After completing my long, tiring exams, I watched a movie to unwind. My choice of movie, ‘Bar and Badhu’, was wrong. For someone with only a few friends, I'm worried that the friend I brought to watch the film with me might never speak to me again.

‘Bar and Badhu’, a romance comedy directed by Milan Chams and produced by Januka Thapa, combines good cinematography with Romanian backdrops. However, it disappoints in nearly every aspect, including storytelling, plot, character development, and its depiction of romance and comedy.

Like most Bollywood movies, the exposition starts with fancy cars and a man driving recklessly. The man is Kiran KC, who plays the role of Pandit and is in dire financial straits. To alleviate his debts, he plans to arrange a marriage between the two rival families—Banish's (Bibek Karmacharya) and Tika's (Aanchal Sharma). This proposal is the central plot that brings the main characters together and unfolds drama that made me cringe.

Despite being a Pandit, he leads a materialistic life as a sugar daddy, which is quite ironic. I must say the movie does a good job of portraying the shallowness of someone as solemn as ‘Pandit’.

His portrayal as a sugar daddy, along with his plan to marry off Tika and Banish for his financial gain, reflects the hypocrisy of so-called 'Pandits' in our society who indulge in immoral behaviour while maintaining a facade of righteousness.

Pandit’s portrayal and relationship with his girlfriend surpass all levels of cringe. I can vouch for it because my friend and an individual sitting beside me expressed disgust by saying ‘Ewws’ and ‘Ughs’ as it unfolded.

The longstanding rivalry between Tika and Banish’s families is rooted in ego and political disagreements. This theme mirrors the broader societal issues regarding class and competition and emphasises how personal conflicts can lead to larger tensions.

The movie's entire plot revolves around getting them together for their marriage. Their rivalry goes back a decade, so tying the knots of Tika and Banish is not a cakewalk.

Tika and Banish’s parents agree to get married, believing it will end their decade-long enmity and further ameliorate their social class. During my first year, my English teacher taught me that during the Victorian era, marriage was often viewed as financial and social contracts between families, with less emphasis on romantic love. The parents of Tika and Banish reflect a similar focus on social mobility through marriage.

Tika lives in France, where she studies fashion design, while Banish studies hotel management in Italy. When Tika is asked to go to Italy to meet Banish, she refuses. She questions why a woman should always be the one to leave her home.

Tika and Banish are both hyper-hubristic, confident, and egotistic characters. Banish’s ego also prevents him from going to France to meet Tika, creating tension in the plot. Now, the poor Pandit is in a dilemma. As both disagree to go to each other’s cities, he quickly devises a mastermind plan to send them to Romania.

Tika and Banish reach Romania. They are all set to meet. Though Banish has reached the location where they are supposed to meet, he stays in the car for a long time to make Tika wait for him. Surprisingly, Tika is also doing the same—staying in the car to make Banish wait for her.

However, they both stepped out of the car simultaneously and faced each other. At first, I assumed they were struck by love at first sight, but I was quickly proven wrong when they began arguing.

However, the fact that they start arguing so intensely immediately after meeting seems unrealistic for people who have just met. This highlights significant weaknesses in both the screenplay and dialogue.

Tika makes her friend shoot a video of her saying she would make Banish fall in love with her in a bet of one thousand euros. The same video eventually becomes the reason for their breakup as they fall in love. Yes, they fall in love!

Although opposites attract, I didn’t expect them to be drawn to each other so quickly. It was clear that my friend had the hardest time accepting that the same people who were just arguing were now completely in love with each other.

I know it is a movie, and things are not supposed to be “natural.” But I believe the portrayal of love should be at least believable. The unfolding events as they fall in love lack cohesiveness and seem unnatural to the spectator.

Before the intermission, my friend and I were at least staying awake. But the romance and comedy became so dull after the break that I felt like nodding off. Maybe my standards for romance are too high because what was portrayed in the movie didn't hit the right notes. The chemistry was weak, and the comedy fell flat.

Since the plot was similar to typical romance stories, I could easily predict what would happen initially, making it even more boring. On top of that, I noticed a few people leaving the theatre while the movie was still playing.

The love story and the acting had me laughing so hard that I could barely catch my breath. In contrast, the comedic elements fell flat and failed to make me laugh. It’s fair to say that the humour was an unsuccessful attempt to entertain, while the romance felt like a superficial effort to engage viewers, leading to disappointment.

I will give this movie 1.5 stars out of five.

Bar and Badhu

Director: Milan Chams

Cast: Aanchal Sharma, Vijaya Lama, Garima Sharma, Bibek Karmacharya

Duration: 140 minutes

Year: 2024

Language: Nepali