Shaandaar

Cast: Shahid Kapoor, Alia Bhatt, Pankaj Kapur, Sanjay Kapoor, Sushma Seth
Rated: 5/10
When director Vikas Bahl made Queen, he made history, he made music and he made a real story with which the audience connected. He also made Kangana Ranaut and her future career in the industry.
With Shaandaar, he makes nothing and unmakes a lot. An overtly struggling fairy tale, with an overtly struggling storyline, with an overtly struggling Indian wedding, with an overtly struggling raison d'être, and despite the presence of oh-so-cute-but-I-am-cool Alia Bhatt and I-am-and-will-be-Prince-Charming Shahid Kapoor, there is nothing that holds you to this attempted romance in an attempted fairyland.
With Bahl, that’s doubly disappointing. Despite all the trappings of the Aesop’s genre, the grandeur of an English castle, the flock of characters meant to take you over the top and a human witch in wheel-chair bound Sushma Seth who worships money honey as none other, Bahl fails to conjure up anything meaningful, alluring or even remotely fantastic.
Shaandaar is a concoction that was meant to be a potion of love and music but it drizzles out as a drink without fizz. Both the music and the storyline struggle hard for impact. And what comes as the final nail is the complete lack of chemistry between the lead pair. That such immense potential of the two stars going waste is bewildering, especially in the hands of Bahl. 
The only weight that is lent to the film is that of Alia’s sister who, along with her flab, keeps the film somewhat anchored to the ground with her interesting role even as someone of so much worth as Pankaj Kapoor tries his best to give his best — which in this one is not good enough. 
Source: The Sunday Pioneer, October 25, 2015

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