Vinil Mathew’s directorial debut Hasee Toh Phasee—as anybody who has ever even heard the world ‘romantic comedy’ in their film watching careers can easily guess—is all about how these two characters meet and fall in love. But the treatment given to the film is refreshing, and this makes it different from all the other romantic comedies Bollywood has the habit of offering its audience time and again. The narration slips in places

and is flimsy, even unconvincing at times, but the overall effect of the film is pleasantly enjoyable.

Guy meets girl tales are often unexceptional, especially in Bollywood where stories are pretty regular, characters are more or less similar and songs and sequences have nothing new to them. Romantic films coming out from the Indian film industry have made for dull watches lately; Gori Tere Pyar Mein, in particular, was a rather disastrous sample. The essence of the rom-com, which lies in its ability to make you feel all the giddiness of romance while giving you a whole truckload of good laughs, is retained in Hasee Toh Phasee. The film is sweet and goofy for the most part, and will have you laughing pretty often as well.   

Nikhil (Sidhant Malhotra) and Meeta (Parineeti Chopra) first meet at a wedding ceremony. Nikhil is at the wedding without his parents’ knowledge of it; they wouldn’t have let him attend if he’d asked for their permission. His mum and dad want him to become a government officer while he is unsure of what he wants from life. She, on the other hand, has plans of running away from home on the day of her sister’s wedding (the reason: her father’s refused to fund her dream project). The two meet only for a few minutes but are smitten by each other. They soon part ways through and Nikhil ends up falling for Karishma (Adah Sharma). When the two ‘oddballs’ meet again, seven years have passed and Nikhil is engaged to get married to Karishma, who just happens to be Meeta’s elder sister. Abandoned by her family because she ran away on the day of her sister’s wedding (which later led to many other problems), Meeta has to hide from her family. Nikhil takes her home and the two discover, in that time, that they are perfect for each other.

The actors themselves are actually quite remarkable. Chopra and Malhotra give winning performances, and treat their complex, adorable characters just right. Their chemistry is sizzling in a few scenes and the actors give compelling performances at other

times as well. Special mention here for Anil Mange, who is at his funniest best as Nikhil’s cousin. The humour quotient of the film is bang on, especially the CID spoof many might not have expected. The music, by Vishal-Sekhar, is also enjoyable.

 The best thing about Hasee Toh Phasee is that it is not predictable. You can, in fact, expect something interesting to happen in each successive frame. The climax almost ruins your experience as it is a bit formulaic and dramatic,

but ultimately, nothing is quite ruined.