Qarib Qarib Singlle Review Thread

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Eggon_Snow

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Qarib Qarib Singlle Movie Review: Irrfan-Parvathy's Chemistry Creates Old World Charm in The Times of Dating Apps

Tanuja Chandra has dealt with the complexities of a middle-aged woman and relationships in modern age really well.

Updated on: November 10, 2017, 3:26 PM IST

Sameeksha , News18.com

Qarib Qarib Singlle Review: Irrfan-Parvathy Create Old World Charm in The Times of Dating Apps

Romance has been the core soul of Hindi Cinema since the time it began. From the tragic heartbreaks in the era of Guru Dutt and Dilip Kumar to the exotic romances in Yash Chopra's vision, love is an emotion depicted in every form in Bollywood. However, Tanuja Chandra's latest film Qarib Qarib Singlle gives an interesting take on the age-old formula of man-woman romance, which is refreshing, relatable and charming at the same time. Starring Irrfan Khan and Malayalam actress Parvathy in lead roles, Qarib Qarib Singlle is all about middle-aged romance in the times of dating apps.

The romantic comedy begins with an emotionally tattered widow Jaya (Parvathy), a disciplined, reserved and classy woman who makes an account on a dating website under pressure, only to meet a flamboyant, rich, sensitive and talkative Yogi (Irrfan). Right from their first meeting, he gets on her nerves, and by the third date proposes a trip to Jaya covering Rishikesh, Jaipur, and Gangtok to meet his exes. While Jaya has two minds about the trip, she still finds her on the plane to begin the journey. That marks the start of a rather off-beat, 'almost' relationship where neither of them confronts about what they are until the film's climax.

There is a certain familiarity with the story and the conversations between the two characters are as authentic as they can get. The film has no romantic dance chases, no heartbreaks, no dreamy sequences and no melodrama to profess love, yet the charm and filmy-ness remain intact. Now, the film doesn't give you any '#romancegoals' but the way new-age dating has been discussed in the film will make you smile and gives out a sense of familiarity, even if you are nowhere near 'middle-age'.

Tanuja Chandra has dealt with the complexities of a middle-aged woman and relationships in modern age really well. And the fact that despite being all 2017, the film has a classic, old-world tone underneath. Maybe, that's why the way Jaya and Yogi act doesn't appear corny or superficial, but very real.

Irrfan and Parvathy do their jobs perfectly. While Irrfan makes you simultaneously love and get irritated by Yogi's habits, it is Parvathy's fresh presence that keeps you glued to the screen. Both the actors look natural playing characters everyone has witnessed at least once in their lifetime. While Irrfan's Yogi keeps the screen vibrant, Parvathy balances it out with her serenity.

Qarib Qarib Singlle is a clean, authentic story of an 'almost' relationship, just the way millennials like it. The film is rooted in real life and the differences between the characters keep you invested. This Irrfan Khan, Parvathy starrer is definitely worth a watch for its fresh pairing and storytelling. A 'Qarib Qarib perfect' love story of two almost single people.

Ratings:3/5

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Eggon_Snow

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Qarib Qarib Singlle Movie Review: Irrfan Khan, Parvathy Star In Freewheeling Tale Of Lonely Hearts

Qarib Qarib Singlle Movie Review: Irrfan Khan's film might put off average filmgoers but if you see value in a movie that breaks away from norm and derives strength from understatement rather than flashy storytelling methods, your search ends here

Entertainment | Saibal Chatterjee | Updated: November 10, 2017 08:32 Cast: Irrfan Khan, Parvathy, Bajrangbali Singh, Neha Dhupia

Director: Tanuja Chandra

Genre: Comedy, Romance

Rating: 3 Stars Out of 5

A light-hearted traipse through loves lost and lives interrupted, Tanuja Chandra's Qarib Qarib Singlle - yes, it is single with double 'l' - isn't anywhere near qarib qarib perfect. But give or take a few stray missteps, it is an elegantly crafted, languidly paced film that puts a delightfully off-kilter, mellow spin on the conventions of the rom-com. In fact, given its unusual narrative arc in which nothing seems to be happening by way of overt action and plot progression, Qarib Qarib Singlle is a difficult film to slot in any single genre.

