The much-awaited “Vicky Vidya Ka Woh Wala Video, with Rajkummar Rao and Triptii Dimri, was supposed to be laugh-out-loud funny, but it fails at most places to raise more than a few. Directed by Raaj Shaandilyaa, who directed the Dream Girl series, this venture into slapstick talk is no meaner than a sluggish, messy affair at times that manages to depend solely on something as old-fashioned and weak as a joke.
Late 90s, newlywed couple Vicky (Rajkummar Rao) and Vidya (Triptii Dimri) record their first night video, which they eventually lose. Now it follows this wild goose chase for the missing tape, amongst the hooligans, cops, and a ghostly surprise in between. Although it has all the ingredients of a humorous comedy of errors, Vicky Vidya Ka Woh Wala Video suffers from an incoherent script, and it has several writers credited to its name, including Yusuf Ali Khan and Ishrat Khan.
Rajkummar Rao, playing Vicky, does his best to save the film with his small-townish charm. But at no point can his character and his relatability save the uneven pace and over-reliance on cheap humor of this film. Triptii Dimri, who enlivens her bubbly doctor, needs to be given more scope than this flaccid script. Vijay Raaz and Mallika Sherawat, though not inefficient actors, are reduced to caricature-like roles in this film, which didn’t give enough scope for their talents.
Mallika Sherawat returns to Bollywood after a long break, and there is interest in seeing her return. Alas, her main role, as the wanna-be actress involved with this buffoonish policeman by the name of Raaz, is poorly utilized. Even the supernatural aspect—a ghost haunting Vicky—fails to make the film exciting. The missed humor is sporadic, relying on hackneyed jokes and situations that just don’t keep one interested.
The biggest letdown in Vicky Vidya Ka Woh Wala Video is a weak screenplay that cannot even out its silly storyline with genuine comic timing. Trying to replicate Rajkummar Rao’s earlier superhits like Stree by introducing a “bhootni” or ghost sounds like the desperate attempt at trying to save the narrative from itself. The cast, particularly Rao, does well but the whole movie’s scattershot focus and predictable punchlines are something one is constantly disappointed with.
For those who would love Rajkummar Rao and Triptii Dimri, Vicky Vidya Ka Woh Wala Video would still be good for them just because of the chemistry, but as a comedy film, it fails. Its entire dependence on slapstick comedy, old humour gags, and a wafer-thin plot does not help it to become the comedy jewel that it dreams of being.
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