Sorry Bhai

Gaurav Malani / INDIATIMES MOVIES / Updated: Jul 8, 2019, 14:10 IST

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Director: Onir
Cast: Chitrandga Singh, Sharman Joshi, Shabana Azmi, Boman Irani
Rating:

downshowrating=1The story of two brothers falling in love with the same girl has been used, reused and recycled in infinite Bollywood flicks to good, average and ugly extents with distinctive examples being Salman Khan��s Hum Aapke Hai Kaun, Saajan and Chal Mere Bhai. Sorry Bhai is no different from them as far as the storyline is concerned. So the insinuation of inspiration from the English film Dan in Real Life isn��t of much significance. Sorry Bhai is unapologetically a desi-derivative.

Siddharth (Sharman Joshi) is weirdly characterized as a young scientist who is researching on the likelihood that a human brain can attract inanimate objects. However his imaginative thought-process has nothing to do with the film��s clich��d plotline. His brother Harsh (Sanjay Suri) is getting married in Mauritius and wants the entire family including mom (Shabana Azmi) and dad (Boman Irani) to come together for the wedding.

The business-minded elder brother is too busy with the stock market thereby giving way for his girlfriend to take care of the family in Mauritius. Initially the mother doesn��t welcome the bride Aaliyah (Chitrangda Singh) too pleasantly. Meanwhile Siddharth and Aaliyah spend quality time together and come close enough to develop feelings for each other.
While initially both resist the temptation, Aaliyah is soon assured of the fact that she loves Siddharth more than Harsh. Hell-bent to win Siddharth��s affection she pursues him, much too his defiance. Subsequently he is lured into the love game and now has to confront his brother and family.
Apart from the trite story, even the characterizations are conventional. Aaliyah had a lonesome upbringing since her parents divorced and remarried individually. Harsh was always ambitious and in his quest for success had no time for love. Now how many times have we seen such characters earlier leading to lines like ��kaha-gaya-woh-pehla-wala-Harsh��. Some more ��harsh�� reality include Aaliyah being mesmerized the minute Siddharth plays the saxophone or the wedding day getting postponed at the eleventh hour.
But despite being conventional, Sorry Bhai is not essentially predictable. This can be simply corroborated with the fact that while the brotherly-betrayal plot has liberal scope for melodrama, director Onir interprets the story with carefree and cheerful ��mellow drama��. The conflicting correlation between Shabana Azmi and Chitrangda Singh starts with snide remarks and sneering subtlety and consequently converts into glib girl-talk as they strike a more relaxed rapport.
The camera employs Chitrangda��s captivating charm to delicately seduce Sharman and their onscreen chemistry is smouldering hot. Sharman��s physical resistance but mental inclination towards Chitrangda is palpably picturized but at no instance gets visibly vulgar.
The humour arrives from the casual approach of the characters towards life more than intentionally-penned funny lines. The strength of Sorry Bhai is to remain light-hearted even in the most heavy-headed situations. The climax scene where the brother confronts and confesses of his love is an example of stirring sensitivity. A supplementary subplot is added towards the finish to avoid an obvious ending.
Chitrangda Singh comes across as the most fascinating face to appear in Hindi cinema since a long long time. Her personality commands attention and her performance is equally easygoing. Though inducing laughs at several instances, Sharman Joshi doesn��t essentially play a comic character like he has been doing in many films. He persuasively makes you connect with his perplexed state-of-mind. Sanjay Suri takes a backseat and the script relegates him to being just a supporting character. Shabana Azmi is reliable as always and does the best possible justice to her character. Boman Irani is restrained in his act and comes across as a credibly cool father.
If you can excuse Onir for the conventional narrative and acknowledge his blithe and refreshing direction, you won��t regret watching Sorry Bhai.

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