Meenakshi Deshpande (Rani Mukerji) is a Marathi girl who lives in her own filmy world, which is in stark contrast to her real one. Her parents, desperate to get her married, line up a list of potential suitors – but instead, Meenakshi falls for the wonderfully-smelling painter Surya (Prithviraj), who is moody and barely acknowledges her presence. This sets off a crazy story, where Meenakshi tries to fulfill the fairytale in her head, all the while trying to balance real life.

Aiyyaa is being touted as Rani’s comeback film, so does it live up to expectations? Read our Pros and Cons list to find out.

Pros:

+ Rani Mukerji. She can pull off over-the-top very well, and manages to do so in this film also. Yes, she crosses over into the realm of ‘cringe-worthy’ sometimes, and after a while the OTT acting does get tiring, but for the most part Rani takes the role of Meenakshi and does it well as it could possibly be done – I have a feeling this character was far less irritating than it could have been (because my God, that was one annoying character), and all the credit of this goes to Rani. Plus, she looks gorgeous throughout this movie!

+ The music. The songs are quirky in the right way – managing to only just tread that line between hilarious and downright weird. If only the film could have been that way, too…

Cons:

– It’s nonsensical. The film is supposed to be wacky, and there are several elements thrown in to make it so – crazy mother, nutty grandmother, oddball colleague, etc etc… but it’s overdone to such a point that instead of finding it funny, you’ll more likely end up thinking things along the lines of, “WTF am I watching?” The story barely has a point, several scenes are just plain bizarre, the romance angle doesn’t even make sense (she loves him for the sole reason that he smells good? Okay) and worst of all…

– It’s lengthy. The film goes on and on, with us constantly being subjected to scenes where Rani is sniffing Surya, or his handkerchief, or his tshirt, or his paintings. The stalking, beyond being repetitive, ends up being excessive, creepy and annoying. Really, though – after watching this film, the only thing in critical conditionum is my sanity.

– Prithviraj is not utilized. I’m telling you, this guy is like the male Sonakshi Sinha – ornamental and completely one-dimensional. He has practically no lines until the climax of the film, which, incidentally, is probably the one scene in the film that’s sort of cute and somewhat normal. For what it’s worth, he did a good job with that scene, and he looks very good as well – but it’s a damn shame that he wasn’t used more.

Verdict:

Save yourself; don’t go watch it! This film is scarier than the supposedly horror flick, Bhoot Returns.