Qarib Qarib Singlle Movie Review - A RomCom To Remember

Hindi करीब करीब सिंगल Cast – Irrfan Khan, Parvathy

Directed by – Tanuja Chandra
Produced by – Rakesh Bhagwani, Shailja Kejriwal, Ajay Rai
Production House – Zee Studios, Jar Pictures
Written by - Kamna Chandra
Screenplay by - Tanuja Chandra, Gazal Dhaliwal
Cinematography by - Eeshit Narain
Edited by - Chandan Arora
Music - Vishal Mishra, Rochak Kohli
Genre - RomCom
Duration – 2 hours 5 minutes

Before I get down to review, let me confess that this was not on my list of movies to watch and review this month. It is by sheer accident, by some stray mix-up that I ended up watching Tanuja Chandra’s latest film. And now I am going to stop using the words “accident” and “mischance” and will call this Serendipity instead. This is clearly one of the best RomCom flicks I have come across in a long time. Plot Qarib Qarib Singlle 35 year old Jaya is a war widow. This does not make her mopey or emotionally stunted. She is a real woman – a rather rotund, cheerful lady who dresses classy, speaks French but tends to be a people pleaser and is often used as a babysitter by her friends. Jaya’s lack of love life leads her to a dating site where she meets self-published shayar Yogi. The two share a number of quirky moments and their constant repartee leads to a trip across India. Yogi’s ex-girlfriends are now in Jaipur, Rishikesh, and Gangtok, and he is out to prove that they still think of him fondly. Will these two odd people find love in the course of their travels? Will their temperaments drive them apart? That’s what Qarib Qarib Singlle is all about. Qarib Qarib Singlle Movie Review In an industry where heroes (read “superheroes”) in their 50s routinely romance young women and heroines approaching their 30s start off on Botox in an attempt to look young, it takes immense courage to tell a tale about mature love. Tanuja Chandra’s Qarib Qarib Singlle is an impressive tale of a man and a woman in their mid-thirties looking for love and finding it through a dating app that sounds quite shady to start with. Chandra does not stop at telling a rather different tale. She adds to the story moments of mirth and fun and out comes a splendid RomCom the likes of which Bollywood hasn’t seen in quite a while. Hindi cinema hasn’t managed to come up with one single film that deals with widow remarriage without descending into unnecessary sentimental mush or perhaps even moral lectures. Qarib Qarib Singlle manages to transcend this by sidelining the “widow” stigma and looking purely at the love story of two very different people. South Indian belle Parvathy and desi dude Irrfan are as different from each other as chalk and cheese and yet the moments fly by as their tale of humour and romance unfolds. If life is lived in the moments, Chandra has caught the most beautiful, the most captivating moments of the relationship on screen. Add to this the breathtaking locales of India captured splendidly by Eeshit Narain and we have a winner. Irrfan has never failed us yet and his portrayal of a sentimental but rather annoyingly garish man is another feather in his cap. Parvathy is a versatile actress. This is her Bollywood debut and we cannot wait to watch other movies she may choose to feature in. At one point Irrfan says that their love story is not a life and death romance. And that is exactly why Qarib Qarib Singlle takes a realistic look at mature, urban love, brushing aside any sentimental cobwebs that Bollywood may have forced us to grow. All is not original in Bollywood, though. Jaya and Yogi’s love saga is certain to bring back flashes of the Irrfan-Konkona story from Life In A…Metro. The three songs by Vishal Mishra and Rochak Kohli are light and fluffy and fit well into the scheme. Papon fans must look out for the peppy number, Tu Chale Toh. What’s Good, What’s Bad? Apart from the Life In A…Metro déjà vu and a slight slackening of pace post interval, there is not much in Qarib Qarib Singlle that can be listed as a negative. It is a complete entertainer. Our Verdict Drop everything you may have planned and book yourself and your family good seats and a large tub of popcorn. Qarib Qarib Singlle is a must watch and on the big screen. It will remain an affair, nay, a RomCom to remember. Rating – 3.5*

Qarib Qarib Singlle Movie Review - A RomCom To Remember

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