Buoyed by two contrasting but highly effective lead performances from Irrfan and Parvathy, the film, despite the obvious pacing issues, weaves a free-wheeling tale around a trip that two lonely hearts undertake after they meet via a dating site and begin a tentative relationship over cups of latte in a Mumbai cafe. Temperamentally, they are polar opposites and the drama, whatever little there is of it, is sparked by the big and small contrasts that inform their approaches to life and love.

Qarib Qarib Singlle: Irrfan Khan and Parvathy in a still (Image courtesy: Instagram)

The screenplay (by Tanuja Chandra and Gazal Dhaliwal, also the dialogue writer) is neither whippy nor trippy. If you are looking for a dizzying ride, it does not offer one. Qarib Qarib Singlle hinges on a whimsical, occasionally witty but always sedate construct. It does not hustle the two central characters into set-piece situations designed to place their innermost thoughts under the glare of a flash-torch or serve to fulfil standard audience expectations. It oftentimes wanders off on a detour, especially in the middle portions of the second half, and that could be disorienting for some.

If you survive that bump, you will notice that the film does not take recourse to any sort of emotional manipulation. It lets the twosome stumble along, adventurously and completely non-judgmentally, as they travel from one place to another in search of their past - and, hopefully, of their future. That creative strategy yields a romantic comedy variant in which neither the romance nor the comedy is served in big, crowd-pleasing scoops.

It is delivered instead in small doses as the unlikely pair sets off across the country to meet the man's old flames who, he cockily believes, are still pining for him. The voyage by air, rail and road takes them to Rishikesh, Rajasthan and Sikkim and culminates on a ropeway dangling over Gangtok. Has any Hindi film in living memory, or any memory at all, ever ended in Gangtok?

What Qarib Qarib Singlle lacks by way of zest and zing - it isn't that the film is looking for either of these two attributes - it makes up with an expansive approach to an evolving, inchoate relationship that has neither a defined curve nor a designated destination. The film's mild twists are only markers for endings and beginnings that are intimations, at best, of new possibilities, especially for the ever-interesting female protagonist. She isn't an average singing, dancing damsel desperate to cling on to the first man who comes her way. She is a woman who has seen enough of life not to be unduly intimidated by boredom and monotony.

The heroine is a reticent Jaya Sasidharan (Parvathy), a young widow who has moved on since the death of her army man husband a decade ago and immersed herself in her health insurance career. She is doing perfectly well for herself but she is, at the behest of her brother (Siddharth Menon), a university student we see only in the course of Skype chats, is still looking for a way of starting over.

The hero is an effusive, garrulous Yogi (Irrfan), a small-time poet who has loved and lost three women since the time he was in high school, but hasn't allowed heartbreak to deflect him from his merry, impulsive ways.

The two hook up and, on the spur of the moment and against Jaya's own best counsel, go on a journey to meet Yogi's girlfriends - Radha (Pushtiie Shakti), Anjali (Neha Dhupia) and Gauri (Isha Sharwani) - but it turns out to be a voyage of discovery that holds the promise of helping them get to a better place than the ones that they have been in all these years.

Jaya, in her mid-30s, is methodical in her approach, hates surprises and isn't a woman of many words. Forty-year-old Yogi is glib and carefree and holds forth on everything from the 'rocket science' of making raita to the many virtues of chatori mathri. He misses a flight. He boards a wrong train. But nothing ever seems to fluster him. The former needs pills in order to fall asleep, the latter dozes off and begins to snore in the middle of voice calls. Yogi's endless chatter frequently gets on Jaya's nerves, but her annoyance subsides soon enough and gives way to acquiescence.

There is a point in the film when just a suggestion of desire, too, sneaks into the equation, but it does so in very subtle ways and does not manifest itself in outright physical displays of affection. Qarib Qarib Singlle isn't a film about falling in love and going cuckoo. It is more about two somewhat cynical and totally dissimilar individuals shedding their reservations about having another go at life.

For Irrfan, Qarib Qarib Singlle is a veritable breeze. He cruises through the film with customary elan without breaking a sweat. His comic timing is at its scintillating best. Malayalam cinema star Parvathy, in her first Hindi role, brings easy charm and intelligence to bear upon the character of Jaya. She fills every frame with a warm glow.

