Shirin Farhad… review: Forty, fabulous and feel good!

Director Bela Bhansali Sehgal manages perfect casting in her fun directorial debut Shirin Farhad Ki Toh Nikal Padi, writes Sukanya Verma.

Most movies and news headlines would like us to believe problems are not problems unless they’re written in bold, capital letters or accompanied by a dramatic background score. But in reality, even an out-of-work flush can put the most pacifist fella in a really foul mood And while that’s not the objective of editor-turned-filmmaker Bela Bhansali Sehgal’s Shirin Farhad Ki Toh Nikal Padi, it certainly makes for a welcome break from farcica exaggerations.

What sets this delightful love story apart is that it’s woven around two 40-plus Parsis, who neither face the hurdle of age nor community.

The collective purpose is to introduce an element of novelty in a fairly simple tale about two decent but lonely adults Farhad and Shirin (Boman Irani [ Images ], Farah Khan [ Images ]) having a hard time getting together owing to disapproving parents, ailing parents or that good ol’ troublemaker — misunderstanding.

How they overcome the odds is pretty much the whole point. And Sehgal makes it with an easygoing vibe and a bunch of endearing characters with the family-friendly warmth and sensibilities of say, a Basu Chatterjee, a Hrishikesh Mukherjee or more recently a Rajkumar Hirani.

The eternally cute Daisy Irani steals every single scene she’s featured in.

(Just watch her expressions in the prawn curry sequence, you might have to transplant new sides.) So do Shammiji and Sori Marker (as Feroz Uncle, Farhad’s Indira Gandhi [ Images obsessed relative) with their ceaseless verve and funniness Each one of them lends these honest and innocent qualities into the characters they’re portraying to make Bhansali’s debut behind the camera a feel-good and pleasurable experience.

Do yourself a favour, indulge them.

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