Pati Patni Aur Woh Do Movie Review: A messy comedy that gets tangled in its own confusion

Story: Prajapati Pandey (Ayushmann Khurrana) fakes an affair with his friend Chanchal Kumari (Sara Ali Khan) to distract local politician Gajraj Tiwari (Tigmanshu Dhulia) from her relationship with his son. But in a bizarre twist, his wife Aparna (Wamiqa Gabbi) thinks he’s having an affair with his colleague and their best friend, Nilofer (Rakul Preet Singh). How will Prajapati get out of the web of lies he’s trapped in?Review: Mudassar Aziz’s spiritual sequel to Pati Patni Aur Woh is set in Prayagraj, so one can expect the town’s quirks and twang to keep one entertained throughout. Add to this the curious events that the protagonists try to outwit. While this is a recipe for a laugh riot, in this situational comedy, the viewer is served a barrage of confusion and a bevy of characters adding to the chaos. The movie is about forest in-charge officer Prajapati, who wants to help his college friend, Chanchal, reunite with her lover, Sunny (Vishal Vashishtha). The roadblock is Sunny’s father, Gajraj Tiwari, who opposes the liaison because Chanchal belongs to a lower caste. So, Prajapati pretends to be in a relationship with her, as Tiwari’s goons follow her to prove she’s Sunny’s lover. But Prajapati’s colleague, Nilofer, assumes the affair is real and decides to expose him, since he is married to her best friend, Aparna.The film has a weak script and feels dated, with too many characters and situations worsening an already bizarre setup. The first half has jokes that don’t quite land. At under two hours, the pace is brisk, and the film picks up when Prajapati and Chanchal are chased by Gajraj’s goons, Nilofer, and Aparna. However, a corrupt cop, Dharamveer Singh (Vijay Raaz), Chanchal’s buaa (Ayesha Raza), who insists that she and Prajapati get married, and a pointless wolf-hunting track, with forest rangers responding to a jungle cry to save the day, make the screenplay messier. Songs are added randomly and break the film’s flow. Scenes like Prajapati and Chanchal trying to evade the goons are overstretched, while the repeated misunderstandings begin to feel forced after a point.A few jokes about small-town mentality are effective, such as Aparna’s mother (Deepika Amin) being more bothered about her son-in-law’s intercaste affair than his infidelity, and Aparna mistaking that Nilofer has been cooking for Prajapati and worrying that he has turned non-vegetarian. Another funny bit has Buaa ji lecturing the goons about why people must get married. These moments show the film’s potential, but they are too scattered to hold the narrative together.The film works only in parts because of its cast. Ayushmann Khurrana brings energy to his role, though he often goes over the top, while Sara Ali Khan, Rakul Preet Singh, and Wamiqa Gabbi lend able support. Vijay Raaz, Tigmanshu Dhulia, and Ayesha Raza are effortless in their comic scenes and add the most heft to the humour.With only a few entertaining moments and an uneven script, this situational comedy is easy to skip. Despite its promising premise and capable performers, Pati Patni Aur Woh Do gets too tangled in its own confusion to deliver consistent laughs.