Humpty Sharma Dulhaniya le Jayenge

By : Juhi Bansal

My apologies if the title sounds misdirecting, but this is the best way to describe the movie- Humpty Sharma ki Dulhaniya (HSKD) which borrows heavily from the most loved “love story” (and my favorite) of our times. I remember being so in awe of the movie and completely taken by it that I must have seen it at least 56 times (I stopped counting after that) in the first few months of its Home video release. (We had a video cassette of the movie and I would play it every single day during vacation time). I laughed at all of Raj’s lame jokes, cried every time Bauji slapped him and shed tears of joy to “Ja Simran jee le apni zindagi”. Corny right? But, that was the teenager me. Now, I cannot stand the movie for more than 10 mins and I laugh pathetically at every scene. Guess that’s what growing up does to you.

Anyway, so when critics touted HSKD as a DDLJ ripoff, I was offended. 1. HSKD makes no qualms about it being “inspired” from the classic. Infact, they mention this several times during the course of the movie. 2. It is the best tribute the original could have got. It’s a fresh (modern) treatment to arranged marriage and the lead pair is unapologetic about falling in love and fighting for it. IT IS NOT A REMAKE. (Thank God for that!) I for one loved it completely and would urge all the cynics to watch it with an open mind. But then I am a romantic, always have been.

So, this is not supposed to be a movie review. This is as always, a review of the lead pair’s styling and outfits. Alia plays a punjabi kudi from Ambala and thankfully her outfits though a little repetitive, are not really stereotypical. (Remember Anushka Sharma in Band Baaja Baraat and Kangana Ranaut in Queen?) She wears a range of colors-neons, pastels and pretty pinks mostly with patialas but teams it up with a mix of shirts, t-shirts, kurtis and dupattas and jhumkis. I like the way she dresses as per her age and character.

She sports western outfits only twice in the movie and quite liked the neon orange peplum she wears in one. The other look was a little OTT (along with the Adidas wedges) for my taste but I’ll let that pass because it’s supposed to be a dream sequence.

Varun’s outfits are “tapori-esque” which failed to impress me quite frankly. Except for the weathered jacket he sports in the second half of the movie. (see pics above).