14 Phere is a comedy movie directed by Devanshu Singh, written by Manoj Kalwani and starring Vikrant Massey, Kriti Kharbanda, Yamini Das and Gauahar Khan, alongside other cast members.
The Zee5 synopsis reads:
Vikrant Massey is back on ZEE5 with Kriti Kharbanda and his comic timing in their upcoming romantic comedy, 14 Phere. When Sanjay woos Aditi in college, they fall in love and quickly realise that they are meant to be together. Sanjay and Aditi do not agree that the caste system establishes a cohesive social order.
However, their parents do, and they would never give their consent to their marriage.Aditi and Sanjay decide to do something out-of-the-box so they can still get married and do not hurt their parent’s sentiment. See what happens when this madly-in-love couple reaches their limits to spending their lives together. Irrespective of what happens, you will be left with 2x drama and melodrama all in this movie.
– 14 Phere review contains no spoilers –
14 Phere opens with a play, a mother’s call and an awkward phone conversation. Within the first few minutes, you are told loud and clear that Sanjay really cannot stand up to his family– as with every movie out there. He has fallen in love with Aditi, his senior in college, but their parents do not agree with their relationship since they belong to different castes.
So, much like all Bollywood romantic movies, this one takes the over-the-top route to solve their relationship woes. We’ll get to that, but I want to mention first that their time in college and how they get together is kinda cute. However, if you’re reading this – don’t indulge in ragging, that ain’t cute.
Anyway, we then get deep into 14 Phere, as in, we meet the parents, always a difficult thing in movies. And this time, it’s really very challenging – Sanjay’s family is disgusting. They talk about honour killing like it’s a good thing, are ok with an exorbitant amount of dowry (comes as no surprise) and get Sanjay to come home without telling him that his marriage will be fixed.
Aditi’s family isn’t great either. Her brother won’t let their sister go to IIM because it’s too far away and totally bosses his grown-ass sister around. There are control issues in this household and it’s evident on Aditi’s face.
What follows, though, goes beyond any imagination. As Aditi says, it’s a stupid idea and they will definitely get caught. What I realized midway through 14 Phere is that suspension of disbelief is an important concept to grasp. Thus, if that’s something you can muster, then you will enjoy this very weird movie.
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At 111 minutes, 14 Phere is very long. Don’t get me wrong, it’s packed to the brim with goofy stuff. However, it starts to drag tremendously after a while. There aren’t many new things that you get to see here, especially because you will understand what to expect after a while. The trailer mostly gave away the plot, the movie just digs deeper.
I am also shocked at how great their place of work is – these guys rope their whole workplace into this shitshow. It’s astounding that they don’t throw them out then and there.
Vikrant Massey and Kriti Kharbanda are great in 14 Phere. They make for the heart of this crazy story and it’s wonderful to watch them. Massey, like in Haseen Dillruba, is absolutely wonderful. Both of them are natural and very watchable in this crazy wedding movie. Gauahar Khan and Jameel Khan are great too and their over-the-top characters make for a fun watch.
Also Read: Netflix’s Haseen Dillruba Review: Toxic Tale of Blah Love Story
Summing up: 14 Phere
14 Phere is funny if you can do a good job at suspension of disbelief. You’re gonna need a lot of that. The film tries to talk about caste discrimination and honour killing but doesn’t really go too deep into it. At one point, you’ll feel annoyed at them taking the highway out of the situation. Anyway, it’s a fluff movie without too much thought to the bigger issues and you’ll enjoy it if you are looking for a no-brainer.
14 Phere is streaming on Zee5.