Good Newwz, a film by Raj Mehta, is a comedy film with the premise of In-Vitro Fertilization. Offlate, it is interesting to see Indian Film Industry doing experiments with various concepts and topics which are otherwise taboo. It is a film which also talks about the social stigma related to fertility issues, embarrassment of being childless couples, trying alternate methods of conceiving via IVF etc. For almost 80% of the film the tone of the film is definitely kept very light, but later the emotional and drama angle are added as well. Although It is a predictable film, it is interesting to see how the plot is developed to incorporate the comedy of errors, drama, message to regard the women for bearing the physical, emotional, psychological impact of childbirth and motherhood and responsibility attached to medical profession. In spite of the film having jokes related to sex, having remarks about short people, old people, language challenges etc., the film holds on to its fun quotient. The film has both conservative and progressive thoughts interspersed with one another.
Two couples’ fate from a very different and diverse backgrounds- Varun and Deepti Batra (Akshay and Kareena) and Honey and Monika Batra (Diljit and Kiara) gets twisted and entangled, when a major error happens at the clinic of Joshis – IVF specialist doctor couple (Adil and Tisca). The sperms of Varun and Honey gets mixed up and Deepti and Monica end up bearing Diljit and Akshay’s child respectively. Although the plot sounds simple, the gravity of the mistake is huge. But the film as such does not focus on the gravity of the mistake but taking this as the premise, rest of the film is built up around this.
The first half of the film is all about establishing the various characters and the plot. Deepti, a successful media professional, now feels the need of being a mother. She keeps the calendar ready with complete cycle of ovulation. Varun, although very keen to have a child, but is unable to handle the pressure of the same. For Deepti, it is a mission to accomplish, whereas Varun compares the pressure in the bedroom with the surgical strike. The film begins with their banter and it continues almost throughout the film. They reach the Joshis, IVF specialist doctors, to try IVF. That is where they get to meet the boisterously loud couple Honey and Monika from Chandigarh.
The second half of the film is about the clashes between the two diametrically opposite couples. The second half is also more of emotions. Certain scenes are melodramatic too. How the truth of the error by Joshis is being handled by both the couples? What are the emotional entanglements shown? How are various issues – be it adoption, abortion, the concept of IVF, pregnancy etc. handled in the film?
The film’s core strength is its starcast. Akshay and Diljit have perfect comic timings. Kareena as Deepti and Kiara as Monika are also very good. Although, the character sketching of Diljit and Kiara could have been better. But given the script, all four of them have given very natural and spontaneous performances. Adil Hussain and Tisca Chopra have also given wonderful performances. Adil really delivered some funny moments on screen. Anjana Sukhani and Faisal Rashid as Varun’s Sister and brother-in-law have less screen timings but they both are good.
Music could have been better. Although the screenplay is slack in certain places, even the climax has a sudden meltdown of the whole plot. The thoughts projected through the dialogues are conflicting at times. Somewhere the thoughts are very progressive, appreciating the scientific and technological advances in our country and somewhere it focuses on the social stigma. The main premise is around IVF, parenthood, childbirth, simultaneously it also highlights the class-divide of metro vs non-metro. If it has the monologue dialogues full of pathos for women for their motherhood, it also has jokes on farting, sperm counts, language blunders, culture difference etc. Probably the writers Raj and Jyoti have chosen a very safe and light approach to talk about all these.
Good Newwz, a comedy set on the premise of accidental error of mix-up of sperms between the two couples during IVF procedure, is predictable, still it is an interesting watch due to the manner in which comedy, drama, emotions, social message are clubbed together, keeping its fun quotient above average.
Cast and Crew Details (Source: Wikipedia page)
Cast: Akshay Kumar (Varun Batra), Kareena Kapoor (Deepti Batra), Diljit Dosenjh (Honey Batra), Kiara Advani (Monika Batra)
Directed by: Raj Mehta
Produced by: Hiroo Yash Johar, Aruna Bhatia, Karan Johan, Apoorva Mehta, Shashank Khaitan
Written by: Jyoti Kapoor, Raj Mehta, Rishabh Sharma (Dialogue)
Screenplay by: Jyoti Kapoor and Rishabh Sharma
Story by: Jyoti Kapoor
Cinematography: Vishnu Rao
Edited by: Manish More
Production Company: Zee Studios, Dharma Productions, Cape of Good Films
Distributed by: Zee Studios
Release Date: 27th December, 2019
Duration: 133 minutes
Language : Hindi
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