Plan A Plan B review: Riteish Deshmukh and Tamannaah Bhatia's lack of chemistry hinders this Netflix rom-com

2/5

A bitter quarrel between a sincere matchmaker (Tamannaah Bhatia) and a cynical divorce lawyer (Riteish Deshmukh) is complicated when the former moves into the office next to them.

Opposites attract, which has been the basis of tonnes of love stories made into Hindi movies. Filmmakers and writers have tried every type of permutation and combination to bring something new to the table. More so, many even bring unconventional pairings which people might not expect. A few create fireworks on the screen, while others just make it forgettable very easily. Where does Shashanka Ghosh's Plan A Plan B, starring Riteish Deshmukh and Tamannaah Bhatia, stand? Let's see...

The film features two pole-apart professionals leading similar personal lives. On the one hand, we have a cynical divorce lawyer named Kaustubh Chougale, aka Kosty (Riteish Deshmukh), who has OCD. He is also going through a marital separation, which he doesn't want to. On the other hand, we have a matchmaker named Nirali Vora (Tamannaah Bhatia) and a marriage counsellor who believe that a match is definitely made in heaven. But her "soulmate" was taken away from her and she's battling the heartbreak too.

Because their offices share a wall, they have become neighbours! Thus begins the battle between a believer in love and the one who fights for the separation of couples. It's definitely not a novel concept, as we have seen something quite similar in Jodi Breakers, where the agenda of the lead actors is the same, but love takes charge and messes things up.

But here, the bond between them is based on fights where they just can't stand each other since their eyes meet. And we wonder why! No reason has been established as to why they both get on each other's nerves. Having different ideologies about romantic relationships doesn't justify them being unable to stand under the roof.

But then, we see Tamannaah's onscreen mother, played by veteran actor Poonam Dhillon, hinting that they do have chemistry, which makes them attracted towards each other. Well, not once did I feel that they had chemistry, let alone attraction.

That becomes the biggest drawback of the film; there's nothing which makes us root for the onscreen duo no matter how much they put in to show some mutual attraction. It so happens that intimate scenes between Riteish and Tamannaah look uncomfortable to watch and look forced.

There are some favourable moments in the film which don't feature the lead actors together. Tamannaah gets her best scenes with Poonam Dhillon, Kusha Kapila, and also the child actor. Despite the fact that Riteish also shines in his sequences, the script doesn't help boost his character arc.

As for performances, Riteish, as mentioned, tries to bring some intensity and seriousness to his character. However, the actor's efforts go in vain. When it comes to rom-coms, the actor is good enough in comedy parts but lacks everything in romance.

Tamannaah's best sequence in the film is when she drunk-dials Kosty and sets him straight. It's straight from Jab We Met. Oh wait, she happened to be the lead in its Tamil remake, Kanden Kadhalai. Well, it even seems like the actor performs slightly like how Kareena Kapoor Khan used to be in the 2010s, and her originality is literally lost in translation.

The script is penned by Rajat Aroraa, the man behind movies like Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai, The Dirty Picture, Kick, and even Heropanti 2. The writer fails to create an impression in his efforts to make a rom-com for this generation. The casual and loud approach of the characters looks excruciating after a point in time.

Even Ghosh, who has directed rom-coms namely Khoobsurat and Veere Di Wedding, once more tries to bring something bizarre, but it doesn't work this time.

The only part which makes the film more believable is Poonam Dhillon's mentioning of botox and being unapologetic about it. The veteran actor brings a comical depth to the film, which is laughable in some parts.

Plan A Plan B has one more element that sets both the characters apart: dance! Kosty loves it, and Nirali believes she can't dance. When the dance-off happens, all we could do is just stare with a deadpan face as it doesn't seem enjoyable at all.

The songs in the film by Bann Chakraborty and Saurabh Das are decent enough, but I'm not sure if they will make it into your playlist.

Overall, Plan A Plan B could be yet another forgettable Netflix film which tries too hard to be a romantic comedy with lead actors who have no chemistry between them.

Plan A Plan B get weak performances from everyone, including the lead actors, Riteish Deshmukh and Tamannaah Bhatia, the writer Rajat Aroraa, and also the director, Shashanka Ghosh.