‘Wild Wild Punjab’ movie review: Childish friendship comedy isn’t wild enough

A scene from ‘Wild Wild Punjab’

It was clear, even before Varun Sharma climbed onto the car roof, opened his slippers and spat out a long shot of urine, that wild wild punjab This was not a serious film. But is it that wild? The scene described above is probably the craziest thing ever – perhaps a hint, a hint, towards fukrey 3The rest of Simarpreet Singh’s film is oddly strained and subdued, a blur of absurd antics and absurd one-liners. “Respect me, man,” someone tells Sharma’s character, a compliment I can’t do for the film.

Khanna (Sharma) is reeling from a breakup, his girlfriend has left him to look for a better option… who can blame him? Khanna’s friends – Maan (Sunny Singh), Gaurav (Jassi Gill) and Honey (Manjot Singh) – hatch a plan to put him out of his misery. They will travel from Patiala to Pathankot, infiltrate his ex-girlfriend’s (Ashima Vardan) wedding and make Khanna have his way. Of course, none of these plans go exactly right, as the four end up doing crazy things in the Punjab countryside.

Writers Sandeep Jain and Harman Wadala have brought Luv Ranjan’s story to life and showcased cultural stereotypes at their lowest point throughout the story. wild wild punjab They are drunks, sipping alcohol from barrels and attached to their wheels. The state’s various problems—drug abuse, suicide, gangsterism, illegal migration—become childish jokes. Honey comes across as a mustachioed caricature of a sardar with a heart of gold, his kindness touched by a woman in distress calling him ‘Veere.’ Somewhere in the juvenile heart of this film, there is an interest in examining the dowry problem in Punjab. But all of this is squandered by lines like, “I will slap her… I don’t discriminate between a boy and a girl,” or everyone referring to Khanna’s ex-wife as a ‘prostitute’ (real name: Vaishali).

It is indeed an act of heroic restraint that Pulkit Samrat and Ali Fazal have fukery There are no cameos from the franchise in this film. Sharma, who is drunk and high most of the time, taking bullets in his back, looks barely different from his previous roles. Sunny Singh looks much calmer than before Lone manThe bow and arrow have been replaced by a buzzcut and piercings. For a buddy comedy, the film never convincingly establishes the group dynamics. “There’s a difference between a Sufi and a gold digger,” Mann declares about Vaishali, yet we also learn that she extorts money from her best friends.

wild wild punjab There is a lack of horsepower and horseplay. Simarpreet, a debut director, struggles to choreograph the level of comedic chaos he clearly aspires to: a chase involving a psychedelic truck, an SUV, a scooter and a police van fizzles out without any thrust. Near the climax, a bottle of illegal pills is unloaded into chicken feed, yet nothing comes of this promising setup. This is not a Extreme intoxication We were told that this movie seemed to me less of a joke and more of a clear admission of defeat.

Wild Wild Punjab is streaming on Netflix