Critics rating: 1.5 Stars

Cast:  Sanjay Mishra, Rajpal Yadav, Vijay Raaz, Rakesh Bedi, Tia Bajpai, Satyajeet Dubey

Direction: Aijaz Khan

Produced: Anita Mani

Written: Aijaz Khan

Genre: Comedy

Duration: 138 Mins

‘Crazy’ is about right to describe the wedding and also the mindset of the writers who penned this. The word could be a compliment, but in this context it serves as the purpose originally intended – to denote lunacy. It is a befitting representation of Baankey’s (Rajpal Yadav) conduct. The 35-year-old bachelor does penance before Kamdev (the God of love) in the hope that he will get married soon.

His dreams are quashed by the family astrologer, citing an inauspicious horoscope. Baankey’s Lallan bhaiya (Vijay Raaz) steps in to ensure that the marriage happens… only with a different groom to con the bride into matrimony. Despite the frightening legal implications, everybody is on board.

The bride-to-be is enticed with the photograph of a groom who goes missing at the last minute. Baankey’s family gets Viraat (Satyajeet Dubey) to impersonate the fake groom because of the facial resemblance. Cue Anjali (Tia Bajpai), the unwilling bride, who needs placating, unwelcome relatives, a jilted lover (Anil Mange, endearing) and an over-enthusiastic Baankey who needs to be reminded that he cannot walk with the entitlement of a groom if the wedding is not officially his.

Baankey Ki Crazy Baraat tries to be an audacious entertainer, succeeding in parts only because of Vijay Raaz and Sanjay Mishra as Kanhaiya, Baankey’s uncle. Otherwise, it is juvenile writing. Though it is intended to be a farce, it is a story better suited for the 60s, not in a time of social media and stricter marriage laws. Irritatingly so, the family cannot even keep a smooth enough façade to maintain the sham. It is all done for comedy, but other than the case of mistaken identities, there is little taking the story forward. That drags the proceedings onwards.

It is also a bit of a stretch to assume that the film’s lead couple can fall for each other so easily in two days as their wedding rites are being planned. The girl’s family looks particularly foolish to not be able to see through the blatant bumbling from the groom’s side. It is as if nobody has heard of background checks before conducting an arranged marriage.

Also, Baankey’s character is not the man you cheer for. He acts like an overgrown man-child, his expressions varying from maniacal to moronic. With a more serious background score, his facial contortions could seem serial killer-ish.
There is little to redeem the story. You will miss nothing if you give this hoard of baraatis a skip, which is a shame since it was backed by great actors. Rajpal Yadav can do much better than this tripe.