Qarib Qarib Singlle Review - Qarib Qarib Over Now, Please?

Qarib Qarib Singlle is not an imperfect film, it’s just a pointless one. In the Irrfan-Parvathy starrer, this film had a runtime of 2 hours and 6 minutes. Yet, I couldn’t find one thing to like about the second half of the second half of the film. It was just awful. The first half is witty, smart, a bit rushed, but keeps you gripped. The jokes keep coming at you and will keep you engaged. This gave me hope for a better second half. I didn’t think I would leave the theatre early for this one. (I didn’t, but I regret it).

Had I left just before the entire Parvathy-Irrfan love story started in the second half, I think I would’ve given this one a 3 star rating. But alas. The film takes such a plummet that you literally are bored out of your seat. A perfectly watchable film is ruined by director Tanuja Chandra’s need to stuff more and more storylines – almost as unnecessary and random as talk-show host Neha Dhupia’s appearance. (At least in Ae Dil Hai Mushkil, she was off camera). Dhupia has let me down, even after showing promise in the trailer of next week’s Tumhari Sulu (a film you can guarantee to find on this blog, along with Justice League).

Irrfan is Yogi and Parvathy as Jaya TK. Both are imperfect, both are flawed, both have backgrounds that are odd. The former has three ex-girlfriends while the latter is a widow who keeps on Skyping with her brother, who looks young enough to be her son. That’s the problem with Qarib Qarib Singlle. It never takes off from the idea that it is trying to sell you on. What should’ve been the success story of a couple who meets on a dating website, turns into a random journey where Yogi introduces Jaya to all his former flames.

Of course, this angers Jaya in the second half of the second half. So, she also counteracts his tour of his exes, which is probably the most absurd thing I’ve seen in this year of Hindi cinema – and that includes when Anushka Sharma asks Shahrukh Khan why he’s crying and he tells her why in Punjab, you sing louder than the tractor and then they break out into song and dance in the deplorable Jab Harry Met Sejal. The film is just too much and takes on so little for being over 2 hours long.

This storyline shouldn’t even have existed. While Irrfan is fantastic in form, Parvathy takes off as a distant cousin of Kaira from Dear Zindagi, emotionally disturbed and in need of healing. Her beginning act is nicely executed but slowly, with the film, she too deflates. She’s a workaholic and one who’s vicious to her co-workers. Why? Don’t ask me. Not that I didn’t care (I didn’t), but because Chandra and her co-writers never care to touch upon this detail. Qarib Qarib Singlle should’ve also had strong supporting performances but apart from a fleeting act from Neha Dhupia (a deplorable one, at that), there is nothing to take away from Irrfan and Parvathy. And believe me. When you see Yogi and Jaya, you’ll need a breather.

I need a breather from this film. I’m going with 2 stars out of 5. One is for Irrfan.