Entertainment
hindi MOVIE PREVIEWS
“Badrinath Ki Dulhania” Starring Varun Dhawan, Alia Bhatt, Gauahar Khan, Mohit Marwah, Aakanksha Singh; directed by Shashank Khaitan; music by Amaal Malik, Akhil Sachdeva, Tanishk Bagchi.
The romantic comedy is a follow-up to “Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania,” also produced by Karan Johar and directed by Shashank Khaitan with new characters and setting. Varun Dhawan stars as sweet Badrinath Bansal of Jhansi, a desi boy who’s all heart. Alia Bhatt plays the ambitious Vaidehi Trivedi from Kota. When happens when they meet… the boy falls for the girl right away. While they’re both from small towns, they seem to have opposing views on everything from life to gender roles. Of course, their love story grows but clashes soon follow. What happens in the end? Surely, they overcome pressures and circumstances to find common ground and goodness in each other. This is their third on-screen pairing and Dhawan and Bhatt share an undeniable chemistry. The soundtrack is climbing the charts and also features a remake of the 1990s hit, ‘Tamma Tamma.’
“Phillauri” Starring Anushka Sharma, Diljit Dosanjh, Suraj Sharma, Mehreen Pirzada; directed by Anshai Lal; music by Shashwat Sachdev.
After the 2015 thriller “NH10,” producer Anushka Sharma delivers another unconventional story. Set in Punjab, Phillauri is about a NRI boy named Kanan, portrayed by Suraj Sharma of “Life of Pi,” who returns to India to get married. To ward off evil threats, he finds himself first betrothed to a tree before he can be united with his sweetheart Anu, played by Mehreen Pirzada. Soon afterward, Kanan is confronted by Anushka Sharma as a spirit named Shashi. She used to live on that tree, which has now been chopped down by the family. Not knowing what to do next, the friendly ghost is in a predicament. Several comic moments ensue and we learn about Shashi’s unfulfilled romantic past with Phillauri, a singer played by Diljit Dosanjh, which is revealed during the present-day Punjabi wedding. “Phillauri” narrates two love stories from different eras. The makers say it’s a full on family entertainer and the songs are sure to please.