New Delhi: It’s a complex (read: forced) love tale starring Sanjay (Vikrant Massey) and Aditi (Kirti Kharbanda), a “business couple” who love each other but are frightened to admit it to their stereotyped “anti-love-marriage” families. They don’t want to elope or leave one other, so Sanjay devises a scheme to eventually marry Aditi while performing on stage (because, why not?).
His scheme includes hiring actors (Gauahar Khan and Jameel Khan, respectively) to portray their “false parents” and meet their “actual parents.” This results in a “tragedy of mistakes,” in which everyone discovers the truth in the end.
14 Phere Movie Review Rating: 1/5 Stars (One star)
Star Cast: Vikrant Massey, Kriti Kharbanda, Gauahar Khan, Jameel Khan
Director: Devanshu Singh
What’s Good: The fact that it’s releasing on OTT and the audience has the choice to watch it
What’s Bad: The thought that this could work in 2021!
Loo Break: 14 times!
Watch or Not?: Even if it’s the last day of your Zee5 subscription, switch off the app & watch anything else
Manoj Kalwani’s writing is devoid of solid drama, rib-tickling one-liners, and a compelling plot. Though the concept is appealing on paper, Priyadarshan owns the genre’s aesthetic and is the king of “comedy of mistakes.” This one, too, tried too hard to cause uncertainty, but it lacked a fully supported backstory. It just gets worse from here, as you’ll find yourself disconnected from the movie at almost every turn.
From the tension between the main characters to the execution of a “well-thought-out plan,” 14 Phere contains a lot of moving pieces that aren’t moving in any direction; they’re stuck. In light of the script’s locations, Riju Das’ camerawork is unremarkable, sticking to the standard fundamentals.
Kriti Kharbanda is very cute, that’s all there is to say about her. She is not given the opportunity to venture outside of her comfort zone. She’s a talented actress who just needs the right director. You can’t just cast Gauahar Khan in a role and expect her to age gracefully. She exudes a certain charm about here, which the film squanders owing to a clumsy character description. What’s worse is how a gifted performer like Jameel Khan gets squandered.
