Plot
Phillauri
introduces
us
to
a typical
Punjabi
wedding
household. So,
you
have a
daadi
who
doesn't
mind
her
'Patiala
peg'
even
when
the
clock
strucks
9
in
the
morning
and
of
course
there
has
to
be
lots
of
'naach-gaana'.
Our
dulhe-raja
is
a
Canada
returned 26
year
old Kanan
(Suraj
Sharma)
who
is
all
set
to
take
the
seven
vows
with
his
childhood
sweetheart
Anu
(Mehreen
Pirzada).
Unfortunately,
Kanan
is
soon
discovered
to
be
manglik
and
has
to
wed
a
tree
before
walking
down
the
aisle
with
Anu.
'Manglik
ki
shadi
paed
se
hone
ke
baad
sab
kashton
ka
ant
ho
jaega'-
the
astrologer
reasons
it
out
to
him.
So,
Kanan
is
married
off
to
a
tree
in
Phillaur
and
the
family
gets
back
into
celebratory
mood.
Meanwhile
our
boy
starts
developing
cold-feet
before
the
D-day
leaving
his
to-be
bride
in
distress.
To
add
more
to
his
woes,
there
marks
the
entry
of
Shashi
(Anushka
Sharma),
his
ghost-bride
from
that
tree-wedding
who
has
a
sad
love
tale
of
her
own
with
Phillauri
(Diljit
Dosanjh)
that
dates
back
to
98
years
ago.
Will
Kanan,
a
man
born
under
the
unlucky
star
succeed
in
helping
Shashi
to
complete
her
unfinished
love
story?
Direction
Anshai
Lal
makes
his
directorial
debut
with
Phillauri
and
almost
succeeds
until
the
slow-paced
narration
comes
into
the
picture.
While
the
two
love
stories
run
parallel
and
are
beautifully
interwoven,
one
wished
there
was
some
more
meat
in
the
writing.
The
film
starts
off
with
a
bang
and
is
sprinkled
with doses
of
easy humour
and
one
thoroughly
enjoys
the
fun-filled
moments.
Slowly,
some
intense
sepia-toned
romance
seeps
in
through
Anushka-Diljit's
track
and
that's
when
you
start
realising
that
time
has
indeed
slowed
down.
However,
the
biggest
letdown
is
the
whimpering
climax
that
looks
quite
ridiculous
and
suddenly
your
happy
memories
of
the
film
start
vanishing
in
thin
air.
*poof*
Performances
Suraj
Sharma
as
Kanan,
the
confused
soul
facing
quarterly
life
crisis
pulls
off
his
role
with
honesty
and
makes
the
film
a
breezy
watch.
Anushka
Sharma's
ghostly
act
is
far
different
from
what
we
usually
get
to
see
in
Bollywood
film. She
delivers
an
earnest
act but
sadly
fails
to
rescue
the
viewers
from
boredom
in
the
slow-paced
scenes.
Diljit
Dosanjh
as
the
Sufi
singer
with
an
Iktara
in
one
hand
and
liquor
in
the
other
wins
over
the
hearts
with
his
layered
performance.
Mehreen
Pirzada
shows
promise
but
doesn't
get
much
to
deliver
barring
a
scene
or
two,
Technical
Aspects
Phillauri
is
a
techincally
rich,
vibrant
film
and
has
some
beautiful
dialogues
and
poems
that
works
its
charm. Anvita
Dutt
pens
an
engrossing
story
of
love
and
heartbreak
spanning
two
timelines.
However
one
wished
that
the
editing
scissors
had
been
a
bit
more
sharper
to
save
the
narrative
from
faltering
all
over
the
places
at
times.
Music
'Dum
Dum'
and
'Sahiba'
stand
out
the
most
for
its
beautiful
Sufi
words
and
soul-stiring
music.
The
rest
of
them
don't
make
much
an
impact.
Verdict
This
romantic
comedy
has
a
heart
of
gold,
but
it
breaks
a
little
too
early.
The
film
leaves
you
with
an
underwhelming
feeling
by
the
end.
The
spirit
is
in
the
right
place
but
it's
the
humans
who
err.