'Vicky Vidya...' review: Unbearably bad film tests your patience
Sexist, regressive, outdated—multiple negative terms describe Rajkummar Rao-Triptii Dimri's Vicky Vidya Ka Woh Wala Video. Directed-written by Raaj Shaandilyaa, it's an example of how not to make a film, especially one in the comedy genre. Stuck in the '90s, it's crass, crude, painfully unfunny, and a test of your willpower. How soon can you abandon it and walk out of the theater?
Vicky-Vidya search for a lost intimate CD
As already revealed in the trailer, Vicky Vidya...is set in 1997 and follows the newly married titular protagonists. Seeking adventure, Vicky (Rao) decides to film their wedding night, and though Vidya (Dimri) is initially reluctant, she finally concedes. The twist in the tale occurs when the CD is stolen from their home, and Vicky-Vidya go to great lengths to retrieve it. Will they succeed?
Expecting well-fleshed-out characters? There are none here
A character constantly chewing tobacco, another desperate to get married, a woman shown as too "modern" because she speaks her mind—the film is replete with caricatures. It's not only set in the 1990s but is also completely stuck there. Perhaps the makers believe the audience also hasn't moved on from cringe-comedy, so regressive dialogues and dull jokes can be profusely vomited onscreen.
In 'Vicky Vidya...'s world, disabilities are 'funny'
The ridiculousness and atrocity of Shaandilyaa's Dream Girl 2 is replicated here. Making jokes about illnesses and disabilities is never funny, but sadly, that has always been Shaandilyaa's brand of humor. Women are called samaan, jalebi, patakha, and lisping and stuttering are mercilessly made the butt of jokes. Such films undo all the breakthroughs made by progressive cinema and set us back by years.
More on the above point
Vicky Vidya... is the big screen version of the jokes that have defined The Kapil Sharma Show/The Great Indian Kapil Show. The setting changes, but the humor remains crude and narrow-minded. How long will disabilities be mined for humor, anyway? A few gags work (only because of the actors), but if only a few do in an out-and-out comedy film, it's a red alert!
Doesn't ever, at any point, draw you in
This alleged comedy references real-life Bollywood figures and features meta moments from other films. There's also a torturous, needless, desperate hat-tip to Stree. By doing this, Vicky Vidya... aims to compensate for the lack of intelligent, funny, lively writing, but how do you rescue a full-blown dumpster fire? Additionally, whenever you see a conflict here, don't take it seriously, because it means absolutely nothing.
A massive disappointment, a test of your patience
Leave-your-brains-at-home comedies may have always worked in Bollywood, but Vicky Vidya...'s inclusion in that list feels like an insult to films like Dhamaal, Garam Masala, and Hungama. Bollywood is starved for comedy films, and Vicky Vidya... does nothing but insult your time and senses. If it were streaming on OTT, I would have forwarded most of it.
Even seems to make a mockery of professions
All characters are given surface-level treatment. For instance, Vidya is a doctor but we never see her at work, talk to a colleague, or even treat her own family members. As for Vicky, a mehendi artist, his profession is only mentioned so it can be mined shamelessly for classist jokes. It isn't just the title that's all over the place. The film is, too.
Wastes its stacked star-cast
It's a shame to see artists like Vijay Raaz and Tiku Talsania being reduced to caricatures in this cringe parade and I reeled with second-hand embarrassment throughout. Shaandilyaa isn't interested in writing an engaging drama with immersive plot points. Instead, he revels in inserting a mindless gag after every second line and throwing everything at the wall in the hope that something sticks.
What's the point of using obsolete jokes?
I was nonplussed to see characters uttering jokes that should have ideally never made the cut in this brain-dead film. I kept tossing and turning in my seat, constantly checking the runtime and waiting for it to end. There's only so much torture you can bear, after all. You shouldn't be paying to watch this film, it should be the other way around.
Tries to give a message, but fails there too
An idea like this—which runs out of life in half an hour itself—should have been a short film. Or, even better, no film at all. It's so regressive that it reinforces that women should be respected because they are someone's wife or sister, their own identity notwithstanding. What's the message here? Everything that can go wrong with a film goes wrong with Vicky Vidya...
Rao is the sole watchable aspect of the film
I am amazed at how Rao's performance doesn't suffer despite such shallow writing and a completely hollow plot. He is the only watchable aspect of this lackluster, drab affair, and earns the movie its lone star. His looks may remind you of Guns & Gulaabs, but Rao makes this character completely distinct, and I couldn't take my eyes off him.
Don't watch even on OTT; 1/5 stars
Toward the end, Shaandilyaa tries to replicate a Priyadarshan-like technique by weaving a chaotic sequence involving multiple major characters. Alas, like everything else in the film, this is a failed attempt, too. All in all, Vicky Vidya.. feels less like a comedy film and more like a parody of one. Watching it isn't a leisure activity, it's a death sentence.
