‘Vicky Donor’ review

While waiting to buy tickets at the box office of a multiplex, I heard a woman asking the guy behind the counter, “What is ‘Vicky Donor’? Is it a comedy?” “Madam it’s about a donor… sperm donor...it’s a good movie madam, informed the box office guy with a strange embarrassment. “Yuck! Give me that comedy movie’s ticket. What kinds of films are being made these days!” The woman walked away with two tickets of a mindless pot-boiler in guise of a comedy film that shows a crocodile biting a guy’s behind and a python grabbing another guy’s private parts and expects us to laugh at it.

This incident speaks volumes about our perspective on sperm donation and our film industry’s coming of age. The film ‘Vicky Donor’ reiterates this fact in the most flawless fashion. Director Shoojit Sircar in his film, steers clear of desperate measures like risqué dialogues or scenes replete with sexual innuendoes to ‘entertain’ you and chooses to keep it simple.

It is said that the first 15 minutes define a film. In case of ‘Vicky Donor’, you’re so engrossed in the story that you wish there was no interval. By the time the word ‘interval’ flashes on screen, you can already hear guys saying, “Let’s go and get some LCD TV”, while heading towards the loo, while their female friends giggled at them.

The writer, Juhi Chaturvedi is undoubtedly the hero of the film. The writing of the film is so exceptional that you already want to vote her for the best scriptwriter award for this year. Ayushmann Khurana is a revelation and it’s high time he bids farewell to his career in VJ. The actor sinks his teeth into the gem of a script (or rather sperm of a script) and wins the audiences’ hearts hands down (no pun intended). The actor is in his full form and ‘straaas’-free in every frame of the film. His song, ‘Paani da rang’ is already among the most viewed song on cyberspace.

Yaami Gautam, essaying the role of an independent Bengali girl coming to grips with life after a divorce is one of the reasons to watch ‘Vicky Donor’ again. In an age where female actors can barely act and rely on their stock expressions, here’s an actor who scores high in every section, be it acting or screen presence. For instance, how many times have you actually wished the guy would accept the heroine’s proposal?

The character actors carve a niche for themselves in ‘Vicky Donor’. So much so that calling them character actors makes you feel guilty. Annu Kapoor as the proprietor of an infertility clinic and Kamlesh Gill as the modern grandma indeed deserve applause.

The film also delves into regional differences without going overboard or offensive. The slangs from Delhi lingo often sound repetitive, especially the word, ‘fuddu’, which again is something you’d conveniently overlook in this film pregnant with outstanding performances and fertile imagination.

The highest number of star rating that this film could receive was the sight of the same woman wearing an expression of frown while climbing down the staircase after watching the no-brainer entertainer, while the pack I was leading were singing praises of ‘Vicky Donor’ – the middle-finger flashing moment!