Director
Onir
has
always
defied
stereotypes.
Recall
his
first
two
films
My
Brother
Nikhil
and
Bas
ek
Pal.
With
Sorry
Bhai!,
Onir
takes
the
road
less
travelled.
'Come,
fall
in
love…
with
you
brother's
bride',
says
the
tagline
of
the
film.
Agreed,
there
must've
been
real-life
instances
of
a
guy
falling
in
love
with
his
bhabhi-to-be,
but
as
a
cinematic
experience,
a
theme
like
this
caters
to
a
niche
audience.
The
traditional
ones,
even
with
a
modern
outlook
towards
life,
might
not
approve
of
this
story
in
the
first
place.
As
a
movie,
Sorry
Bhai!
has
some
interesting
moments
and
the
ensemble
star
cast
pitches
in
real
performances
too.
But
the
impression
you
get
is
that
Onir
didn't
know
how
to
tie
it
all
up,
to
conclude
the
film
convincingly.
Siddharth
[Sharman
Joshi],
a
shy
young
scientist,
travels
to
Mauritius
for
his
elder
brother
Harsh's
[Sanjay
Suri]
wedding.
Accompanying
him
is
his
Ma
[Shabana
Azmi],
a
reluctant
traveller
since
she
is
angry
at
Harsh
for
deciding
to
get
married
without
consulting
them.
Also
travelling
is
Siddharth's
cheery
father
[Boman
Irani].
Harsh,
pre-occupied
with
work,
can
spend
little
time
with
his
family
and
it
is
left
to
his
fiancee
Aaliyah
[Chitrangda
Singh]
to
show
them
around
Mauritius
before
the
wedding.
However,
Ma's
anger
at
Harsh
ensures
that
she
takes
an
instant
dislike
for
Aaliyah
and
it
is
Aaliyah
and
Siddharth
who
end
up
spending
loads
of
time
together.
This,
added
to
the
fact
that
Aaliyah
feels
neglected
by
the
career-obsessed
Harsh,
leads
to
them
being
irresistibly
drawn
to
each
other.
A
horrified
Siddharth
battles
this
attraction
desperately,
but
Aaliyah
has
fallen
madly
in
love
and
pursues
him
with
single-minded
determination.
When
Siddharth's
defences
start
crumbling
and
Ma
starts
getting
suspicious,
all
hell
breaks
loose
in
the
family.
Sorry
Bhai!
may
be
an
interesting
concept,
but
it
doesn't
turn
out
to
be
an
interesting
film
in
entirety.
For
it
to
be
a
complete
film,
it
needed
a
tight
screenplay,
which
is
sorely
missing
here.
However,
a
few
sequences
have
been
handled
deftly.
Note
the
sequences
between
Sharman
and
Chitrangda
and
the
gradual
attraction.
Even
the
love
making
sequence
in
the
store
catches
you
by
surprise.
Again,
recall
the
sequences
between
Shabana
and
Chitrangda.
You
can
feel
the
tension.
But
Onir
gets
too
unconventional
this
time.
Sure,
times
are
changing
rapidly,
but
the
fact
remains
that
most
of
us
are
extremely
orthodox
when
it
comes
to
relationships.
And
that's
precisely
why
a
film
like
Sorry
Bhai!
might
not
find
many
takers.
The
conclusion
to
the
tale
is
also
least
convincing.
It
may
seem
perfect
since
the
mother
[Shabana]
makes
her
younger
son
[Sharman]
swear
on
her
life,
but
when
it
comes
to
matters
of
the
heart,
all
rules
[and
relations]
take
a
backseat,
nothing
else
matters
actually.
The
music,
like
Onir's
previous
BAS
EK
PAL,
is
soothing,
but
how
one
wishes
it
would've
been
promoted
aggressively
too.
Cinematography
is
striking.
In
the
acting
department,
Sharman
Joshi
steals
the
show.
He
plays
the
geek
who
loses
his
heart
to
his
prospective
sister-in-law
with
rare
understanding.
This
is
his
finest
performance
so
far.
Chitrangda
is
a
complete
natural
and
despite
being
pitted
against
a
powerful
actor
like
Shabana,
stands
on
her
feet.
It's
the
chemistry
between
Sharman
and
Chitrangda
that
is
the
film's
saving
grace.
Shabana
is
terrific.
There're
some
[tough]
roles
only
Shabana
can
perform
and
this
is
one
of
those.
Boman
is
wonderful.
The
moments
between
Shabana
and
Boman
are
magical.
Sanjay
Suri
is
competent,
but
gets
sidelined
midway
through
the
film.
On
the
whole,
Sorry
Bhai!
is
too
bold
and
startling
for
the
Indian
audiences.
At
the
box-office,
it
caters
to
a
tiny/miniscule
audience
--
a
handful
of
plexes
in
a
handful
of
cities.
And
those
numbers
would
be
disheartening
as
well!