Durlabh Prasad Ki Dusri Shaadi review: This Sanjay Mishra film has gentle concept, weighed down by predictable writing

Durlabh Prasad Ki Dusri Shaadi offers a tuneful score but is let down by a weak script. Despite good intentions, it fails to engage.

Durlabh Prasad Ki Dusri Shadi

Cast: Sanjay Mishra, Mahima Chaudhary, Vyom Yadav, Pallak Lalwani

Durlabh Prasad Ki Dusri Shadi review: Sanjay Mishra and Mahima Chaudhary in a still from the movie.

Director: Siddhant Raj Singh

Rating: ★★

Some films sound nice on paper, as a concept, maybe even just as a one-liner. Durlabh Prasad Ki Dusri Shaadi, despite how hard it tries, belongs to that category.

What is the plot?

It is a sweet idea, no doubt. The story of this Siddhant Raj Singh directorial revolves around widower Durlabh Prasad (Sanjay Mishra), father to Murli (Vyom). Murli’s girlfriend’s family opposes their marriage because there is no woman in Durlabh’s household. This prompts Murli to find his father a new wife, and himself, a mother. Enter Babita Singh (Mahima Chaudhary).

The problem is that beyond this setup, very little actually happens. The film moves along, making you chuckle only by the odd one-liner. The funniest moment arrives when Durlabh, trying to explain Babita’s presence to another character, sums it up with, “Samajh le Mahima Choudhary hai.” One only wishes the rest of the film had been written with the same wit.

The story itself loses steam fairly quickly. The conflicts never quite feel like conflicts, and the narrative moves mechanically towards a predictable wrap-up. Even the central love story between Babita and Durlabh fails to convince, lacking both emotional depth and chemistry.

The music, however, comes as a pleasant surprise. It is consistently tuneful, and once you notice the composer’s name, it adds up. Anurag Saikia, who also composed the viral Insta hit Ishq Hai, brings a softness to the film that the writing otherwise struggles to provide.

Performance report card

Performance wise, Sanjay Mishra is clearly let down by a script that does little to tap into his acting range. Mahima Choudhary is given a role that echoes the same independent, restrained beats she played in her recent film The Signature. Vyom puts in a sincere effort to make his character endearing, but the writing never fully allows that connection to form. The rest of the cast does what is required, nothing more.

Overall, Durlabh Prasad Ki Dusri Shaadi is driven by good intentions, but intentions alone do not make for engaging cinema. What could have been a warm exploration of companionship ends up as a film that remains underwhelming in execution.