Pyaar Dosti hai’ — Shah Rukh Khan may have said that way back in 1998 but Luv Ranjan proves it with a twist in 2018. Unpredictable throughout, the film’s real love story is the friendship ( platonic) between its two male characters ( Kartik Aaryan as Sonu and Sunny Singh as Titu) , who are inseparable. Sweety’s ( Nushrat Bharucha) arrival, messes their equation, leading Sonu to wonder if the girl is good enough for his brother from another mother. Who ends up as the third wheel in this unique and somewhat bizarre love triangle, forms the story.
If you are familiar with Luv Ranjan’s brand of youthful romcoms, you must know that they often represent young lovelorn men, who find themselves dancing to the tunes of manipulative girlfriends. Sonu Ke Titu ki Sweety ( SKTKS) too revolves around a hapless victim of calculative ‘affairs’ and if you liked the Pyaar Ka Punchnama movies, you are bound to enjoy this one.
Despite its misogynistic nature, Ranjan’s lighthearted approach to counter gender stereotypes in modern relationships makes his take fascinating. A girl can be a villain too! We wonder why Sweety must announce ‘Main chaalu hoon, ’ to Sonu though? Nonetheless, various other situations seem relatable, which helps.
The casting works well as all performances are in sync with the film’s cheeky demeanour. ‘Monologue man’ Kartik makes the most of his meatier part and steals the show. Alok Nath in a not so sanskari role is delightful. Sunny, Nushrat and Ishita Raj add to the entertainment quotient. However, what doesn’t work for the movie is its duration. Stretched for almost 2 hours, 20 minutes, the Sonu vs Sweety battle, several songs and dialogues ( tu shaadi sirf sex ke liye kar raha hai kya) keep going in circles to the point of being uninteresting. Also, Sonu’s outright hatred for Sweety lacks a valid reason, which makes his motive to break Titu’s marriage seem more like a romantic obsession than possessiveness or protective behaviour as intended.
Despite the odds, this bromance vs romance comedy works as an exciting guessing game to predict who’ll end up as the third wheel — best friend or girlfriend? This means war.