Quick thoughts - Vicky Donor - Ayushmann Khurrana, Yami Gautam

In early March I attended the first look launch of this film. Understandably no-one had heard much about the movie which had completed shooting and was set for release a month later. New leads, one-film old director and a new actor-turned-producer taking on a eye batting topic of sperms and fertility, everyone quickly concluded it to be a sure-shot recipe for BO disaster. Solo take away from that event was the immense pride John Abraham's eyes glittered with; on his maiden venture as producer. Collectively the team was confident about the positive fate of the movie. Nonetheless, the promo received appreciation from the media invitees while the organisers happily obliged to the 'once-more' request. It was the beginning of something special.

Circa Mid-April, the movie opened to majorly fabulous responses. The feedback was expectedly encouraging all-round, but nothing had quite prepared me for the wholesome fare Vicky Donor would turn out to be. If the promos were mildly chuckle-inducing, 122 minutes of movie reel takes humor quotient to inexplicable levels.

The casting is one of the greatest best coups of all times. Its very rare to find a full-fledged commercial fare in which every individual performance outdoes every other actor! Vicky & Ashima's respective families, Dr. Chadda, his clinic staff play their roles with perfection, being as natural as they come. As for Ayushmann what can I say that hasn't been said before! Actor, singer, charmer - he gets in right on all counts. Additionally what can I write, what can it be, just six little words - 'Yum, Yum, Yum, Yum, Yum....... SEXY!'

Vicky Donor delivers much more than it promises to offer. Encompassing the topic of sperm donation, it also touches notes of cultures, mindsets, personal opinions, its cascading effect on relationships, in a subtle unpreachy manner. Apart from scoring high on entertainment, the film surprises with the attention paid to trivial albeit real incidents. Note Vicky & Ashima have an online chat with greetings such as 'Hi Fish', 'Hi Butter Chicken' respectively for the dishes their religions are popular for. Its these sweet moments sprinkled thru the movie that lightens the tone, whilst ensuring audience continues to be in tandem with the theme of the movie. On the flipside, IMO the filmmaker resorted to straightforward ending, never really feeling the need to spell it out. There is a sequence in the movie where Dr. Chadda hopes to explain to Ashima (who is against sperm donation) that it isn't as wrong as she believes it is. That sequence is ghost-explained, leaves lot to interpretation, doesnt quite bag in the punch it could have. Instead, using a voice-over, the filmmaker could have used the scene to explain in-depth. Empathy is a strong emotion. 99% of the times people understand the pain of another, by being in that persons shoes. The simple question to ask any one who feels strongly against sperm donation is 'What would you do if that was your only way of having a baby? Wouldn't you be grateful for a 'Vicky Donor'?'

That said, there isn't a single lifeless moment and for a topic which is taboo in numerous households, Shoojit & Juhi drive it home it with volumes of maturity, intelligence and offcourse huge dollops of laughter. Not the in-your-face WTF crass gigs associated with films of such topics but instead light laugh-without-cringing humor which has been stripped bare in comic films lately. *Such bliss to be re-united with it*

Thank you Shoojit Sircar and Juhi Chaturvedi for making such a delicious cinema and to John Abraham for believing in it.