Review: Pyaar Ka Punchnama

Unwatchable, until it isn't...

It might be hard to imagine why anyone who has watched the trailer of Pyaar Ka Punchnama would decide to want to see any more of what is advertised to be a highly misogynist, regressive piece of trashy cinema. Blame it on the cool, relaxing South Indian breeze, or the lack of scrutiny that comes with enjoying a vacation at home, but on a sleepy afternoon, my mom and I decided to give it a shot. It proved to be a huge helping of what was promised, but with an added punch of unexpected, stirring cinema.

Story:

Pyaar Ka Punchama follows the lives of three guy friends as they meet and fall in and out of love with three girls. Each relationship explores a different complication; one couple deals with the problems of adjusting to a move in, another deals with issues with ex boyfriends, and the third explores the fine line between friendship, love, and exploitation. The stories start out fairly predictably (and annoyingly). So while one girlfriend throws a fit at her boyfriend watching cricket with his friends and demands that he go shopping with her, the other makes her friend (a guy who is clearly into her and says as much) do her work and chaperone her around as she talks to her long distance boyfriend. However, the lighthearted (albeit offensive) tone (and cartoonish background music) gives away to much darker shades as each relationship breaks down and deep wounds are carved out and left out in the open to bleed.

Review:

It's hard to call Pyaar Ka Punchnama a good film when it had such a trite, agony auntish first half. But I'm going to be positive and hope that this was a cinematic ploy: start silly and catch them off guard with a powerful finish? Indeed, the conclusions of each of the stories stripped themselves of all the lightness and froth of the first part of the film to depict all the raw pain and hurt that comes with an ugly breakup. In fact, I'd recommend watching this film for the one chilling scene between Rajat (Kartik Tiwari) and Neha (Nushrat Bharucha) that marks the beginning of the end of their relationship.

Overall, I can't say I'm eagerly awaiting the sequel to Pyaar Ka Punchnama, but it certainly worked (to at least some extent) as a keen look at urban Indian relationships and their unique complications.

Rating: