Sanjay Leela Bhansali produced ‘Tuesdays & Fridays‘ embarks the launch of several newcomers in the film industry. Penned down and directed by debutant director Taranveer Singh, the film stars two raw talents – Anmol Thakeria Dhillon (son of producer Ashok Thakeria and actress Poonam Dhillon) and Jhataleka Malhotra (2014 Miss International participant). The unconventional yet predictable love story whirls around Varun Sarin, a free-spirited writer of a well-appreciated book with an unhappy ending. He seeks legal advice to give life to his book on the big screen. Sia, a beautiful and accomplished entertainment lawyer, involved in a controversy for slapping her actor-boyfriend in a public event, assists him with the cinematization of the book. After Varun charms Sia in their first meeting, they meet again in London, where they slowly start to fall for each other. Both characters have a deranged family history in common, which made Sia a practical lawyer and Varun a dreamy writer, and because of their conceptual incompatibility, Sia comes up with the concept of ‘Tuesdays & Fridays’. With several clauses in the contract, the main idea is to meet “as a couple” only on Tuesdays and Fridays, and they stay friends for the remainder of the week. Sia’s objective is to reshape Varun’s point-of-view that all relationships have expiry dates and to make him believe in ‘forever’.
Poor planning
Anmol and Jhataleka appear very confident and promising in the film, regardless of the average storyline. However, one may think this movie could’ve been an OTT release instead of releasing in cinemas. The film was not promoted well and there was no great buzz since its trailer. Both the debutants come from well-famed backgrounds yet the zest from their fanbase is missing. Despite being backed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali, the film had to set its foot in theatres quietly. The film could’ve been a great Valentine watch but that opportunity was also missed.
Different outlook on love and family history
Varun and Sia come from broken families. Varun’s well-acclaimed book is based on his mother’s life. His father had abandoned him and his mother, which mended his beliefs that all relationships have an expiry date and always dated for a pre-decided number of weeks. At a very young age, Sia discovered that her father had another family, resulting in her parents’ divorce. Sia too had a list of qualities that she would look for in men, and she believed in trying harder to retain her relationships. Contrary to the lead in Varun’s book, Sia’s idea of love is to last till eternity. Because of their past, both the central characters are scared to fall in love but deal with it in their own ways.
Questionable twists and turns
The film is modern in its approach but typical in its roots. Sia is very clear that if she would’ve been the lead in Varun’s book, she would not leave her husband in the end, but instead ‘try harder’. However, when Varun breaks up for reasons other than being ‘out of love’, she moves back to Mumbai without any attempts. But as filmy as it can get, after some heavy dialogues and learning about his family’s secret, he flies down to Mumbai immediately. It is mentioned in the very beginning of the film that Indian audiences love to watch happy endings, so that is exactly what they gave us, but how it develops is unconvincing. We are yet to discover the reasons behind having Jatin Singh (ex-boyfriend) or Tanya (step-sister) and few other characters who seemed like an add-on with no significant role.
WATCH OR NOT:
Debutants Anmol and Jhataleka have done a great job; they will convince you into believing that they are Varun and Sia in real life. The film has some extra-masala songs (good or bad depends on your taste), some witty moments and good dialogues. The dramatic twists with an unbalanced storyline and unrequired scenes can be overlooked because of the intention of creating an atypical film with modern ideas – from a gay ex-boyfriend to a newly married mother, from love contracts to live-in relationships, and more. Even though the ending is clichéd and obvious, you would not think of this movie as a waste of time.
-By Ayushi Lakhani
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