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Pati Patni Aur Woh Review: Kartik, Bhumi & Ananya's film on infidelity is a guilty pleasure banking on humour
Pati Patni Aur Woh Movie Review: Pati Patni Aur Woh is surely a must-watch for all fans of Kartik and Bollywood masala-film lovers. It offers a cinematic experience of a guilty pleasure banking on humour to say if men will be men, women are the weaker sex. Don’t try to judge the film on the values and message for the society; enjoy it with popcorn and soda!
Movie: Pati Patni Aur Woh
Pati Patni Aur Woh Director: Mudassar Aziz
Pati Patni Aur Woh Cast: Kartik Aaryan, Ananya Panday, Bhumi Pednekar
Pati Patni Aur Woh stars: 3.5/5
Pati Patni Aur Woh makes the older generation juxtapose the Sanjeev Kumar, Vidya Sinha and Ranjeeta Kaur starrer classic with the refreshed version featuring Kartik Aaryan, Bhumi Pednekar and Ananya Panday. It has been four decades since the classic bone-tickler was released. However, the core storyline still remains to deliver on humour and emotional quotient.
The film revolves around Abhinav Tyagi a.k.a Chintu (Kartik Aaryan) a civil engineer at PWD Kanpur and his personal life. By his own admission, he has been the obedient son who chose engineering, picked a government job, and got married as per his parent’s wishes. Even though these are not entirely his choices he doesn’t want to revolt just for the sake of it. His parents fix his future with Vedika (Bhumi Pednekar) who confesses about her recent break-up and her ‘virginity status’ in the first meeting with Abhinav. It’s a subtle hint at why these two questions continue to be hushed but important criteria of bride selection in the society. 
Abhinav is neither bothered nor perturbed by her confessions and ties the knot. His happy ‘middle-class’ lifestyle, however, is disrupted with the entry of Tapasya Singh (Ananya Panday). Tapasya is a budding entrepreneur from Delhi who visits Kanpur regarding an official work at the PWD’s office, where she meets Abhinav.
His acquaintance with Tapasya makes Abhinav suddenly question his mundane lifestyle and the lack of excitement. He is smitten by Tapasya, loves the attention he receives and is determined to taste the proverbial ‘fruit’ that must not be eaten. While they like each other, the romance hits a roadblock once she finds out he is married. To retain Tapasya's budding interest in him, Abhinav cooks up an imaginary tale of being the victim of an unhappy married life and that his wife is having an affair.
While the film takes some time to establish characters and set the ground. There are funny moments that trickle in to keep the interest intact. As romance blooms between Tapasya and Abhinav, the character undergoes a transformation phase. Abhinav alters his body language, shaves off his pencil moustache.
The chemistry between Kartik and Bhumi is impactful. Vedika is no abala naari (weaker sex) and Bhumi lives and breathes the character. In their first meeting, she tells Chintu that ‘I am very high maintenance – and then adds – ‘emotionally’.
Ananya looks extremely beautiful and lights-up the screen. However, the script takes its time to establish her character’s values. Thankfully, the writers have penned her role to be more than the glam quotient of the film. Aparshakti Khurrana has mastered the art of being the bankable friend. He is instrumental in taking the humour quotient of the film a notch higher. His friendship with Chintu is endearing. Sunny Singh who impressed many with his innocence in Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety along with Kartik has a cameo as Vedika’s ex-boyfriend. While it’s a cameo, it contributes to the story. Sunny does the job well and gets your attention.
Director and writer Mudassar Aziz understands that critics (if not the audience) will get their comparison charts in place when reviewing the film. Kudos to Aziz for outsmarting the reviewers. He doesn’t try to endorse nor condemn infidelity. He makes a conscious choice of highlighting Vedika’s (concocted) affair over a terminally ill wife as an excuse for Chintu’s attempts to woo Tapasya. After all, a dying partner shouldn’t be an excuse for finding new love. More importantly, Aziz banks on situational comedy to establish how often emotional infidelity is brushed under the carpet as the lesser evil. The controversies over a few words in the monologue and certain scenes from trailers met the scissors and didn’t make it to the final film.
Pati Patni Aur Woh is surely a must-watch for all fans of Kartik and Bollywood masala-film lovers. It offers a cinematic experience of a guilty pleasure banking on humour to say if men will be men, women are the weaker sex. If you don’t try to judge the film on the values and message for the society; enjoy it with popcorn and soda!
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