Wild Wild Punjab review: A regressive buddy comedy that drives Punjabi culture into the ground!

Wild Wild Punjab is that once-in-a-while, mindless comedy that leaves you questioning why such films are made that think that, in the name of laughter, you can do anything.

Off late, Madgaon Express and Crew have made us realize how important it is to have comedy films with friendship as its front and centre even though entertainment takes centre stage. They're a breather from the rut of life while talking about issues that matter! Despite following the same humdrum, Wild Wild Punjab is a heavy and senseless film that bored me and left me tired.

After Rajesh Khanna (Varun Sharma)'s heartbreak, he decides to travel with his three friends, Mann Arora (Sunny Singh), Gaurav Jain (Jassie Gill), and Honey (Manjot Singh), who have completely opposing personalities, to tell his ex-girlfriend, who cheated on him and is now getting married, that he is over her. They drive to Pathankot, a three-hour ride, and this inevitably reigns in various detours and adventures along the way. It's a story that we have seen one too many times before! In fact, it is not just the familiar pattern of the story, but many scenes of this film that are an exact rip off of others. It's like the world of Fukrey and Pyaar ka Punchnama met Udta Punjab, which otherwise would have been quite a delicious watch but here, it's simply childish. 

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It's good to see that mainstream cinema is trying to understand the heartland of Punjab beyond just sarson ke khet and loud, funky music. But this film, inspite of being rooted, wouldn't exactly come under the banner of representing the culture of modern-day Punjab rather it appropriates it for its own benefit! The film seems to be unclear about what it wants to be - a parody, comedy of errors, a funny Punjabi film or something more. Hence, it just ends up making a joke of Punjab instead of being in on it! And in the wake of being light-hearted even serious topics are reduced to silly situations which aren't even funny. Attempt to suicide turns into revenge of a guy, patriarchial toxic masculinity becomes a tool for fun, dowry issues end on an accidental wedding and fight with drug dealers become a smokescreen for drug adduction. 

And did I mention that the film was produced and written by Luv Ranjan? So, you can expect to see casual misogyny where a girl is referred to as 'stretchable' or her name is Vaishali so that she can conveniently be just called veshya (whore) the entire time. There's chest-thumping manliness where guys get drunk, pee on a toll booth and pick up unnecessary fights to satisfy their egos, and, of course, a tokenistic modern-day woman who, apparently, to be a cool girl just needs to be a hot, stylish girl that either has blue-eyes, vapes, beats guys and drives a bike or otherwise is a double standard modern bride! 

Even the casting choice seems deliberate as Varun Sharma and Manjot Singh bring in the Fukrey feeling, while Sunny Singh and Ishita Raj bring Pyaar ka Punchnama. The only two new entrants are Patralekhaa Paul and Jassie Gill, who, along with the rest, had very little to do. Obviously, every actor is typecast for their character, but after some point, Varun Sharma's performance is no longer funny! For me, it's Patralekhaa, whose 'sweet traditional girl' performance and Manjot, whose 'typical Punjabi boy in love with his car' performance stand out and become the only saving grace! 



I get the intention of the film directed by Simranpreet Singh, which wants to have fun with four boys in Punjab while touching base on its issues. But if the result is Wild Wild Punjab, then I only want to say I’m glad I'm over such hare-brained films (pun intended)! 

Wild Wild Punjab is currently streaming on Netflix! 

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