Shukranu Review: Not-so-Funny take on ‘Nasbandi’ does not completely protect you from boredom!

Shukranu (Meaning) - Sperm. The film narrates the story of poor Inder who lands in trouble after his vasectomy. The film talks about the funny perspective of India’s one of the most alarming government programs in India.

Set against the backdrop of Emergency in Delhi, India; Shukranu facsimiles pre-existing characters that mimic several traits from mainstream Bollywood cinema. The lack of subject and plot has forced the makers to revive stories from 1976 and as always what we have is the over-exaggerated frame/realm stocked with characters who are neither living the specified era nor do they act like the same. 

Agreed, for a moment let us consider the fact that the film wanted to talk about sperm (as the name suggests), and without a doubt writer/director Bishnu Dev Halder stuck to the subject… However, as always, he succumbed to the same error that almost every other director executes - ‘the setting of a film’. Halder chose the era of 1976 however, the characters fail to make an impact as their costume and the philosophy of the characters do not match what film is all about. 

Several characters conflict the idea of their portrayal as the basic logic suggests, a character’s thought process is equivalent to that of his profession or his surrounding. Inder falls in love with Reema who is a daughter of Phelwan, and in consideration of the period, Indian society was entangled with the orthodox mindset which still fails to decamp. Despite such factors that repeatedly demanded a sensible attempt to feature the right cause and timing of the love story, Reema is given leniency for being the only daughter of Phelwan’s Sardar. Apart from that, she is seen wandering on the streets of Delhi wearing the face of a modern and overly fashionable girl her band of barbie dolls. 

The writer planned on adding humor to a rather serious issue, however, the dull and unseemingly bad scripting hardly brought out a smirk. The undefined context had minor inconsistencies (which you need not ponder about) but it made a huge impact on the film as a whole. 

Divyendu Sharma, Shweta Basu Prasad, Sheetal Thakur, and Aakash Dabhade don’t seem to go overboard with their performance. The subtle use of expressions and considerably efficient use of body language keeps the film in place, however, their characters needed too much work.

Over the years orthodox characters to the likes of Inder have romanticized the idea of extending their bloodline and it seems like Shukranu wants to add fuel to the fire by doing so. (I won't spoil the climax for you... If you plan on watching the film.) (That is the climax for you to know. If you plan on watching the film)

Frankly, this one-time watch film loops on paradoxes which would have been irrelevant during 1976. it would have been if the director had studied the subject and planned the film accordingly. In general, this would have impacted the film’s exposition but it would have worked under his favor as it could offer him a chance to play around with the characters and added more room for humor and seriousness. 

(Rating: 2.5/5)