Jaanemonth: Chaar Din Ki Chandni

Chaar Din Ki Chandni (2012) has a classic Bollywood romance plotline; one half of a star-crossed couple must live with the family of their intended under false pretenses, along the way healing rifts, overturning prejudices, and ultimately winning over their stern and volatile prospective father in law.  It's the basis of several great movies, many of which star Shah Rukh Khan.  Unfortunately it's also the basis of a few crummy movies.

This time around, the star crossed lovers are Veer (Tusshar Kapoor) and Chandni (Kulraj Randhawa).  Chandni will be playing the SRK part this time; she's the daughter of caring and eccentric Punjabi stereotypes Fatoor Singh (Om Puri) and Pammi (Farida Jalal).  Veer, on the other hand, is the son of Rajput aristocrat Chandraveer "CV" Singh (Anupam Kher), who alternates between Kher's typical cuddliness and pointing rifles at the people who have disappointed him.

Veer's sister Divya (Shruti Sharma) is getting married, and Veer thinks that it's the perfect time to bring Chandni around to meet the family.  His mother Devika (Anita Raj) advises the couple to just get married quietly and settle in London instead; CV is so devoted to preserving aristocratic Rajput culture that he ended a long friendship with Paan Singh (Johny Lever!) just because Paan's son married into a non-Rajput family.  

Still, Veer is determined, up until the moment when he meets his father face to face.  Rather than tell the truth, he tells his father that Chanbdni is a reporter from London, here to do a story on the wedding.  (In the very next scene it's established that Chandni and Divya are friends, which would have been a much better and easier cover story, and nobody would have to wear a fake beard.  But, heat of the moment . . .)

Everybody thinks Chandni is great.  Veer's three brothers (Mukul Dev, Sushant Singh, and Chandrachur Singh) are immediately smitten, though his uncle Shaitan (Rahul Singh) thinks that something is going on between Veer and Chandni.  And then things get really complicated.  Chandni's parents arrive, thinking that Veer and Chandni have become engaged.  Veer introduces them as a famous Punjabi decorator and his assistant, and Fatoor and CV quickly become friends.

So far Veer has been doing all of the ill-advised lying, but now it's Chandni's turn.  CV asks her about her marital prospects, and she tells him that an astrologer told her if she doesn't get engaged in the next four days.  CV vows to find her a man, and his method is to ask Fatoor if he knows any good Punjabi guys, without explaining why he's asking.  Fatoor invents Pappi Sardar, but when it's clear that CV expects him to actually show up, Veer has to step up and play a double role.  At which point wackiness ensues.

Chaar Din Ki Chandni isn't a great romance; Kapoor and Randhawa have very little chemistry together, and spend most of their screentime dealing with their eccentric families.  Which is fine.  It wouldn't be the first romantic comedy that had to lean heavily on the comedy side.  Unfortunately, most of the jokes revolve around either unfortunate ethnic stereotypes or Veer playing vicious pranks on his brothers and uncle.  There are a few moments of genuine humor, mostly supplied by Johny Lever, and a few early jokes get satisfying payoffs, but the less said about the genuinely offensive subplot with the flamboyant wedding planner, the better.  

So, romance is out, comedy is out.  Family drama?  Not much.  Veer eventually learns to stand up to his father, and CV gets over his marriage issues, but that's really the only character development that happens here.  At the end, everybody is basically the same person, and most of those people are jerks.