Woke spin mars fun ride

Mona

A women-centric sex comedy is a rather novel attempt in the Hindi film industry, so one goes with minimal expectations. The first half of Karan Boolani’s directorial ‘Thank You for Coming’ is amply surprising. A rollicking comedy, it’s a tale of 30-plus Kanika Kapoor (Bhumi Pednekar), who is steadfastly waiting for her Prince Charming to sweep her off her feet!

The story follows Kanika aka Kanu, who right from her school days has been on the wrong side of norms. She is raised by a single mother, who would rather stay true to herself than toe social conventions. A number of boyfriends neither match Kanu’s expectations in life, nor bed. Desperate, she is all set to settle for an arranged match when on the night of her ‘roka’, she gets her forever-awaited O. Now the issue is, she was so drunk that she doesn’t know who it was!

Kanika is one fun character you enjoy being with. Her friends — Pallavi Khanna (Dolly Singh) and Tina Das (Shibani Bedi) — are her sounding boards, and a delight. Pallavi rules her marriage with an iron fist, while Tina is determinedly raising her teen daughter Rabeya (Saloni Daini) as a single mom. Kanu shares home with mum Dr Bina Kapoor (Natasha Rastogi) and grandmother Kishori (Dolly Ahluwalia Tewari) — both with polar opposite views on how to lead life. This clash makes for humorous interactions.

Boolani’s direction is a sweet surprise, the music is peppy and it’s a fun ride despite dealing with a serious issue. The characters are engagingly etched, and credit is due to writers Radhika Anand and Prashasti Singh. For or against conventions, the women in this film stand by their choices. Bhumi gives a befitting performance — a girl looking for her dream, having trouble to settle for what’s available. Shehnaaz Gill as Rushi Kalra fits the flirty, shallow mould of her character. The large women ensemble cast supports the story well. The film is rated Adults only and is 118 minutes long. It raises valid questions, the dialogues evoke laughter, and Anil Kapoor’s entry as an elderly professor besotted by the young Kanika attracts cheers.

Where it fails is trivialising issues like consent, alcohol, and fidelity. Why self-help comes this late for a woman with an active sexual life doesn’t cut ice either. The second half is dominated by fake ‘woke’fullness. Yes, there is a dialogue, ‘Every action comes with a consequence’, but in the film, everyone gets away with doing anything. One enjoys Rahul’s (Sushant Divgikar) act in the second half, especially ‘Pari hoon main’, but going all speechy and preachy takes away from the joy and mirth of the first half.