Farhad (Boman Irani) is a 45-year-old, single, Parsi, “bra-and-panty” salesman who is constantly on the receiving end of snide remarks about marriage. His mother (Daisy Irani) will stop at no end to find a suitable match for him, but Farhad is only willing to marry someone he truly likes. The tables are turned when Farhad falls in love with Shirin (Farah Khan) and it looks like a wedding may be on the horizon – except this time, for her own reasons, Farhad’s mother is the one opposing the marriage. How Shirin and Farhad stumble through first love, and simultaneously deal with an overbearing mother, makes up the rest of  story.

All eyes have been on Shirin-Farhad for Farah Khan’s debut as an actress. Does she – and the film – live up to expectations? Read our Pros and Cons list to find out.

Pros:

+ The cast. Boman Irani does a great job as Farhad, and provides much of the humour in the film. He is sweet and earnest in a role that seems tailor-made for him. The supporting cast also does well – Daisy Irani is perfect as the dominating mother, Shammi is heartwarming as the sweet grandmother, and the other characters add touches of humour as required. The only minor blip, performance-wise, is Farah Khan, who does very well when she’s just being herself – but looks awkward and self-conscious when acting.

+ It has it’s moments. The film is peppered with funny and charming scenes that manage to stick out and bring a smile to your face. One such moment occurs when Farhad meets Shirin’s father, and shyly indirectly hints that he’d like to marry her.

Cons:

– It can get boring. Unfortunately, those moments mentioned above aren’t enough to carry the entire movie. The film promises to be a lighthearted romcom, but fails to provide enough romance or comedy to make it a truly entertaining watch. Instead, it labours through dispensable scenes that are intended to be funny, but aren’t. And while the songs are enjoyable as stand-alones, they feel unnecessary in the film, and slow down the pace even more – making the short film seem lengthy.

– Things get too Bollywood-y. I do enjoy my fair share of Bollywood cliches, but they have their space – where they do not belong is in a film that’s supposed to be fresh and quirky. Despite the unconventional pairing, the film ends up being fairly typical, and even throws in some outdated concepts. One assumes (or at least hopes) that director Bela Bhansali Sehgal intended this to be a spoof of sorts, but the parody isn’t immediately obvious. In either case, the typical Bollywood concepts don’t work for the film at all.

Verdict:

Despite some fun moments, it’s a fairly forgettable film. Catch it if you’re interested in seeing Boman and Farah’s chemistry, otherwise skip it and wait for it to air on TV instead. (2/5 stars).