Talking of the frames, a mention of the work of director of photography Eeshit Narain is in order. His lighting and visual compositions, striking in the depth that they manage to create even in closed spaces, lends a distinct look and feel to the film. The frames aren't uniformly illumined. Nor does the camera focus solely on faces. Narain creates angular, evocative images that thrive on an interplay of light, shade and shadows.

The unhurried rhythm of Qarib Qarib Singllemight put off average filmgoers but if you see value in a film that breaks away from norm and derives strength from understatement rather than flashy storytelling methods, your search ends here.

Edited by Eggon_Snow - 7 years ago

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Eggon_Snow

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Director: Tanuja Chandra

Cast: Irrfan Khan, Parvathy, Neha Dhupia.

Director Tanuja Chandra has always been a good story teller, be it a revenge saga Dushman or a spine chilling thriller of a transgender Sangharsh. For the first time, she tries hands on a light hearted tale of two middle aged strangers which is worth your ticket price.

Viyogi (Irrfan Khan), 40 year old poet meets 35 year old widow Jaya (Parvathy) on a dating site. After a couple of coffee sessions, the two decide to go on a trip to Rishikesh, Jaipur and Sikkim. In the meantime, the two develop feelings for each other but the two also have plans to meet their exes on their way. Will Viyogi finally meets the right girl in Jaya?

Two individuals, their journey and a symbolic ending, it is refreshing to see such a story in today's time. Director Tanuja Chandra brings out the best from the two middle aged people and their issues that are real and relevant. However, the second half is little dragged where plot takes a back seat but with funny one liners, it is a lot easier to sit through the climax. The film also have glimpses of Jab We Met and Anjana Anjaani where two people meet and their journey begins.

Parvathy is too good as a workaholic, shy and asexual woman. She highlights the issues of a working modern woman with finesse who tries hard to get an action. Irrfan is brilliant as a flamboyant and a flirt poet. The interesting part of the film is their awkward chemistry throughout. Neha Dhupia, Isha Sherwani and Luke Kenny look good as their respective exes.

Overall, Qarib Qarib Singlle is funny and vibrant with not a dull moment except for one or two. Watch it for a clean old school romance.

Edited by Eggon_Snow - 7 years ago

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Eggon_Snow

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Qarib Qarib Singlle' review: The best travel rom-com since 'Jab We Met'

IANS | Published: 10th November 2017 04:04 PM

A still from Qarib Qarib Singlle

Film: "Qarib Qarib Singlle";

Cast: Irrfan Khan, Parvathy;

Director: Tanuja Chandra; Rating: ****

Look, there are lots of problems in "Qarib Qarib Singlle" -- as there are in life. But that's what makes life, and life in the movies, worth living.

"Qarib Qarib Singlle" is a delightful 'romp'-com about two middle-aged strangers -- one a widow and the other a vagabond -- travelling together to meet his ex-girlfriends. Don't giggle. Nothing new here. But then if you want something new, please visit your nearest mall and buy yourself a fresh coat of paint for your living room. Movies make sense only when they bring us characters we know in ways that we never knew that we knew them.

And I can swear I have met Yogi and Jaya somewhere. The fact that they are played by Irrfan and Parvathy (a prized find for Bollywood) is just so providential for director Tanuja Chandra. The director gets the best possible actors for the two principal parts. I can't imagine what Yogi and Jaya would have been like had they been played by George Clooney and Meryl Streep.

What follows after the flawless casting for the flawed protagonists is sheer serendipity, as Yogi and Jaya -- so mismatched they make chalk and cheese appear like long-lost twins -- take off on a journey that they, and we, can never forget.

More than anything else, it is just so refreshing to meet protagonists who are over-the-hill and not afraid of the view on the other side. At least not afraid to peep with brazen curiosity to see what lies in store after middle age.

So, I was telling you about Jaya and Yogi. Jaya is a 35-year-old widow and Yogi is an obnoxious 'chipkoo' -- a human leech -- who just doesn't know when to stop trying to get the other person's attention. In real life, we avoid the Yogis, although we know they are helpful, kind, generous, considerate and well-meaning.

