Boyfriend for Hire review: Why weren’t they seeking a ‘script doctor for hire’?

1.5/5

Story:

Arjun is a youngster reluctant about striking up a conversation with women owing to a series of sour experiences in childhood. Arjun’s indifference towards women results in a lot of chaos in his personal and professional lives. He’s not keen on marriage but when his parents push him hard, he can’t say no for an answer. To choose an ideal life partner and understand women better, Arjun transforms into a ‘boyfriend for hire.’ How far will he go to find the woman of his dreams?

Review:

In the era of Tinder, speed-dating where umpteen tools offer quick-fix solutions to deal with modern-day complexities, an idea like Boyfriend for Hire would’ve been interesting had it come from a place of honesty. In the film, women hire the protagonist as a temporary boyfriend to resolve the conflicts in their life. The man sees this as an opportunity to find the woman of his dreams. (one who ticks all the boxes on his checklist)

The twist in the tale - the man hasn’t ever dated before and is socially awkward with women. He’s so awkward (read creepy..) that he hits on every woman in a coffee shop, trying to talk to them by claiming his interest to understand them better. The women are naturally disgusted. Boyfriend for Hire, for a major part, is just that - vague and equally problematic. The writer-director Santosh Kambhampati has a few fancy ideas but is clueless about fleshing them out sincerely.

Santosh wants to address the challenges with arranged marriages and the burden of expecting too much from your partner. Good intent there, but his characters aren’t rooted in reality. Had he been true to his theme, he would’ve tried to understand why several men in their 20s struggle to initiate conversations with women and what compels women to hire boyfriends/strangers to deal with their problems.

Out of nowhere, Arjun comes up with a list of five qualities that he expects from his soulmate and picks a woman Divya who meets his criteria. The director emphasises that Arjun is too particular about his ‘dream woman’ checklist but the character feels too calculated, like a figment of his imagination and struggles to make him relatable. Worse, Arjun in the film falls for the good looks of Divya and it’s hard to believe that their relationship, built on the foundation of a series of lies, would last.

The conflicts are born out of thin air, resolved too easily and it’s hard to identify with them. There’s no good reason to justify why Arjun is a mess around women - it’s as if the director needed a quirky facet to his characterisation, found something and didn’t care to establish it well. The film derails completely post intermission - the behaviour of the characters changes conveniently as per the demands of the director and there’s not a single reason to invest in the proceedings.

The final nail in the coffin is the climax - the director delays the inevitable by cycling back to his ‘boyfriend for hire’ idea, indulges in some colour shaming, and squeezes time for a ridiculous comedy track. If there’s something that provides some respite for the viewer, it’s Gopi Sundar’s music. Though the album is hardly his best, he rescues the film from being unbearable.

Viswant tries to be all flamboyant, peppy in a poorly written character but this is a film that didn’t merit his presence at all. Good story selection has been his strength all along and it’s hard to believe why and how he could say yes to a trainwreck of a script. Malavika Satheesan displays a few flashes of the good performer in her. Madhunandan, Raja Ravindra and Harshavardhan add no value to the film in inconsequential roles.

If the title had you hoping for something spicy and wacky, you’re sure to be disappointed. Boyfriend for Hire doesn’t offer any fresh insight into relationships, love or marriages owing to a disoriented narrative.

Verdict:

Boyfriend for Hire, promoted as a new-age rom-com, bites the dust. The film struggles to rise above its implausible premise and doesn’t have an iota of conviction in the many ideas it’s trying to suggest. Viswant and Malavika Satheesan’s performances and Gopi Sundar’s music are the only silver linings.