Thank You For Coming Review {2.5/5} & Review Rating
THANK YOU FOR COMING is the story of a girl trying to find love. Kanika Kapoor (Bhumi Pednekar) lives in Delhi with her mother Beena (Natasha Rastogi) and nani Kishori (Dolly Ahluwalia). Since she was a child, she has been shamed for being raised by a single mother and for her liberal views. She gets involved with several guys and it never translates into a healthy, long-term relationship. She is about to turn 32 and is shattered that she hasn't found her prince charming yet. Moreover, she has never experienced an orgasm in her life. On her birthday, Arjun Malhotra (Karan Kundra) shows interest in her and gets invited to her party. However, he lands up at the bash with a date, Rushi Kalra (Shehnaaz Gill). Rushi and Kanika become friends and the former advises the latter that she should marry someone who loves her. She finds that person in Jeevan (Pradhuman Singh), a simpleton selling toilet showers and who loves her immensely. Kanika agrees to marry him though her mother and her best friends - Pallavi (Dolly Singh) and Tina (Shibani Bedi) - advise her against doing so. At the engagement party, she calls her ex-boyfriends like Booni Bhatia, Shekhar Sinha, Rahul Kasturia (Sushant Divgikar), and Professor (Anil Kapoor). She drinks like crazy at the engagement party. The next day, she wakes up with no memory of the previous night. But she does remember that she experienced orgasm for the first time ever. However, she doesn't remember who she slept with - was it Jeevan or Booni or Shekhar or Rahul or Professor? What happens next forms the rest of the film.
Radhika Anand's story is promising and could have translated into a path-breaking film. Radhika Anand's screenplay, however, is a mixed bag. While some scenes are very impactful and entertaining, a few of them could have been penned in a better manner. Radhika Anand and Prashasti Singh's dialogues are too funny but only in select places. A character in the beginning remarks that she attains orgasm simply by looking at her hot body. This dialogue will bring the house down and ideally, the film should have been replete with such one-liners from start to finish.
Karan Boolani's direction is decent. To give credit where it's due, he touches upon some important topics like childhood traumas, women being shamed for living life on their terms, women being shamed by other women, the majority of women not experiencing orgasm ever etc. Instead of getting preachy, he uses humour and some touching scenes to convey the message. Moreover, the plot is outrageous and one does get intrigued especially when Kanika begins her mission to find out who she slept with on her engagement.
On the flipside, the film moves too quickly and doesn’t let the characters grow organically. Kanika’s decision to marry Jeevan seems sudden. Moreover, it’s bewildering that the makers never show what Kanika and her friends do for a living. Professional achievements are also important for women. But the women in the film are not focusing on it at all. The humour is limited and moreover, the finale at the school is quite silly.
Thank You For Coming | Official Trailer | Bhumi Pednekar | Shehnaaz Gill
Speaking of performances, Bhumi Pednekar plays the character with aplomb. For an actor who played these semi-urban and rural characters, it can be challenging to crack a part that is so drastically different. Bhumi, however, comes out with flying colours. Dolly Singh and Shibani Bedi lend able support. Pradhuman Singh is unrecognizable and does well. Natasha Rastogi is lovely and Dolly Ahluwalia is dependable, as expected. Shehnaaz Gill is entertaining but is hardly there. Kusha Kapila (Neha) is wasted. Gautmik (Karan; Pallavi's husband) and Saloni Daini (Rania Das; Tina's daughter) leave a mark. Sushant Divgikar is quite good and has a fine screen presence. Karan Kundrra is okay. Anil Kapoor is excellent in a cameo.
Songs are well-woven into the narrative. 'Desi Wine' works the best followed by 'Pari Hoon Main', 'Haanji' and 'Baaraat'. None of the songs, however, are of the chartbuster variety. Aman Pant's background score is functional.
Anil Mehta's cinematography is neat. Manisha Melwani and Devanshi Tuli's styling is one of the highlights of the film. Disha Dey's production design is realistic. Shweta Venkat Mathew and Manan Sagar's editing is too sharp.
On the whole, THANK YOU FOR COMING is a progressive film that raises some important topics, has its share of entertaining scenes, and delivers a shock value. But it suffers on account of the script, limited humour, and silly climax. At the box office, the lack of awareness will prove detrimental to its business, and it will be appreciated only by a tiny section of the multiplex audience.
