Star Cast: Ashutosh Rana, Sheeba Chaddha, Pavail Gulati, Isha Talwar
Director: Seemaa Desai
Kaushaljis VS Kaushal Movie Review Synopsis:
KAUSHALJIS VS KAUSHAL is the story of a son and his parents in a precarious situation. Yug (Pavail Gulati) works in Noida in the Van Gogh Advertising company, run by Maurya (Ashish Chowdhry). His father Sahil (Ashutosh Rana) and his mother Sangita (Sheeba Chaddha) reside in Kannauj. While Sahil works in a scent factory, Sangita likes to make perfumes as a hobby. Sahil wanted to be a qawwal but never got a chance due to his responsibilities. He and Sangita often quarrel over this and every other issue under the sun. Yug returns home for Holi and sees his parents quarrelling. He blasts them and suggests a permanent solution to it. Meanwhile, Yug meets Kiara (Isha Talwar) and both fall in love. Kiara comes from a broken family and dreams of marrying a man whose parents are together. One day, Yug goes to Kannauj and learns that his parents took his suggestion seriously and have headed for a divorce! On the other hand, Kiara lands up at Kannauj to meet his ‘loving’ parents. What happens next forms the rest of the film.
Kaushaljis VS Kaushal Movie Story Review:
Seemaa Desai’s story is amusing and reminds one of the ‘Ayushmann Khurrana brand of cinema’. Seemaa Desai’s screenplay is engaging and peppered with some nice emotional and funny moments. Siddharth Goel and Seemaa Desai’s dialogues are memorable.
Seemaa Desai’s direction is neat. The setting looks real and is not pretentious. The characters also seem believable. The conflict in the tale raises a lot of laughs, especially at the mid-point of the film. At the same time, the emotional moments tug at your heartstrings. A few scenes that stand out are the four members of the family on a video call, Yug’s outburst and Yug and Kiara’s meeting at the café. The scene where Yug learns about divorce is hilarious. The next scene where Kiara arrives unexpectedly also adds to the madness. In the second half, the qawwali program is memorable and also the one where Sahil asks Yug to place his hand over his head.
On the flipside, the film is very talk-heavy; fewer dialogues would have had a better impact. A few scenes like Yug not recognizing his childhood friends or foreigners enjoying Holi had no relevance to the storyline and were needlessly added. Though the makers try their best, the idea of a middle-aged couple heading for divorce in a conservative town is unconvincing as it would have led to a lot of brouhaha; this aspect wasn’t shown at all. Lastly, except for divorce, the other conflicts get resolved very easily.
Kaushaljis VS Kaushal Movie Review Performances:
Ashutosh Rana and Sheeba Chaddha steal the show. Both are equally exceptional and take the film many notches higher with their mere presence. Pavail Gulati is dashing and does justice to his part. Isha Talwar has a dazzling smile and performance-wise, she’s first rate. Brijendra Kala (Aseem) and Grusha Kapoor (Sheela) are dependable while Deeksha Joshi (Reet; Yug’s sister) leaves a mark. Yash Chaturvedi (Chatty), Neha Panda (Yug’s office colleague) and Ashish Chowdhry are decent in small roles.
Kaushaljis VS Kaushal movie music and other technical aspects:
The songs don’t leave a mark, except ‘Man Yeh Bawra’ and the qawwali song. Saurabh Bhalerao’s background score is appropriate. Preeti Sharma’s costumes are straight out of life and stylish for Pavail Gulati and Isha Talwar. Sumitraj Mishra’s production design is authentic. Mayur Hardas’s editing could have been slicker. The 131-minute-long film should have been shorter by 10-15 minutes.
Kaushaljis VS Kaushal Movie Review Conclusion:
On the whole, KAUSHALJIS VS KAUSHAL is a touching saga and is meant to be watched with the whole family. The awareness of the film is very limited and hopefully, the positive word of mouth will lead to a healthy viewership.