Between
tons
of
sexual
innuendo
and
Kapil
Sharma
brand
of
slapstick
gags
characterised
in
loud
caricatures,
moronic
behaviour,
flimsy
wigs
and
cartoonish
rhythm,
Vicky
Vidya
Ka
Woh
Wala
Video‘s
jarring
notions
of
exuberance
have
nothing
novel
to
offer,
groans
Sukanya
Verma.
Vicky
Vidya
Ka
Woh
Wala
Video
has
the
eagerness
of
a
standup
comic.
It
is
the
sort
of
movie
that
feels
obliged
to
make
a
joke
before
a
sentence,
between
a
sentence
and
after
a
sentence.
Problem
is
the
humour
is
not
just
pedestrian,
it’s
also
plain
unfunny.
It’s
a
joke,
Manjot
Singh
in
a
cameo
points
out
early
on
in
Director
Raaj
Shaandilyaa’s
first
comedy
outside
the
Dream
Girl
franchise,
as
though
embarrassingly
aware
of
how
unamusing
the
whole
shtick
is.
Shaandilyaa
and
his
squad
of
writers
—
Yusuf
Ali
Khan,
Ishrat
Khan
and
Rajan
Agarwal
—
waste
no
time
in
poking
fun
at
senior
citizens,
Sardars,
South
Indians,
Africans,
people
suffering
from
piles
or
speech
impediments.
Vicky
Vidya
Ka
Woh
Wala
Video‘s
onslaught
of
offensive
in
the
guise
of
wit
is
either
reinforcing
disrespectful
stereotypes
or
urging
us
to
enjoy
its
relentless
circus
of
cacophony.
Too
often
though
its
threadbare
plot
behaves
like
a
forcibly
stretched
elastic
band
shoving
the
sham
down
our
throat
for
a
staggering
152
minutes.
The
whole
point
behind
this
no-show
is
to
cash
in
on
Rajkummar
Rao’s
lovesick
comedic
fervour
that’s
on
an
all-time
high
since
Stree
2
and
Triptii
Dimri’s
post-Animal
stardom
along
with
a
rent-free
usage
of
music
giant
turned
producer
T-Series
copyright
on
’90s
melodies.
Set
during
1997
winters
when
Rishikesh
was
still
a
part
of
Uttar
Pradesh
and
CDs,
like
landline
phones,
enjoyed
a
crucial
role
in
technology,
a
pair
of
childhood
sweethearts
Vicky
(Rao),
a
mehendi
artist
and
Vidya
(Dimri),
the
world’s
most
idle
MBBS
doctor,
hatch
an
absurd
scheme
to
trick
their
families
into
getting
them
married.
Vicky’s
grumbling
grandfather
(Tiku
Talsania),
sporting
a
monocle
in
one
eye,
a
regular
glass
in
another,
a
runaway
big
sister
(Mallika
Sherawat)
as
well
as
Vidya’s
parents,
Rakesh
Bedi
as
a
quarrelsome
Sardar
and
Archana
Puran
Singh
in
a
pan
masala
chewing
Mataji
mode,
portray
the
duo’s
immediate
family
ready
to
screech
and
squabble
at
the
top
of
their
lungs.
There’s
also
Vijay
Raaz’s
bungling
cop
besotted
by
Mallika,
sporting
a
horrid
wig
and
playing
horrible
boss
to
his
exasperated
subordinates,
Mukesh
Tiwari’s
neighbourhood
patron
for
community
weddings
in
Kulu
caps
and
kani
shawls
and
Ashwini
Kalsekar’s
gothic
gangster
guru
flanked
by
a
pair
of
Suniel
Shetty
clones.
Quite
like
Bad
Newz,
Vicky
and
Vidya’s
wedding
revelry
cuts
to
saat
pheras
and
a
honeymoon
far
from
the
madding
crowd.
Only
instead
of
becoming
pregnant
with
two
babies,
it’s
the
theft
of
the
CD
containing
their
intimate
footage
that
triggers
panic
buttons,
little
white
lies
and
a
larger
scam
at
play.
Between
tons
of
sexual
innuendo
and
Kapil
Sharma
brand
of
slapstick
gags
characterised
in
loud
caricatures,
moronic
behaviour,
flimsy
wigs
and
cartoonish
rhythm,
Vicky
Vidya
Ka
Woh
Wala
Video‘s
jarring
notions
of
exuberance
have
nothing
novel
to
offer.
Cross
connection
conversations
are
such
an
extinct
trope
—
when
one
party
admits
to
their
folly
while
the
other
feels
sorry
over
something
else
and
they
both
assume
they
are
talking
about
the
same
thing
ensuing
in
a
cliched
comedy
of
errors.
Most
unfortunate
though
is
the
contrived
manner
in
which
Rao’s
Stree
2
success
is
shamelessly
evoked
for
a
dummy
gag
that
bares
the
lack
of
imagination
at
work.
Among
its
recurring
jokes
is
a
perennially
aroused
housemaid’s
advancements
and
rejection,
aphrodisiac
fuelled
libido
of
old
and
young
and
a
done-to-death
reiteration
of
a
lumbering
loser
serenading
a
hottie
out
of
his
league.
Alright
so
the
makers
have
access
to
1990s
chartbusters
and
want
to
dumb
them
down
for
parodical
purposes
by
turning
Vijay
Raaz
and
Mallika
Sherawat
into
lovesick
fools
or
showcase
Shehnaz
Gill’s
glamour
and
Daler
Mehndi’s
gusto
in
needless
song
and
dance
sequences.
But
the
timing
is
off
and
its
tries-too-hard
spirit
lacks
the
spontaneity
of
Ayushmann
Khurrana-era
supremacy
in
the
nostalgic
space.
For
what
it’s
worth,
Rajkummar
Rao
humanises
a
character
who
would
appear
a
lot
more
sleazy
if
played
by
another
actor.
But
he
also
looks
awfully
worn
out,
the
Vicky
fatigue
is
slowly
but
surely
kicking
in.
Tripti
is
a
spunky
presence,
but
is
yet
to
recognise
her
worth
beyond
the
sizzle
factor.
Although
she’s
portrayed
a
lot
less
provocatively
in
this
small-town
spectacle,
there’s
nothing
significant
other-ish
in
this
medley
of
Stree,
lies
and
videotape,
which
ends
on
a
melodramatic
note
with
sermons
on
women’s
izzat,
men’s
voyeurism
and
potential
sequels.
Vicky
Vidya
Ka
Woh
Wala
Video
Review
Rediff
Rating:
