Veere Di Wedding

If there’s one thing that can be confirmed after watching Veere Di Wedding, it’s that girls really do just want to have fun. 

In the days leading up to director Shashank Ghosh’s much-awaited—and much-publicized—release, there came a flood of promotional interviews in which the cast would repeat that their film was less interested in commenting on gender politics than in entertaining audiences with the relatable lives of four friends who happen to be female. If that was their intent, they can’t be accused of falling short.  

The story centers around Kalindi (Kareena Kapoor Khan), who has reluctantly accepted her boyfriend’s (Sumeek Vyas) proposal, but whose parents’ rocky relationship has left her wary of marriage. Simultaneously, we get a window into the lives of her three friends: Avni (Sonam Kapoor), a divorce lawyer constantly under pressure from her mother to marry; Sakshi (Swara Bhaskar), an expletive-spewing, chain-smoking divorcee and heiress; and Meera, the mother of a two-year-old boy whose elopement with her white, American baby daddy has alienated her from her family. As the quartet reunite in Delhi in the days leading up to Kalindi’s uncomfortably big fat wedding, the idea, presumably, is to present us with a female buddy movie that lets women be women—however subversive, outspoken, and complicated they want to be.

To be clear, it’s unfair to dump the agenda of an entire movement on a single film because it stars women. But when that film is one of the first in Bollywood’s 105-year history to have four female leads, and it’s releasing at a particularly electric moment in time when women are more vocal than ever about the narrowness of female representations on screen, it becomes a statement—and perhaps bears more responsibility than it might have wanted—by virtue of merely existing.

Indeed, the fact that Veere Di Wedding has generated the kind of buzz (and opening day numbers) that it has without a single male A-lister in any frame is a win in itself. Add to that the many genuine laugh-out-loud moments (I was particularly amused by the several jokes at the expense of a character unfortunately named Nirmal), and some truly authentic chemistry between the four leads, and Veere Di Wedding doesn’t disappoint.

But whether you’re watching it with expectations of a larger message or simply an engaging story, the movie isn’t without issues. As uncommon and refreshing as it is to see female friendships play out on screen, there’s little by way of screenplay to see them out to their full potential. The protagonists are presented as independent, if not slightly dysfunctional, women in control of their choices, but it never becomes clear if any of them—with the exception of Avni—actually do anything for a living. Though Kalindi apparently has a life in Australia, we have no idea what has kept her there aside from her boyfriend (who has all the personality of a cardboard cutout), and it’s disappointing that Sakshi, while headstrong, seems to have few ambitions beyond running her father’s bank account dry. Meera can’t escape fat-shaming, even from her own friends, and her estrangement from her family might have been an interesting subplot if it wasn’t just barely skimmed over.

It doesn’t help that Kareena sleepwalks much of her way through the commitment-phobic Kalindi, and I’m not sure “acting” is even the right word for Sonam’s vapid expressions and robotic line delivery. Thankfully, Swara, as the most overt firecracker of the foursome, adds spunk and shock value, with enough vulnerability to keep her character from becoming a caricature. Shikha, in one of the most believable roles as a mother struggling with her self-worth post-baby, is underutilized, but her presence is a breath of fresh air.

The ladies’ much-buzzed-about swearing may have some viewers clutching their pearls, but it’s not the frequent flinging of f-bombs that’s frustrating so much as the fact that much of the dialogue and narrative beats feel forced in general, whether it’s the unnecessary spat that causes a temporary rift between the women, or the contrived tension between Kalindi’s family members. Instead of using its time to develop conflicts that we can actually invest in, Ghosh gives us montage after distracting montage of beautiful, rich people and blatant product placement, so that when the film does venture into more serious moments, it’s hard to summon much empathy.

But despite the spontaneous first-class getaways to Thai resorts, the onslaught of designer clothing, and the slightly undercooked characters, there’s no denying that Veere Di Wedding gives us much of what it promises: an enjoyable, bold venture into spaces that few mainstream films dare to even touch, without getting preachy or overdramatic. A homosexual couple and a candid discussion of the Hindi word for orgasm are treated as they should be: like they’re no big deal. A young mom slumps over a toilet bowl in hungover misery next to her toddler because sometimes, even parents have big nights out. One-night stands don’t automatically have to elicit disapproving gasps and judgment. Above all, here are four women who reflect, in some surprisingly resonant ways, the realities of being a modern Indian woman. From the flabbergasting formalities and overbearing obligations that accompany an Indian marriage to the ever-wagging tongues of meddling society members and the shoved-under-the-rug realities of sexual frustration, we’ve either experienced it ourselves, or know someone who has.

So while this is far from a nuanced, well-crafted narrative, there has been such a dearth in commercial stories for and about women, that even if this one works best as a fun and somewhat frilly celebration of girly bonding, it was still a long time coming. The fact that it’s also unapologetic and casually gutsy about going into previously unspeakable territory, is gravy. Veere Di Wedding may not be the most perfect women-driven vehicle, but if it keeps us talking—and if its box office numbers can keep the momentum going for more female headliners—it will have moved us closer to what we’re looking for.