Irrfan pulls out all stops to play Yogi. He redefines the word 'obnoxious', and manages to make Yogi endearing, like a distant benign loud and crass cousin who makes politically incorrect ambivalently sexist comments sound plausible and acceptable. I doubt any actor, except Irrfan, could have played Yogi so honestly.

Irrfan has a terrific co-star in Parvathy, a well-known name from Malayalam cinema. She plays Jaya with the right doses of insecurity and swagger, pulling in her breath when tense, exhaling exuberantly when relaxed, making Jaya one of Bollywood's first post-30 heroines whose insecurities define rather than obstruct the free flow of feistiness.

There are memorable cameos dotting the devilishly flippant plot. Sidharth Menon as Jaya's brother on Facetime, is a part that shines for its writing. Navneet Nishan as a ditzy gossip-monger shows up twice with lumbering languor. And the wonderful Brajendra Kala is terrific in a cameo as a hotel receptionist wondering if he should allot a single or a double room to Yogi and Jaya.

Our thoughts, exactly.

Though we know how this would end (movie hai na, baba), we get sucked into Yogi and Jaya's crazy Bharat Darshan, probably because we have all been in such situations thrown together with people whom ideally we would avoid. Also, the journey is so strikingly captured.

Cinematographer Eeshit Narain makes Hardwar, Rishikesh, Gangtok and even Rajasthan look inviting enough to make us want to leave everything behind and rush for a vacation.

But not now, please! There is business yet to be finished between this criminally unmatched couple who seem to share nothing in common except trains, planes and taxis. Speaking of taxis, there are two interesting cameos by chauffeurs whom Irrfan's Yogi insists on calling 'Betaji' and who, again, like much else in the film, are people whom we've all met at some point in life.

The film persistently strikes up conversations we have had, or overheard somewhere or the other.

Tanuja Chandra's film doesn't simply touch your heart. It runs against the most sensitive portions of the heart, tugs and pulls at your emotions in ways that are far from manipulative or gratuitous. Yes, some portions after the midpoint get repetitive. The narrative tends to sag in parts. But nothing that Irrfan and Parvathy can't swoop up in their arms and revivify.

The film is a gloriously joyous journey into the heart and the heartland. It is refreshing to come across a film where the protagonists sound neither over-rehearsed nor strenuously casual. The conversations are real. Mercifully, when these protagonists talk or sing they are not afraid to make mistakes.

And yes, get ready to fall in love with that vintage Amit Kumar-R.D. Burman number "Bade achche lagte hain" all over again.

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Eggon_Snow

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Film Review: Qarib Qarib Singlle

A patchily constructed romantic comedy, redeemed somewhat by Irrfan and Parvathy

Irrfan Khan and Parvathy in a still from Qarib Qarib Singlle'.

Uday Bhatia

The last time Irrfan took a road trip with a woman he liked was Piku in 2015. He was so likeable in the film, so clearly the reason that acidic narrative didn't curdle, that a retread of some sort was always on the cards. And sure enough, two years later, we get Qarib Qarib Singlle, which has nothing to do with Piku except that the actor's once again travelling with a woman in need of some cheering up. Tanuja Chandra's film removes the extra baggage of a third passenger, offering in its place Irrfan and Parvathy (Bangalore Days, Take Off), with a side helping of Irrfan.

At the receiving end of this charm offensive is Jaya (Parvathy), a 35-year-old manager in an insurance firm. Her husband died a decade ago; since then, she's stayed away from romantic relationships, spending her free time video-chatting with her younger brother and baby- and cat-sitting for unappreciative friends. This changes when she comes across a man named Yogi (Irrfan) on a dating website. His hobbies are "poetry, poetry, poetry, the triplicate assertion a warning that this isn't someone who believes in using one word when you can easily use three.

