‘Behen Hogi Teri’ movie review: Rajkummar Rao is the sole saving grace in this archetypal plot

Directed By: Ajay K Pannalal
Produced By: Tony D’souza, Amul Vikas Mohan, Nitin Upadhyaya
Cast: Rajkummar Rao, Shruti Haasan
Duration: 2 hour 08 minutes
Bollywood Bubble Rating: 2.5/5

We’ve seen many movies in the past with the tried-and-tested theme of ‘mohalle wala pyaar‘, and here comes another piece banking on the same old concept, albeit with a twist.

The title ‘Behen Hogi Teri’, is a commonly used phrase by a guy when he is teased to be the brother of the girl he loves. You can duly expect something similar, but with various twists and turns. So for starters, Gattu (Rajkummar Rao) is the mohalle ka ladka who is smitten by his beautiful neighbour, Binny (Shruti Haasan). But their Lucknowi mohalla is notorious for bhai-zoning men. So, he gets involved in a similar situation as Binny’s family considers him like a brother to their grown-up girl.

Gattu somehow manages to win over Binny, but a small confusion leads to a wider conflict. Gattu’s father Nautiyal (Darshan Jariwala) spots Gattu’s best friend Bhoora (Herry Tangri) with Binny and assumes them to be a couple. One thing leads to another and Binny’s brother Jaidev (Ninad Kamat) finds a rich guy named Rahul (Gautam Gulati) for Binny and decides to get her married off to the suave, dashing foreign return guy. Amidst this all, Gattu is left helpless as he cannot muster the courage to confess to Binny’s family about his feelings for her. He ends up getting bhaizoned. So, will he be able to open up and reveal to the world about his love for Binny? Will Binny get married off to Rahul? These are some questions that will be answered when you watch the movie.

Talking about the performances, Rajkummar Rao is the best part of this predictable rom-com, while Shruti Haasan struggles to match up to him. Moving out of his comfort zone, Rao has picked a very typical lover boy kinda role and he nails it here too. Herry Tangri who made a blink and miss appearance as cricketer Yuvraj Singh in ‘M. S. Dhoni – The Untold Story’ is here as the hero’s best buddy and he has picked the accent and nuances of Lucknow pretty well. Now, let’s talk about experienced and senior bunch of actors comprising of Darshan Jariwala, Ninad Kamat, Ranjeet, Gulshan Grover. Ahh yes, the bad man is back and he does what he knows best, being the baddie. Grover as Bhoora’s father plays a negative role, but his character lacks meat. Ranjeet is barely there for a few scenes. Darshan Jariwala and Ninad Kamat are amazing in their characters.

The storyline is very predictable, but there are some fun scenes too like a drunk Gattu and Bhoora venting out their frustration on the Rahuls of Bollywood. Or the death of Binny’s grandmother which has been given a comical twist. There are just a handful of scenes in ‘Behen Hogi Teri’ which will make you chuckle, but the sagging plot and the even more stretched climax doesn’t leave us impressed. The background score is not impressive and nor is the cinematography. If not for Rajkummar Rao’s effortless charm, the movie wouldn’t qualify for even a one-time watch.

So, the bottom line is, go for ‘Behen Hogi Teri’ only if you are a fan of Rao or Haasan, or probably if you have ample time in hand over the weekend and want to catch a light-hearted comedy.

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