Toilet: Ek Prem Katha Movie Review: A Constipated Second Half Plays The Main Villain In This Film!

Plot

A middle aged Keshav (Akshay Kumar) who runs a cycle store, gets hitched to a buffalo under the directions of his pious and conservative father Panditji (Sudheer Pandey) who believes that this act will offset his misaligned stars. But that's not all! Panditji now wants a 'bride with an extra thumb' for his boy.

Meanwhile, it's love at first sight for Keshav when he comes across a sprightly college topper Jaya (Bhumi Pednekar) in a train. Post some questionable way of courtship, Jaya too reciprocates his feelings. Some 'jugaad' and the two soon get married with the blessings of both the families.

However all hell breaks loose when the ‘nai-naveli dulhan' discovers that she has to be part of a ‘lota party' to complete her ablutions everyday at the crack of the dawn. Reason? Keshav and the other villagers do not have a toilet in their house. Soon, this becomes a ground for Jaya to file a divorce. The rest of the film revolves around how this personal conflict ends up challenging the orthodox age-old traditions.

Direction

Debutante Shree Narayan Singh had a very good concept in his mind. Unfortunately, that does not wholly translate on screen. Nevertheless, he still manages to call out regressive beliefs with impactful dialogues and wry humour. The first half of the film is entertaining and Keshav-Jaya's endearing chemistry makes it a delightful watch!

Unfortunately post interval, the plot derails as the narrative gets repetitive with plenty of lecturebaazi, making the current government shine bright. The final nail in the coffin is when you get to hear a character mouth a line mentioning 'demonetization' and you know where that's coming from. Toilet: Ek Prem Katha begins as a social satire but ends up as a mere propaganda film.

Performances

Akshay Kumar delivers a top-notch performance and gives a pleasantly humourous touch to Keshav.

Toilet: Ek Prem Katha is Bhumi Pednekar's second film and she's already winning over our hearts. Her fiesty act is to the point and never for a moment does she slip off her character Jaya. In fact, there are scenes where she even outshines Akshay when they are in a frame.

Divyendu Sharma and Sudheer Pandey put up a good act. Anupam Kher suffers from a poorly written role though he manages to give us a few laughs. Finally, someone please tell me what were the writers smoking when they wrote Sana Khaan's cameo?

Technical Aspects

Length is the one of the villains here. One wished that the editing scissors were a tad sharper. Anshuman Mahaley's cinematography works fine for the film.

Music

Hans Mat Pagli and Gori Tu Latth Maar are hummable. The rest of the songs fail to register on your lips.

Verdict

'Parda soch se hata kar sauch pe lagane ka time aa gaya hai'- Toilet: Ek Prem Katha has its heart in the right place. But sadly, you just get to hear its faint beats!