Sanjay's understanding of patriarchy and how it has affected his mother. Its nearly-110-minute length also goes in the film's favor. Verdict: 2.5/5.
