- Satyaprem Ki Katha is a Prem Katha that deserves all the Prem!
- Kartik Aaryan plays an aspiration character, that will win him love from family audience
- Kiara Advani approaches her part with utmost maturity
Name: Satyaprem Ki Katha
Cast: Kiara Advani,Kartik Aaryan,Supriya Pathak,Gajraj Rao,Shikha Talsania
Rating: 3.5 / 5
Story:
Satyaprem Ki Katha unfolds with a middle-class boy in Ahmedabad, Satyaprem (Kartik Aaryan) falling in one-sided love with Katha (Kiara Advani), who is coping with her breakup with Tapan. Through the journey, the duo discovers each other’s life and complement in accomplishing what was left halfway through back in the day. The core conflict of the film is about how Katha completes an arc for Satyaprem, and eventually, how the latter too becomes the support system to the former to complete an unfinished task. What are the conflicts? What acts as a hurdle in Satyaprem and Katha’s love story? You discover that through Satyaprem Ki Katha.
What works?
Satyaprem Ki Katha is a pure romantic saga after a long time and comes across as a breeze of fresh air in the middle of big-ticket action films and larger-than-life entertainers. Director Sameer Vidwans revisits a genre that Bollywood is known for and excels in narrating an important tale with utmost sensitivity without getting too preachy. While the first half has all the usual trappings of a commercial love story, the film slips into the dramatic mold in the second half, where the emotions unfold. The team has done well to keep the core conflict of Satyaprem Ki Katha under wraps, which should come across as a surprise to the audience.
The emotions hit the right note, whereas the character arcs for the two leads are well-defined, with an element of redemption towards the second half. The comic portion in the initial frames brings a smile, and the romantic track unfolds in a delightful way but the real win for Satyaprem Ki Katha is in getting the emotions right. You feel for Katha, and you root for Satyaprem to be the support system. It’s an aspirational protagonist after a while as every girl would want to be affiliated with an understanding male protagonist like Satyaprem.
The screenplay is well written, and the writers do well in the dialogue front too to present a Gujarati Family in the right way without taking the stereotypical route of making the characters loud and irritating.Sajid Nadiadwala ensures good production values, much like all other films from his banner.
What doesn’t work?
Satyaprem Ki Katha could have been trimmed by about 10 minutes for a better impact, especially in the first half, which takes a little longer to come to the point. Rajpal Yadav’s track warranted better writing, resulting in a much funnier outcome. The conflict of the film is slightly urban, and hence, the appreciation will primarily come from the metros.
The placement of Pasoori in the narrative takes away the flavor created by the director in the plot points preceding the song. The placement of Pasoori as also the recreation of Pasoori could have been avoided, as it doesn’t blend into the world of Satyaprem Ki Katha. While the film has two hit songs – Aaj Ke Baad, and Naseeb – the overall album could have been better, especially given the fact that the film is a love story.
Performances
Kartik Aaryan is a revelation as Satyaprem as he approaches the character with utmost sincerity and brings in the much-needed flavor of innocence in his dialogue delivery. This can be termed his career-best act, especially for the sensitivity shown in the second half. Satyaprem is also the most aspirational character played by Kartik to date, much like most of the superstars in the 1990s, and this should help him win over the family audience. One usually roots for an actor in an action film, but Satyaprem Ki Katha is a love story that makes you root for the protagonist.
Kiara Advani as Katha brings in an element of maturity in her performance. It’s a tricky role as one wrong note on the emotional front and everything goes for a toss, but Kiara excels in approaching and making this well-written character her own. Watch out for her outburst in the second half that takes her on a bad memory trip. She is phenomenal all throughout. Gajraj Rao and his interactions with Kartik result in some heartwarming moments through the narrative. His character is also layered with elements of a progressive father but a regressive father-in-law, and he shines bright. Supriya Pathak also gets her moments of glory in the second half and but obviously, she aces it. The others in the ensemble – Shikha Talsania, Siddharth Randeria, and Anuradha Patel – do well in their limited screen time.
Verdict
Satyaprem Ki Katha is a love story with the heart at its right place. It’s Endearing, Emotional, and Entertaining with strong performances by the two leads – Kartik and Kiara. Slight trimming was needed but eventually, you leave the cinema halls with a smile on your face appreciating the maturity that Sameer Vidwans has treated the subject with. It’s a Prem Katha that deserves all the Prem!
