Zara Hatke Zara Bachke movie review: A ‘homely’ tale of a confused married couple drags on to a yawning end

As the adage goes – A home is not just four walls and a roof but a place where love resides. Most among us would vouch for it. The naysayers in the modern world bracket an independent dwelling to privacy. So, the argument ends here. This Vicky Kaushal and Sara Ali Khan’s rom-com, the first one for them together, transpires the modern message but with many twists and turns, making Zara Hat Ke Zara Bach Ke too good to be true at times.

Directed by Laxman Utekar of Luka Chuppi and Mimi fame, the movie which after its trailer release reminded many of Govinda Naam Mera gives a cue of the soothing “Yeh Tera Ghar Yeh Mera Ghar'' song from the 1982 released Saath Saath, starring Farooque Shaikh and Deepti Naval. Be that as it may, the resemblance ends here. Utekar’s comic drama is not just about a lower middle-class married couple’s hankering for owning a flat in the city but about doing all that’s needed to regain their privacy from the joint settings. Saam Daam Dand Bhed – is the hell-bent couple's mantra towards their journey of buying a house.

The film introduces Vicky as Kapil Dubey playing a Yoga teacher and Sara as Somya Chawla Dubey playing a coaching centre teacher who get married to live in a joint family at their home in bustling Indore. However, the two soon realise how the joint settings of their home are affecting their privacy especially after Kapil’s Mama and Mami start living with them and their old parents. Somya imagines a utopia, with every breath she inhales, placing herself at the centre of it--totally sucked into the dream. Hell, yeah.

Then begins the hunt. But the journey towards this ‘bliss’ is among the thorns. A slew of escapades follow. They chance upon a conman Inaamul Haq (Bhagwan Das) who convinces them to get divorced as a part of a clever plan to get a house under the government's home allotment scheme for the needy. But soon a big mound of mud falls on them and the script unfolds and the dramatic part follows. Then appear cracks in the relationship, with the two love birds seething anger for each other within, but wholly internalised. 

This could be said to be the most clenching part of the storyline as both can be seen sensing their brains inhaling life and surroundings and exhaling vigorous words of romance despite their souls being deeply hurt.

Vicky and Sara have scored in their on-screen performances and ensured that portrayal of their roles doesn’t look too over-the-top as is a prospect in rom-coms. Vicky’s lawyer friend Himanshu as Manoj Bhaiya adds a fresh comic tadka as and when the film’s momentum seems to be dropping, especially in courtroom scenes. Most characters, especially Vicky, churn out the Indori accent and slang with ease. Good to note that most jokes, in different levels of coolness, find a safe landing.

The overall plot is satisfactory and is an interplay between the main and minor characters, spot-on twang, and fresh dialogues – making it a food of love. The story seeks to show the loopholes in the functioning of the government schemes, an eye-opener for many. However, the story stretches in the second half and ends unanticipatedly. It appears at times that the storyline tried a bit too hard in making the audience believe the foolhardy idea that a couple who swears by each other in every breath are ready to divorce each other, just for a house made of walls and beams. 

The songs are light and soothing to the ears such as Phir Mujhe Kya Chahiye, crooned by Arijit Singh, which has been intelligently used in the background.

The 132- minute long film written by Laxman Utekar, Maitrey Bajpai and Ramiz Ilham Khan also stars Rakesh Bedi, Sharib Hashmi, Neeraj Sood, Akarsh Khurana, Anubha Fatehpuria, Sushmita Mukherjee, Meghna Agarwal, Kanupriya Pandit and Harcharan Chawla. Laxman has once again presented middle-class family structure quite ably, keeping intact all his usual elementary characters. Child artist Vivaan Shah also added a fair amount of comedy with his innocent face.

Seems like Bollywood has taken a baton to promote a joint family setup. As after Ranbir Kapoor and Shraddha Kapoor's Tu Jhoothi Main Makkaar, Laxman's film gave a similar social commentary taking a subject of middle-class family agonies and lacing it with comedy. The movie which aimed for a gag-fest turned up lacking a bit here and there. The flick may have never gone so haywire at any point, but it was a huge relief seeing it end. No matter how abrupt it was!