Dream Girl Review: The Ayushmann Khurrana Starrer Is A Problematic Film That Tries Too Hard To Evoke Laughter

The moment I had even heard the announcement of Ayushmann Khurrana 's project, Dream Girl , I had been excited. Cross dressing can be a dangerous deal, because it might border on crass. But with Ayushmann, we could trust his judgement. With the teaser, trailer and promos, the entire deal was getting even better. Today, as I have stepped out of the theater and am penning this review down, I am not happy at all, or rather I am mighty disappointed!

The main reason for that is the fact that this Ayushmann Khurrana starrer is dangerously problematic. That is not to say that the film only has troubles only when it comes to the technical parts. The film is one superficial hotchpotch that tries to deal with subjects from the surface. So while it says that people need to respect women, irrespective of what they do to earn a living,  and brings up topics like consent and even #MeToo, it also blatantly promotes stalking and negates the idea of consent as well. And it is then that this falls into the category of a horrible film that uses crass jokes and passes off sexist, misogynist remarks to evoke laughter from you.

Let us just give you an idea. If from the trailers you had thought that this ought to be one of those films that would show a homosexual relationship through Nidhi Bisht’s Roma, then you are so wrong! Roma is a man hater, because her heart had been broken by three men one after the other. Does that justify the fact that she begins to fall for Pooja? Yes sure, she could have been a bisexual and not aware of it, but how it has been dealt with in the film is very disappointing.

But this is one of the mild things/ problems I had with the film. (Some spoilers ahead)

Ayushmann’s Karamveer falls in love with Mahi (Nushrat Bharucha) the moment he sees her. But guess how he approaches her? Well, as revealed by Mahi, he had been stalking her with his friend Smiley (Manjoot Singh). Ok, they did not show it. But later, when her brother, Mahender, asks how to express love for a girl, Karamveer suggests that he should ask her if he should convert his single bed to a double one. What if she says no, asks the innocent Mahender. Our hero Karam replies, “pull her into the single bed.” Well, if that made you cringe, then well, you will have a lecture about consent and #MeToo within the next 10 mins. Are they poking fun? Well, the placement sure made me think so.

That’s not all the cringe that the film had. Even though it harps the idea that despite one’s profession, every women deserve respect, it continuously calls Pooja loose. They redeem right? Not so much when you hear a maulvi say something on the lines of how distributed she is (because there are multiple men who love her!) Trust me, it was so cringy that I tried to forget it the moment I heard it!

The film ticks many wrong boxes. There’s a fat woman who is being body-shamed, without shame! The lead actress is a stuudent of home science, so she is bound to be a great bahu, who would cook great dishes! When you are preparing to marry a Muslim, one character (not revealing who) paints the house green, colours his hair red, speaks only in Urdu, begins to sell itaar (well, they give an explanation to this, so I’ll let it pass) and wears a scarf. Yes, of course that’s what all the Muslims out there would wear, won’t they? An old man falls in love with a young girl, so his son, who apparently wants him to get marrried, says, "zyaada jawaani chad rahi hai." Well, I can go on and on!

The film passes all this as humour. For me, I cringed so bad that I had problem focusing on many of the genuinely funny moments in the film. Yes, they have some good jokes, delivered with perfection by the actors. Afterall, acting is one part in the film that you would not complain about!

Ayushmann Khurrana delivers Karamver/ Pooja with earnestness. He is good and he knows it and plays it to his advantage. But I loved Annu Kapoor the most in this one. He steals the show. Abhishek Banerjee is good, and I hope he gets more roles in mainstream films, like he gets in web series! Raj Bhansali too is extremely good and Vijay Raaz makes sure that you would not get to complain about him at any point in the film. Well, the rest of the actors too live their roles and deliver their parts well.

The screenplay has flaws. The pace of the film fluctuates and how. The climax is shabby. We are yet to understand where the film is set as Uttar Pradesh tourism flags clash with Haryana Police signboards!

The film is entertaining in parts, but for me, the experience had been marred majorly by the cringeworthy scenes that were too in-your-face to be ignored. I would give this one a pass, but if you want some cheap thrills, you might consider it.

P.S- Cinema is a reflection of society and lives down for the posterity to watch. Being careless, using stereotypes, sexist remarks and putting misogyny and then trying to justify it is something that can neither be overlooked nor forgotten, even for the sake of entertainment!