Yogi arrives for their first meeting, in a coffee shop, wearing a bright red jacket and dark glasses. His conversation is, if anything, even less abashed than his sartorial style he babbles on about lattes, poetry, jogging and the ugliness of the Indian male. Jaya barely gets a few words in edgeways, but she's intrigued enough to meet this odd man again. He's just as overwhelming on their next date, and on the one after that, but he clearly likes Jaya, and she's starting to show signs of liking him too. Yogi then suggests something outrageous: trips to Rishikesh, Alwar and Gangtok to visit his three significant exes and see how they've fared since he last saw them. Even by romantic comedy standards, this a monumentally flimsy suggestion, but cautious, sensible Jaya who hasn't been in a serious relationship after her husband and still uses his name as her laptop password somehow agrees.

Despite its preposterous premise, Qarib Qarib Singlle is often funny and sometimes rather touching. Both Jaya and Yogi are bent out of shape; she's kept the world at a distance, while he can't seem to let go of this image of himself as a dashing young poet. But as he keeps yammering away, she gradually opens up, even as they drop in unannounced on his former (now married) girlfriends, who, surprisingly, still have strong feelings for this cartoonish man.

Irrfan and Parvathy are an enjoyable pair, addressing each other as "Mister Yogi and "Miss Jaya (which gives it the sound of a Hrishikesh Mukherjee comedy), making half-exasperated, half-amused attempts to loosen up or quieten down the other. Parvathy's slow relaxation is lovely to watch, though I wish the writers (Tanuja Chandra, Kamna Chandra, Gazal Dhaliwal) hadn't included an extended comic sequence where she's high on sleep meds. I also had an issue with a device that Chandra uses through the film: Parvathy looking straight at the camera and delivering asides to the audience. I'm not against a little fourth-wall breaking but its deployment here doesn't match the straightforward tone of the film, and when it's used for dramatic effect towards the end there's no corresponding emotional tug.

Unlike Bareilly Ki Barfi and Shubh Mangal Savdhan, two of the brighter comedies this year, Qarib doesn't pack its final moments with incident. Instead, after taking the trouble of going to the mountains and finding someone for Jaya to meet, it just ends, pretty much the way you'd expect it to, as if the writers had run out of plot. As the credits rolled I realised this is probably the last we'll see of Jaya and Yogi. Pity. It's not just flawless films that have fascinating characters.

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SillyPepper

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Qarib Qarib Singlle: The odd couple

Namrata Joshi

NOVEMBER 10, 2017 11:57 IST

UPDATED: NOVEMBER 10, 2017 16:32 IST

In one of the most charming romantic films in recent times, Irrfan and Parvathy are in perfect sync.

I have always found something oddly riveting about a couple of "near-romantic on-screen personae of Irrfan Khan in Life In A...Metro and Piku. On the one hand there are SRK's charming Raj and Rahul, on the other are Khan's unconventional Monty and Rana; at first sight any modern, sophisticated urban woman's worst nightmares loud, uncouth and utterly lacking in social graces. Monty and Rana get full blown in Qareeb Qareeb Singlle in the form of Yogi the one with lecherous eyes, rough flirtatious ways and a stalker like air. And despite all that, so attractive.

Perhaps it's the ready wit and repartee, the self-deprecating humour or the inherent decency lurking underneath the coarse exterior. Or simply the "otherness of the guy the outsider you feel at one with, but with no strings attached.

Qarib Qarib Singlle carries the mismatched couple the woman not being able to stand the guy situation of Metro... andPiku but with such immense freshness, fun and aplomb that it leaves you smiling all the way. And the smile creeps up again and again when you look back at the tale of two strangers Yogi and Jaya meeting through a dating app and going on a journey together to Dehradun, Rishikesh, Delhi, Alwar, Jaipur and Gangtok to revisit their past, and, in the process, discover themselves and each other.

The man here is older and seemingly "formed, the woman is younger and in the process of "formation. One is delusional about his past that former girlfriends still hold a candle for him; other is holding on to things, memorialising a dead husband in a password. The film is about letting go and reconciling with what was, to move on to what could be in the future.

Qarib Qarib Singlle

Director: Tanuja Chandra
Starring: Irrfan Khan, Parvathy, Neha Dhupia, Isha Sharvani, Brijendra Kala
Storyline: Two polar opposite individuals meet through a dating app, are thrown together on a journey in which they discover themselves and each other
Run time: 2 hours 8 minutes

QQS is a happy confluence of many things besides an absolutely entrancing, candid and un-self-conscious Khan who makes acting seem utterly easy and effortless. Parvathy, as Jaya, holds her own confidently with her fresh, earthy, believable, un-heroine like air, complete with the glasses and the hair tied up in a bun.

