Tiku Weds Sheru Review: Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Avneet Kaur Film Looks More Like An Acting Workshop

New Delhi: ‘Tiku Weds Sheru’ marks Avneet Kaur’s big Bollywood debut besides actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui who has been trying everything to break out of his mold of Gangsta gore films through comedy, romance, action and what not. The Kangana Ranaut production, directed by Sai Kabir is a nuclear fission disaster which has one sub-plot, theme bombarding one after another to give an extremely chaotic impression of a ‘layered film’.

One has to give it to the writers Sai Kabir and Amit Tiwari for having a good intent for a story there, somewhere. Unfortunately, that gets lost in the puddle of establishing-character sequences, melodrama, ‘too-much filmy keeda’ that knows no bounds between fiction and reality.

In fact, ‘Tiku Weds Sheru’ is a backstory film; meaning that the entire film is about establishing the eternally-optimistic character with an inflated sense of masculinity who is also a pathological liar. Nawazuddin Siddiqui plays this character whose sense of reality is psychologically marked by a fictional-film reality. And, another with Avneet Kaur, the typical loud-mouth woman who has the gusto of a Tanu character from ( Tanu Weds Manu) but the innocence of a middle-class woman romanticizing the glamor of Bombay.

In the middle of these character arcs is a story about a screwed marriage (between Avneet and Nawazuddin’s character) which happens so that Tiku( Tasneem Khan/ Avneet Kaur) can break free from the rigid household in Bhopal and fulfill her dreams in Bombay. In contrast, through the marriage, Nawazuddin, as Shiraz or Sheru, wants to straighten up for love (Satya arch).

As the camera follows the two characters, the plot begins to unfold as per the needs of the characters. For instance; when Nawazuddin wants to cry, a beach set up happens, suddenly a director asks an AD to jazz up a beach scene so that Sheru goes through a change of heart about having a baby. How does this even work out? What about a cohesive story line, even a simple plot that has a three-act structure.

This brings me to the screenplay of ‘Tiku Weds Sheru’. As pointed out earlier, this is a kind of black-satire plus genre mixing of romantic comedy which at its heart is about establishing characters. It is not about a story, or the underbelly of Bollywood mixed with mafia and sexploitation and man’s predatory nature which is part of society; it is about giving Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Avneet Kaur, an acting workshop to flex their prowess.

And, then why would a plot which begins with a shayari by Sheru: ‘Kehte hai Bombay khwabon ka sheher hai, lekin humne to yaha har khab ko ghut ghut ke marte hue dekha hai’, end with ‘khawb na ho te to zindagi badi colorless hoti’?

When Sheru had something going for him, he speaks about a life of dying dreams and when his world has been uprooted by everything bad that can happen, he is romanticizing dreams, still as a junior artist, on a film set in Bombay. This screwed up sense of plot which has no structure or intent on what it wants to say, establish or climax is the problem at the heart of ‘Tiku Weds Sheru’.

A song by Mohit Chauhan, some sinister background music, Nawazuddin dressed as a drag and Avneet Kaur’s performance in sequences has it going for some parts in ‘Tiku Weds Sheru’. Other than that, there is not much clarity of thought. Even using meta-comment as a device like Kangana’s entry as herself on the sets of ‘Manikarnika’, meta-referencing to many films, hint of ‘Pyar Hua Ikrar Hua’ from ‘Shree 420’ starring Raj Kapoor and Nargis cannot save ‘Tiku Weds Sheru’ from being just an average film that gets lost in filling itself with so much that it ends up becoming a film about nothing.

The tonality of ‘Tiku Weds Sheru’ is confused not knowing which genre to conform to though the color palette is on point. All bad, dark moments or fictional moments dressed in reality have the darkest of reds and blues while the moments of realization or change-of-heart have the warm tones of browns and sun-kissed shades.

As for the design, ‘Tiku Weds Sheru’ looks well-placed in Mumbai. Sprawling skylines, Marine Drive from a hustler’s perspective, the beach, film life and the underbelly, are all portrayed in a way that they serve the film’s purpose.

And, despite these technicalities, ‘Tiku Weds Sheru’ fails in the most crucial premise of filmmaking. And, that is to tell a good story. It does make use of seasoned actors in sinister roles, but all as seasonings and nothing that lend purpose to the material of the film.

All in all, ‘Tiku Weds Sheru’ is a weird yet vivid watch at a time when all types of content is finding a place to say something and make a mark for itself.

‘Tiku Weds Sheru’ is streaming on Amazon Prime Video.

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