Movie Review- RSVP Ronde Saare Vyah Picho

Tagline: The most romantic, exciting and exhilarating scam of 2013!
Preview: Once upon a time in good ol’ Sadda Punjab, lived a carefree and cheerful girl named Manpreet. Like any lively Punjabi girl, her big fat wedding day had finally arrived with teeming pomp and fanfare. Jasraj Brar was his name. He was your characteristic, cock-and-bull story Punjab Da Prince Charming; Flamboyant, Hoodlum, Brawny & Affluent. Everything in life seemed completely different, exciting and worthwhile. Meanwhile, the effervescent Manpreet is not so sure about him. Unmistakably, he’s not ‘The One’. All hope seems lost. Until….Manpreet’s only glimmer of hope rises in the avatar of a long-lost heart. A man who is helplessly and hopelessly in love with her.….!
Box Office Expectations: RSVP defies the regular stereotype mad cap comedies & is a romantic comedy genre film with a serious thread. The only notable star being Neeru Bajwa, & all good but not so big names in Pollywood, this one is not expected to take box office by storm….Instead, decent 50-60% opening is on the cards & thereafter, the content will do the talking (if good). It has got a widespread release with over 290 screens in the domestic market besides screenings overseas. The film will also hit the silver screens in Britain, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the US. However, if that doesn’t happen (good content to talk), Boss is coming next week midweek on Wednesday 16th October ala Besharam style to take away chunk of the screens.

Cast: Neeru Bajwa, Harish Verma, Guggu Gill, Jaswinder Bhalla, Pukhraj Bhalla, Navneet Nishan, Rana Ranbir, Rajpal Yadav

Director: Vijay Kumar Arora (Renowned DOP of Dhamaal, Faltu, ABCD making his Debut with a Punjabi Film)

Duration: 130 Minutes

Movie Review: Neeru Bajwa plays the role of Manpreet aka Manu aka Munni, a con woman who along with her Mama-Mami (Jaswinder Bhalla & Navneet Nishaan) & Cousin Brother Heera (Pukhraj Bhalla) commit marriage based frauds defrauding people like Goldy (Rana Ranbir), Chunni Singh Dhillon aka Chunni Mishra (Rajpal Yadav), Bobby (Arvind Bhatti) & Ranbir Singh (Harish Verma) of their money & valuables. Problem occurs when the Ser gets a Sawa Ser in the form of Brar (Guggu Gill) who becomes hell bent on getting his illiterate younger son married to Manpreet. How does Manpreet & family escape Brar? Does Ranbir get united to Manpreet? What happens to the rest of the defrauded forms the crux of the Pre-Climax & Climax. Divulging more here would lead to the spilling of the beans.

Half Analysis: The first half is racy, pacy & full of comic masti. The story builds in the first half, but in the 2nd half, the story slightly goes off track, certain amount of boredom is felt, however it is not due to random songs popping up, but due to lack of meat in screenplay, Nevertheless, it picks up steam in climax which is hilarious. The end is subtle & justified.

Story, Screenplay & Dialogues: Jaswinder Bhalla is known for his novel one liners. He doesn’t disappoint this time & delivers a great one-liner. It is a romantic comedy so, there is hardly a tight script, but that’s common with Punjabi films & as long as they entertain, nobody requires it as well. The screenplay loss isn’t felt in first half probably because it is hilarious, but boredom creeps in at places in 2nd half as the screenplay goes haywire becoming one of convenience. The dialogues range from too hilarious to ordinary at places, however, I felt certain novelty in the Dialogues in the film.

Performances: Neeru Bajwa, one of the most successful & popular actresses in Punjabi Film History, & 'The Juliet of Audiences' Hearts', is a versatile and multifaceted performer par excellence who has delivered hit after hit & is currently one of the icons of Punjabi Cinema. She doesn’t disappoint this time as well & her character requires various shades which she successfully goes through. Harish Verma skyrocketed to fame after his trailblazing role as 'Jatt Tinka' in the 2011 smash hit 'Yaar Annmulle'. He, for me is the only decent actor around in Punjabi cinema after Gippy Grewal & Diljit Dosanjh (Not to forget Jimmy Shergill, but he is primarily a Bollywood actor). Harish is trying hard to make his foothold in the Punjabi Film industry dominated by Singer-Actors. He is great in the film but what fails is his chemistry with Neeru Bajwa which is seen just in the pre-Climax & Climax, otherwise, they are hardly together in the film. Jaswinder Bhalla entertains well & his unique one-liner has always been the sought after one in every movie he does. Guggu Gill performs ably with his Jatt & Gandasa in the villainous role. He is excellent in the Fuffad Scene as well as in the Climax. Navneet Nishan is Ok. Rana Ranbir has a short role (thankfully) & he doesn’t irritate. Rajpal Yadav as Chunni Singh Dhillon aka Chunni Mishra is making his debut in this Punjabi film & in a short role, his escapades with Neeru are too hilarious & are sure to bring the house down. Pukhraj Bhalla (son of Jaswinder Bhalla) enacts the role of Jaswinder Bhalla’s son & Neeru’s cousin brother Heera in the movie & he has some fantastic one-liners in the film & is a decent performer. Rest of the cast is passable.  

Music: When 4 Music directors are there for the movie, it ought to be good. There are 3-4 songs in the movie & they have been very wisely used & don’t act as path breakers in the movie. All the songs are good especially the Aai Bo Song which is very peppy.

DOP & other Technical Aspects: The film has a very colourful & vibrant look throughout & is soothing to the eyes. The locales have been good particularly the shots of Amritsar. A particular shot is awesome & worth mentioning here, is when Harish Verma visits Neeru Bajwa for the first time at their residence in Amritsar & the backdrop of Golden Temple in that particular shot looks amazingly beautiful & scenic. That one scene alone is so mesmerizing that you forget the chemistry of Harish & Neeru over there.

Editing & Direction: The editing is good in 1st half, but drags in 2nd. The direction is good considering that the Director is a first timer & has tried to take an unconventional route to comedy in Pollywood.

Conclusion: The expectations are not sky high i.e. why the film gains your attention for most part except in the beginning of 2nd half. Coming from a first timer, it is a decently entertaining movie which has its share of flaws, but the positives outnumber the negatives making it a worth watchable movie & not even once you repent coming to Cinema to spend your valuable time & money over the movie. With a run time of 130 minutes, it should not be taxing as well. The point worth mentioning over here is that it is not a mad cap or loud mouth comedy except Bhalla Sr. who sometimes goes overboard, but nevertheless he & the movie entertains.

Final Say: Summing it up, it's a decent comedy, worth watching, entertains majorly but is a drag at places in 2nd half start...........3*
Box Office Opening: RSVP is made on a modest budget of 2.5 Crore which includes promotion, marketing & advertisement. The movie has also been strategically marketed and the makers have used various means to promote the film globally. It has received a reasonably good response across Punjab. The start has been in the range of 70-80% overall, in the morning shows with the chances to pick up with word of mouth by evening shows.