Shaadi Mein Zaroor Aana

About the film

Shaadi Mein Zaroor Aana (transl.  Do Attend the Wedding) is a 2017 Indian Hindi-language romance drama comedy film directed by Ratnaa Sinha and written by Kamal Pandey. Produced by Vinod and Manju Bachchan, the film features Rajkummar Rao and Kriti Kharbanda, alongside K. K. Raina, Alka Amin, Vipin Sharma, Govind Namdev, Navni Parihar, Nayani Dixit, and Manoj Pahwa.

Shaadi Mein Zaroor Aana is the journey of two individuals, Satyendra and Aarti, who come together through a marriage proposal and fall in love; however, their individual decisions and destiny take them in different directions. The music was composed by Anand Raj Anand, JAM8, and Arko, while all the lyrics were written by Kumaar.

Plot

Middle-class Aarti Shukla is set to marry Satyendra "Sattu" Mishra, after they both agree to an arranged marriage. On the day of the wedding, Aarti learns she has cleared the PCS exam, a gateway to a comfortable life as a civil servant. Sattu's mother is strict and will not allow Aarti to work after marriage, so Aarti abandons the wedding at the last minute. Sattu, from a middle-class background as well, is forced to sell family heirlooms to recoup losses for the wedding, including repayment of dowry to the Shuklas.

Five years later, Aarti works as a PCS officer in Lucknow. She crosses paths with Sattu again, who is now the district magistrate, after himself clearing the prestigious Indian Administrative Service exam. Aarti has become embroiled in a corruption scandal, and Sattu is assigned with investigating the accusation. He has not forgotten his family's humiliation at the hands of the Shuklas, and sees the case as a means for revenge.

After weeks of investigation, Sattu learns that Aarti is innocent; the alleged bribes were taken without her knowledge by her staff, who are now planning to have her killed. He has her placed in police custody before the case is heard. She is later released, once the perpetrators are arrested. Seeing Sattu's integrity and actions taken to protect her, Aarti has a change of heart. She starts pursuing Sattu, suggesting that the two get married, but he is uninterested.

Production

In February 2017, producer Vinod Bachchan made the official announcement about his film Shaadi Mein Zaroor Aana with Rajkummar Rao and Kriti Kharbanda in lead roles. Filmmaker Ratnaa Sinha, wife of Anubhav Sinha marked her directorial debut with the film.

Rajkummar Rao was cast to play the lead, Satyendra Mishra, and was director Sinha's first choice. Rao added, "My character has a journey that travels the phase from a small town guy falling in love with a girl to becoming a successful, rich guy. It is a revenge story and how love makes you do things that you cannot do otherwise."

Kriti Kharbanda was cast to play Aarti Shukla, the other lead. Kharbanda stated "script" as the reason behind choosing the film and added, "Shaadi Mein Zaroor Aana is my most passionate project till date. I feel nothing but love for the characters of this film altogether." For the role of Aarti, the first choice of Sinha was Taapsee Pannu, who had reportedly came on board to do the film but later on decided against doing so citing lack of dates.

Soundtrack

The soundtrack album of Shaadi Mein Zaroor Aana comprises eleven songs composed by Arko Pravo Mukherjee, Kaushik-Akash-Guddu (KAG) For JAM8, Zain-Sam-Raees, Anand Raaj Anand and Rashid Khan while the lyrics were written by Kumaar, Shakeel Azmi, Gaurav Krishna Bansal, Arko and Kunaal Vermaa.

Vocals on the album's eight tracks were performed by several singers mainly Yasser Desai, Arijit Singh, and Shafqat Amanat Ali. It was produced under the Zee Music label. The song "Pallo Latke" is a remake of a popular Rajasthani folk song. Lyrics of the song "Mera Intkam Dekheg" was written by IRTS officer Gaurav Krishna Bansal.

Bollywood Hungama gave the album 3 out of 5 stars and noted in its music review that, "What works for the music of Shaadi Mein Zaroor Aana is the fact that there is a constant 'sur' right through its playing time which doesn't cause a distraction. The sound is uniform and helps the album to play on well through its duration." Vipin Nair of The Hindu in his review said that the soundtrack is "entirely missable" and gave it a rating of 2.5 out of 5 stars.

Release

Shaadi Mein Zaroor Aana's first poster was released on 10 October 2017. The film's trailer was released in the same month. Shaadi Mein Zaroor Aana was theatrically released on 10 November 2017. In December 2017, the film was also screened at the Rashtrapati Bhawan. Post its release, the film was made available on Zee5.

Reception

Namrata Joshi of The Hindu was impressed with the acting performances of all actors but criticized the implausible revenge story that the film becomes in its second half. Sweta Kaushal of Hindustan Times gave the film a rating of 3.5 out of 5 and noted, "Rajkummar’s transformation is impressive and Kriti effortlessly essays her role. All other character actors are a treat to watch. The film, however, leans too much on clichés. Songs are abrupt and obstruct the narrative. The filmmakers have also relied heavily on melodrama but despite these minor hiccups, this is an invitation you must not miss." Urvi Parikh of Rediff.com was critical of the weak storyline of the film and its slow pacing. The critic gave the film a rating of 1.5 out of 5.

Key details