The original story penned long back by Kamna Chandra is hearteningly progressive in a casual than stated way being a widow is no big deal, as is a man and woman splitting cost of a trip. It is updated to the present and becomes a delightful and charming watch under the baton of her own daughter, Tanuja Chandra. But the takeaway is the dialogue. Gazal Dhaliwal's lines are not the "pick out and quote sorts but make the conversations between Yogi and Jaya feel so real that one is reminded of Richard Linklater's Before Sunrise/Sunset/Midnight trilogy.

Here too the focus essentially remains on the two (despite the many marginal characters). Both are fleshed out well as individuals without necessarily explaining every detail about them.

There is the hilarious putting down of "cheap men on the Internet by Khan which is followed by an unexpectedly romantic "aap ki ungliyan khoob bolti hain (your fingers talk a lot) talk with Jaya. What else do you do but smile? And then that disarmingly romantic morning chat between her in the bed and him on the couch, in the same room, fully clothed. No, not quite what you'd imagine.

In DDLJ, love happened because Raj helped Simran board the train in the nick of time. Yet again, it found a happy end with the boarding of the train. In QQS, the journey of love is all about missed flights and trains. The end also is about barely making it signifying the arrival to the next stage of a relationship, about continuity than a closure. Where would Yogi and Jaya go from there? There are endless possibilities for endless stories. So do we have the start of a romantic franchise here? I will surely buy the tickets for the sequel(s).

Qarib Qarib Singlle Movie Review: A Qarib Qarib' perfect tale of lost and found love

Reshu Manglik November 10, 2017 16:32 IST

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Movie Name: Qarib Qarib Singlle

Critics Rating:3/5

Release Date: 10-11-2017

Star Cast:

Director: Tanuja Chandra

Genre: Romantic Comedy

Qarib Qarib Singlle, starring Irrfan Khan and Parvathy released on 10th November facing a clash with Rajkummar Rao-starrer Shaadi Me Zaroor Aana. After a sabbatical of 9 years, director Tanuja Chandra makes a light-hearted romantic or let's say romantic-comedy film with the mighty actor Irrfan Khan in the lead role. Qarib Qarib Singlle is Chandra's first film in Bollywood. Irrfan, on the other hand, appeared in superhit Hindi Medium, which did wonders both on critical grounds as well as box-office. (In case you're rubbing your eyes to recheck an extra L' in the word singlle, let us tell you that it's actually and deliberately there.)

Qarib Qarib Singlle Plot

So the Irrfan Khan-starrer film is a no-drama tale of two poles apart personalities Jaya and Yogi. Jaya is a no-bullshit woman with methodical approach in everything she does in her life. She lost her husband to war at a young age and ever since then she prefers to keep herself submerged in her work. At an age of 35, driven by the ennui and loneliness, she decides to venture into the world of online dating. On a website called Abtaksingle.com,she meets a small-time poet Yogi, who is, in every way, everything she isn't. He is spontaneous, crackpot and a restless person. They meet over two cups of Latte, but the brief meeting takes them to a life- changing adventure trip to Rajasthan, Rishikesh and Sikkim.

Qarib Qarib Singlle Review

Going by the outline of the movie, it seems to be an amalgamation of Tamasha, Jab Harry Met Sejal and a lot many movies which endorse tourism. But giving it a closer look, it's nothing like any of them. Repeating what I mentioned above, it's a no-drama film. Which means, you'll not find any goon- chasing in-the-alley scenes, flash mob dances, or romantic numbers in pristine valleys. It's a plain Bollywood movie which rather sticks to the commonplace rite of passage theme. How two people who've lost something in some or the other form are brought together under the same roof by life. How they evolve to develop a liking for each other. How, despite having strikingly dissimilar personalities, they find their solace in each other.

