Shuddh Desi Romance which is a truely up-standard, masterclass romance which celebrates the unusal extents a love story can twist itself to just like Yash Chopra's very own, Silsila did. But I find this one a better journey, because despite being packed with the kuta hua masalas (of Jaipur), it has relatable scenes from any new couple's lives. It has real conversations- between the characters and characters and between the characters and the audience. It has got the performances of Sushant Singh Rajput, Parineeti Chopra and a good-looking Vaani Kapoor. A romantic comedy narrated with stringing, high brush-strokes..

Romance has undergone a sea of change over the years & even our films have showcased this aspect except for maybe Rajshri Productions which still clings onto the pre-historic romantic sagas. Actually in recent years, there has been quite a number of films which has focussed on romance in small towns such as "Band Baaja Baraat", "Raanjhanna" etc. The latest to join this genre is "Shuddh Desi Romance", whose promos looked pretty promising. So does it live upto it's promise???

Raghu Ram (Sushant Singh) is a tourist guide in Jaipur who also earns extra bucks helping out Goyal (Rishi Kapoor), a wedding planner courtesy impersonating as baraati. Finally, the day arrives when Raghu has to tie the knot & on the way to the bride's place he befriends Gayathri (Parineeti Chopra) who had been entrusted by Goyal to pose as Raghu's sister. Just as the imminent time approaches, he develops cold feet & absconds from the wedding pavilion. A couple of weeks later he meets up with Gayathri & before long they indulge in a live in relationship. Soon they decide to solemnize their relation , but on the jotted day, Gayathri bolts leaving Raghu stranded. It is at this juncture that he meets up with Tara (Vaani Kapoor), the female whom he had left stranded at the altar. Hmm... so will they land up at the altar a second time???

After having impressed one & all with "Band Baaja Baraat", Maneesh Sharma has come up with a pretty different take on relationship & would I say a more realistic approach in his latest venture. Maneesh has captured the essence of Jaipur with all its hustle-bustle & he has been well supported by Jaideep Sahni's script. The storyline is no doubt entertaining without raising eye-brows about live in relationship but I kinda found some of the sequences repetitive coupled with a lame climax. Sachin Jigar's sound tracks were good along with the vibrant visuals of Manu Anand.

Actually what made the film all the more enjoyable were the impressive performances of the three protagonists. After a praise worthy debut in "Kai Po Che", Sushant has rendered an impressive performance while Parineeti Chopra seems to be growing in stature with each passing movie & in due time might pose a threat to her famous cousin, Priyanka. Inspite of being a debutant, Vaani Kapoor has performed confidently & doesnt seem to be over-rawed by the camera. Just as wine gets better with time, so does Rishi Kapoor as he was fantastic as the wedding planner.

Verdict: Thanks to the lively promos, the film will get an impressive opening & will thump "Zanjeer" at the box-office. I wont term it as ground breaking but it's definitely different & makes for an entertaining watch. So give it a try!!!

Rating: 3.25/5

Regards...Ben

How much you will like or not like Shuddh Desi Romance largely depends on which side you are? Marriage or no marriage. I am not going to take any side because it's a movie not documentary. There are crazy characters and crazier situations. Beautifully filmed completely in Pinkcity Jaipur, written with fire-cracking dialogs, narrated smoothly however not consistently and acted strongly by Sushant Singh Rajput, Parineeti Chopra and Rishi Kapoor. Vani Kapoor comes just good enough in her short role.Sushant is charming and gains your sympathy despite being insane. Parineeti gains the points on being spontaneous and emotionally cracking. Rishi Kapoor is excellent and hilarious. Movie travels smoothly until its last half an hour struggles to wrap up the things and conclusion does not come shining enough. Love it or hate it but you won't be able to ignore it.