Happy birthday, Sidharth Malhotra: Revisiting acclaimed romcom 'Hasee Toh Phasee'
What's the story
Sidharth Malhotra is a rising star whose career has had minor bumps but looks promising.
The actor who regained his lost ground with the 2021 blockbuster Shershaah is now a bonafide action hero with films like Mission Majnu and Yodha in his kitty.
As he turns 38 on Monday, we look back at one of Malhotra's most underrated performances, Vinil Mathew's Hasee Toh Phasee.
Story
Story of the film
Hasee Toh Phasee is a romantic comedy that revolves around Nikhil (Malhotra) who tries to find his way through life and struggles with venture after venture.
While he has been in a relationship with Karishma (Adah Sharma), sparks fly between her sister Meeta (Parineeti Chopra) and Nikhil when they meet after years.
The story is about how Meeta and Nikhil bond with each other.
Relatability
Relatable portrayal of relationships
Hasee Toh Phasee is a relatable film on many levels. It shows how complicated human relationships are and the subtle intricacies which were not shown in typical Bollywood romcoms earlier.
The writing of the film is nuanced and relatable to the youngsters of the country. It has a theme of infidelity, but the raw portrayal did strike a chord with the young viewers.
Meeting Ground
Johar's sensibilities meet Kashyap's writing
This was the first project where Karan Johar's Dharma Productions collaborated with Phantom Films, co-founded by Anurag Kashyap.
Both are filmmakers with opposite sensibilities, and that is what makes the film more unique.
It has over-the-top yet nuanced romance in a typical Johar mounting. The screenplay by Harshavardhan Kulkarni was so rooted that the heartfelt romance was loved even after certain red flags.
Character
Malhotra being the boy next door
This film marked Malhotra's first solo lead role. The actor did this part with such maturity that it did not make viewers feel that he was a newcomer. His character's honesty is the actual charm.
Post Imran Khan's romcom era, Bollywood didn't have a proper romcom boy-next-door type actor. Malhotra had the spark, but he didn't do a lot of romcoms after this film.
Chemistry
Chemistry between Malhotra and Chopra
Parineeti Chopra's Meeta is the eternal goofball who is spontaneous, and that is how she complemented Malhotra's Nikhil.
Songs like Zehnaseeb, Ishq Bulaava, and Manchala are still our go-to songs and an integral part of our playlists. The visualization of these songs makes them more special.
Their chemistry grows stronger with these beautiful compositions, and we end up rooting for them even more.
Climax
Mental health and tear-jerking climax
The film also has themes of mental health and how society, in general, perceives it. Hasee Toh Phasee gave hope to many people who were struggling.
In the climax, Meeta quits her medicines and starts living and feeling her life. The typical Bollywood climax had the guy running for the girl who is in an airport, and the way they meet brings tears.