All Is Well Review {3.5/5} & Review Rating
If you walk out of a movie with a big smile and a nice feeling in your heart you know all is well with the world. OMG-OH MY GOD is one of the finest films made in the last five years. It was not only a fun entertainer, there was a solid message in the film that truly made it a phenomenal movie watching experience. Everyone was keenly awaiting the next film of the director of OMG-OH MY GOD. Umesh Shukla has passed the litmus test with his second outing, ALL IS WELL. It is a full on family entertainer that will make you laugh, entertain with chart buster music and also make you shed some tears.
Indar (Abhishek Bachchan) is a musician based in Bangkok. Nimmi (Asin), a true blue romantic at heart (in the literal sense) loves Indar but the angry young man can't reciprocate her feelings as he belongs to a dysfunctional family where his father Bhallasahab (Rishi Kapoor) and mom (Supriya Pathak) were always at loggerheads. As he didn't want to be a part of his father's fledgling bakery business, Indar had been asked to leave the house. Quirky fate proves instrumental in bringing Indar back to his home town Kasol where his dad was under enormous debt while his mom was unwell. The local moneylender Cheema (Zeeshan Ayyub) makes Bhalla and Son run for their money and madness unleashes relentlessly.
Abhishek Bachchan is a fantastic actor. Everyone knows that. But when you watch him swinging rocking swag in 'ChaarShanivaar' in the end credits, you realise that he has updated himself enormously outdoing the shining young blood floating around in abundance these days. He is in excellent form especially in the emotional dramatic sequences with a stalwart like Rishi Kapoor. Mr Kapoor as expected is a treat to watch. The conflict between Indar and BhallaSahab is the high point of the film with both actors matching each other's wits to perfection. The hugely uncelebrated Zeeshan Ayyub is the most entertaining reason that makes ALL IS WELL a must watch. As the bumbling moneylender-goon with a propensity to make himself a buffoon, Zeeshan delivers the most memorable performance of his illustrious career. He and his gang of geeks pack in some of the funniest lines in the film. Asin looks beautiful in the traditional Indian girl avatar. She underplays her part and creates the desired impact. Supriya Pathak has very few dialogues but she's very competent. SeemaPahwa as the wily Maami is hilarious.
Story by Umesh Shukla and screenplay-dialogue by Niren Bhatt, Sumit Arora are the backbone of ALL IS WELL. In most of the cases, what parents do for their children can never be repaid by the kids. Many a times children don't value their parents as much as they should. They constantly bicker about the hardships and in turn devalue the enormous stress that their parents must have gone through in bringing them up. Shukla has chosen a story that the Indian Middle class can uniformly identify with. Niren Bhatt and Sumit Arora's smart dialogues evoke just-the-right-emotions at crucial moments in the film. Yes there are times when a few emotional scenes (between Abhishek and Rishi Kapoor) drag a bit. The humour element brought in because of Asin's whacky Punjabi family and Cheema's goofy soldiers is expertly aided by spot-on-writing-punches. Director Umesh Shukla pulls the strings of story telling as per his liking. He knows when you should laugh, cry or identify with his characters.
Music is first rate. Amaal Malik is in top form with 'ChaarShanivaar'. It's a party anthem that's gonna rock for a long time to come. 'BaatonKo Teri' is a beautiful love song composed by HimeshReshammiya and sung by Arijit Singh in his honey-soaked voice. Kanika Kapoor is enjoying herself in 'NachchanFarrate' and so did Sonakshi Sinha while shaking her zing to it. 'Ae Mere Humsafar', the classic from 'Qayamat Se QayamatTak' flows like a mountain river gurgling with innocence. Full marks to Mithoon for creating a magical version of a song that's deeply enmeshed in the collective psyche of millions.
Umesh Shukla's ALL IS WELL will surely find resonance amongst a hugely profitable family audience. It is having just-the-right-release and the word of mouth will ensure that the film will pick up from the evening shows on the first day itself. A film like this will stick around in cinema halls for several weeks.
On the whole, ALL IS WELL is a family entertainer that will effortlessly charm you and gently carve a place in your heart. It is time to get your extended family together and go for a picnic at a theatre near you.
