Wildcard entry, exit

Sheetal

There’s a reason Luv Ranjan’s love and break-up universe is received with open arms. It catches the pulse of modern-day relationships and friendships. But Ranjan-backed ‘Wild Wild Punjab’ takes a wild turn and steers away from its staple plot, missing the finishing line of ‘entertainment guaranteed’.

Ranjan has produced many projects but his box-office track record is great for the films he himself has directed — ‘Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety’, ‘Tu Jhoothi Main Makkaar’ and ‘Pyaar Ka Punchnama 1 and 2’. Much like many other films of his, ‘Wild Wild Punjab’ may have been his production, but the screenplay and direction make it a below-average presentation.

First and foremost, the plot lacks logic. It introduces four friends — Khanne (Varun Sharma), Arore (Sunny Singh), Jain (Jassie Gill) and Honey (Manjot Singh) — in the best way possible. While you are drooling over Sunny Singh’s Casanova character, the screen shifts to runny-nose drunkard Rajesh Khanna, and that Varun has no difficulty in portraying. To cheer up this dil-toota aashiq, his friends come up with an idea of a road trip. They convince Khanne to say three golden words to his ex on her wedding day in Pathankot: ‘I’m over you.’

As begins this ‘Hangover’ reloaded road journey, the script falls flat. With every detour, it reaches another low of a predictable, clichéd twist.

It reminds one more of ‘Fukrey 3’ as Varun Sharma pulls similar below-the-belt antics to escape a fight. But then Simarpreet did serve as the second-unit director for ‘Fukrey’.

‘Fukrey’ fame Manjot and Varun are unable to bring any freshness in their characters. For the ‘Pyaar Ka Punchnama 2’ actors Sunny Singh and Ishita Raj, as Arore and Meera, respectively, their chemistry has that spark but they do not get enough room to explore it.

Jassie Gill leaves an impression as a teetotaler and vegetarian Jain boy afraid of his father (Gopal Datt). It also speaks of inclusivity in Punjabi stories wherein not many character are other than Jats. As a religious and naive village girl Radha, Patralekhaa adds to the narrative, which is otherwise boring.

The puns and dialogues are repetitive. The name-calling for the ex-girlfriend Vaishali (Asheema Vardaan) as Vaishya is borderline sexist. There are just three or four laugh-riot moments in this about two-hour-long film, so it barely qualifies as a comedy film. All the hullabaloo and the road-trip chaos lead to a slow and delayed climax. There’s an option to press the skip button and go for a long drive instead.