John Abraham turns producer with a forward-thinking, avant-garde movie that holds worldwide appeal. In fact, a lot of actors' foremost production centres around themselves, capitalizing on their star power, but John's initiative of opting for an offbeat theme and choosing a newcomer to enact the principal lead needs to be lauded. Above and beyond, the endeavor to transport the issue of artificial insemination out of the closet and presenting it in a light tone in the backdrop is an added move that merits acknowledgement.
A youth-centric movie with a humorous theme, 'Vicky Donor' is fundamentally a romantic comedy between a Punjabi boy and a Bengali girl set against the backdrop of sperm donation. Nonetheless, director Shoojit Sircar takes a light-hearted, optimistic look at the issue, coming up with a film that entertains and enlightens the viewer vis-à-vis infertility and artificial insemination. 'Vicky Donor' may be a diminutive film in terms of budget and costing, but when you see the issue it tackles, it does not give the impression of being an undersized film.
Director Shoojit Sircar takes giant strides as a raconteur, balancing the two halves adroitly. While the first hour tilts towards light moments, the drama, or the twist in the tale, comes up in the post-interval portions. We'd like to make a special mention of the screenplay [Juhi Chaturvedi]. Not once does it deviate to the tried and tested track. It's engaging content from commencement to conclusion and along with a set of impeccably cast actors, it's one joy ride you can't afford to miss. Having said that we'd like to add that the movie loses some steam [for a few minutes] in the post-interval portions, but, thankfully, 'Vicky Donor' doesn't get unbalanced. The movie accomplishes what it sets out to do -- it enlightens and entertains and that, in my opinion, is no puny achievement.
The music of 'Vicky Donor' is better than expected. 'Rum Whiskey' [appears twice in the movie] is addictive, while 'Pani Da Rang' [both male and female rendition] adds a lot of weight to the soundtrack. The dialogue, penned by Juhi Chaturvedi, are in sync with the mood of the film. The North Indian dialogue-baazi, especially the conversation between Ayushmann's mother and grand-mom, stands out in the film.
It's a performance-oriented role and Shoojit Sircar has, very aptly, chosen a deserving candidate for the assignment. Ayushmann is a complete natural, has all the trappings of a fine actor and delivers a super confident performance. We'd like to single out two sequences that make you appreciate that he's an artiste of caliber and aptitude. One, when he reaches Kolkata to fetch his wife and two, the finale, when he visits an orphanage. Annu Kapoor is an exceptional actor, no two opinions on that, and he's outstanding here. The gifted actor adjoins enormous humor to his character and his mode of selecting a sperm donor on the basis of personality, race, academic ability and other factors evoke immense mirth. Popular television actress Yami Gautam makes an imposing debut. She adds enormous value to the movie by her acting, screen presence and striking looks. She's truly admirable towards the latter part of the film.
Dolly Ahluwalia is exceptional and so is Kamlesh Gill, who enacts the part of Ayushmann's progressive grand-mom. In fact, the grand-mom is quite a scene-stealer! Jayanta Das, enacting the role of Yami's father, is proficient. John Abraham manages to pack a punch in a song.
On the whole, 'Vicky Donor' is a small film with a big heart. The makers have had the courage to bring a diverse issue out in the open, narrating a daringly different story without getting preachy. Witty, funny and also emotional, 'Vicky Donor' is forward-thinking, progressive commercial cinema which vastly enlightens and hugely entertains!
Read @ Review: 'Vicky Donor'
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