Kamna Chandra has given a melodramatic twist to an otherwise conventional rom-com which ends on a happy note. Not that this movie doesn't end on a happy note, but through the course, it doesn't have many over-dramatic sequences and tragedies, unlike usual Bollywood movies. In fact, Qarib Qarib Singlle doesn't qualify to be explained as a particular genre. It's a concoction of romance, comedy and life, and by life we mean, the life of common people that don't involve steep turns and twists.

Jaya and Yogi embark on a journey to revisit their past, only to meet what's in store for them in the future. They walk together down the memory lane, only to find their ways entwined together, leading them to a beautiful destination called love. Initially, Yogi's flamboyant way of living life gets on the nerve of Jaya, who isn't a woman of many words. But soon, she surprisingly finds herself craving to get more of him. The chemistry between Jaya and Yogi isn't the best that Bollywood has seen so far. But it is enchanting in a way that leaves you wanting more of their antics.

Now coming to the part where the film lags behind. Right from the beginning, Qarib Qarib Singlle promises you of a facile love story without the glitter and dazzles of Bollywood climaxes. It keeps your eyes glued to the screen till the intermission. But after that, the graph goes significantly down. The lenient execution of the plot is to be blamed. While it reaches the second half, the film seems to be going nowhere. You'll find yourself scratching your head, where the writer intends to take us. Unnecessary complications were planted between the couple just to conclude the otherwise too realistic love story. Things go absurd to an extent that we begin to think what's wrong with the female protagonist. Is she a sadist who's so addicted to the melancholy of our life? That's the bump, a big one. If you go through that and you're forgiving enough to let that go, the film is near-perfect.

Irrfan Khan and Parvathy as individuals were a stunner in Qarib Qarib Singlle. It was a visual delight to see the Malayalam cinema star as a coy, unadorned Indian woman. The baby-like cuteness on the actress' face under the sun will hook your eyes for a second or two. Irrfan Khan is at his usual best, acing in whichever role he's assigned. Playing a love-seeking poet, having failed thrice in love, Irrfan Khan as Yogi is annoying but in a positive manner. It appeared to us that playing the role of Yogi was a child's play for Irrfan Khan, who drifts smoothly as an obscure poet, without reminding us of his stardom.

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QARIB QARIB SINGLLE MOVIE REVIEW: TANUJA CHANDRA ENSURES PROCEEDINGS ARE SWIFT IN THIS IRRFAN KHAN-PARVATHY STARRER

By Kunal Guha, Mumbai Mirror | Updated: Nov 10, 2017, 04.39 PM IST

Critic's Rating: 3.5/5

Avg Readers' Rating: 3.5/5

REVIEW THIS MOVIE

CAST:Irrfan Khan, Parvathy, Luke Kenny, Neha Dhupia

DIRECTION:Tanuja Chandra

GENRE:Comedy

CRITIC'S REVIEW

In a scene from this film, a woman in her mid-30s is awaiting her internet-fixed date at a coffee shop. Cracking her knuckles nervously, she panics on noticing the wedding ring on her finger. She yanks it out and rubs the finger vigorously to smoothen the impression left by the ornament. Soon, her growing anxiety coupled with the weariness of waiting bears too heavy on her and she storms out of the coffee shop. This is when she passes her date who recognises her, even though her profile photo revealed as much as her eyes. Following some hesitation, the two settle down for a latte. He speaks his mind, she's clammed up. But soon, the awkwardness of the first meeting dissipates and she gives in to the charms of this outlandish yet smooth operator. Unlikely pairs have forever worked in cinema their differences deliver comedy and opposing views lead to fierce drama. But here, the opposites are drawn to each other's idiosyncrasies to a point of being habituated.

It takes only a few scenes to encapsulate the life that Jaya (Parvathy) has resigned to, following the death of her husband. Popping prescription pills, laughing by herself in the cinema (she buys two tickets for seclusion), it's blatant, this spectacled loner secretly yearns companionship. After some prodding and nudging by a colleague, she's on a website that promises singles the life-altering opportunity to "go double". Brushing aside the lewd pings, she finds Yogi (Irrfan Khan) who proposes a date. The self-styled-self-published-shayar of sorts strikes Jaya as a peculiar kind. When asked if he's a chemical engineer, he responds with, "Aisa logon ka manna hain." But before she knows it, he's training her on why a mango needs to be sucked on and how biryani and raita share the same equation as Laila and Majnu. Yogi also loves delving in the past, and often refers to his ex-girlfriends who were "shattered beyond repair" when they broke up. Tired of these exaggerated retellings, Jaya suggests he check in on them and the two embark on a cross-country journey to meet the said exes. It's clear where this is headed and we don't need to tell you what seeing Yogi through the eyes of his exes would spark in Jaya.

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Irrfan Khan's deliberately obtuse Yogi sits on the fence between Farooq Sheikh's mild manners and Nawazuddin Siddiqui's inability to filter his thoughts before they flow out of his mouth. The actor nails his one-liners and ensures each time he's on the screen, one is trained on his reactions. Parvathy's performance should be rated differently for both parts. In the first, she constructs an amiable Jaya and delivers on the body language of a reserved introvert. But in the second, when her character experiences several emotional outbursts and an episode of overdose, she cracks. From the cameos, Neha Dhupia offers a stunning frame and a well-restrained performance.

Tanuja Chandra ensures the proceedings are swift and plants turns in strategic points in the film which lift the mood just when things begin to look south. But the deliberate and unnecessary camera flourishes, zooming in and out to emphasise (or distract?) don't add or deduct much. While Gazal Dhaliwal's (also credited for the "audio po*nography" in Lipstick Under My Burkha) dialogues lend the film a refreshing and irreverent voice, editor Chandan Arora could've suggested a chop or five in the second half.

For those who may feel inspired to find love on the internet following this watch, be warned. Not all Yogis are accidental millionaires (like the one here), some are occupational molesters too

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Qarib Qarib Singlle movie review: The Parvathy-Irrfan chemistry makes this rom-com a must-watch

Qarib Qarib Singlle' takes us on this journey with Jaya and Yogi. How does the journey transform their relationship? Do they find love? Director Tanuja Chandra has given us a mature love story that looks at relationships in the age of dating sites. She has ensured that the story has enough comedy to engage the audience but not in a way it is jarring to the story. The relationship drama is something that the single men and women past 35 can find resonance with as well.

Movie name: Qarib Qarib Singlle

Director: Tanuja Chandra

Cast: Irrfan Khan, Parvathy

By
Latha Srinivasan
|
Updated
:
10 November 2017,
5:35 PM

Qarib Qarib Singlle movie review: The Parvathy-Irrfan Khan chemistry makes this rom-com a must-watch

What makes Qarib Qarib Singlle such a delight to watch is that the two protagonists - Irrfan and Parvathy - share great on-screen chemistry and a perfect foil for each other.

They are two people who are past 35 and yet to find a partner in life. And when they both register on a dating site, their paths intertwine. Jaya (Parvathy) works in an insurance company while Yogi (Irrfan) is a rich poet. Jaya is a young widower who leads a solitary life because didn't bother to seek another relationship once her husband died. Her friends and even her brother keep harping on about when she plans to break the walls she's built around herself. Meanwhile, in comes Yogi into her life he is fun-loving, bindaas, talks a mile a minute and is very open about his life. They meet for the first time for coffee but he has already planned on dinner and a date the next day. Jaya finds Yogi intriguing as he is the exact opposite of her in nature right from their taste in food.

They take off on a road trip from Haridwar to Gangtok to meet Yogi's three ex-paramours. Qarib Qarib Singlle' takes us on this journey with Jaya and Yogi. How does the journey transform their relationship? Do they find love? Director Tanuja Chandra has given us a mature love story that looks at relationships in the age of dating sites. She has ensured that the story has enough comedy to engage the audience but not in a way it is jarring to the story. The relationship drama is something that the single men and women past 35 can find resonance with as well.

What makes it such a delight to watch is that the two protagonists Irrfan and Parvathy share great on-screen chemistry and a perfect foil for each other. Irrfan is loud not just in the way he speaks but even in the way he dresses, for instance, while Parvathy is more subdued, subtle and opens up slowly over time. Parvathy is known for her acting prowess in South Indian Films and in her Bollywood debut too she delivers a stellar performance. She adds so much life to the role of Jaya and the film. Qarib Qarib Singlle' is a simple, feel-good film which really warms the heart and makes you smile.

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