7 1/2 Phere: More Than a Wedding

Juhi Chahwla and Irfan star in this hilarious Hindi take on the reality series phenomenon. The former plays a TV executive who zeroes in on a particular family and wants to produce their latest family wedding as a TV serial. The latter plays a member of the family, who becomes in on the scheme and in the process falls in love with her. The family initially agrees to have their lives filmed and turned into a telly show but later back out of the deal. Irfan's character then secretly strikes up a deal to have the family's lives taped without their knowledge and in the process and bunch of ugly misdeeds surface and resurface. At 155 minutes and with just two short songs to help pass the time, this is an unusual production for Hindi cinema. But it's different in an interesting way. It's a tale of lost love, unrequited love, family life and the sacrifices people sometimes have to make. One unresolved scene baffled me though and it involves Irfan's character discovering two girls kissing during a power failure. The identity of only one of the women was revealed during the course of the movie. A bizarre scandal indeed!

Juhi Chawla has acted really well. Welcome back, Juhi! Irrfan is the best - as ever. However, the movie is not all that. For all the movie buffs, its a one time see. An effort is made to portray the 'practicality' and tried to make it more realistic. However, showing two girls at it - is not actually required to add 'masala' in the movie. Juhi Chawla has acted really well. Welcome back, Juhi! Irrfan is the best - as ever. However, the movie is not all that. For all the movie buffs, its a one time see. An effort is made to portray the 'practicality' and tried to make it more realistic. However, showing two girls at it - is not actually required to add 'masala' in the movie.

'7.5 Phere' revolves around an ambitious aspiring filmmaker, Asmi Ganatra (Juhi Chawla) and the guy Manoj Joshi (Irfan Khan) who could be her possible ticket to fame. Her assignment is to make a reality TV type documentary on a joint family wedding. That family happens to be Manoj's family. With the help of Manoj, Asmi manages to pull a sting operation (as the family opposes) on his niece's wedding. The plot is quite genuine, something not attempted in Indian films before. Irfan and Juhi are hilarious and share a wonderful chemistry. Both provide the funniest moments of '7.5 Phere'. Juhi Chawla once again with her divine comedic talent shines. This time her funny character has shades of gray. While Irfan Khan plays the slightly weird but likable Manoj with ease. However, the supporting cast is mostly annoying. Better actors could have been chosen. Thankfully, the presence of the lead actors makes up for this flaw. Direction could have been better (more editing would have helped) but Trivedi deserves credit for bringing Irfan and Juhi together for the first time on screen and for tackling a new subject. Songs are kept to a minimum (there's only one song). To sum it up, 7.5 Phere is quite enjoyable (for most parts) and I really liked watching the comedic chemistry between Irfan and Juhi.

The movie is based around Asmi (Juhi Chawla) an aspiring TV show director. Asmi plans to make a reality show centered around a wedding in a joint family, only problem, there's only one such wedding in all of Mumbai in this season. Enter, the greatest joint family we have seen as yet. One so complicated, it beats Kyunki Saas Bhi!! What ensues is a fabulously complex story, of philandering uncles, a secret lover, an entertaining cat and the regular band baja. The idea is great and completely genuine. However it is let down in a big way by shoddy editing. Much of the movie was only worth trimming. Acting be everyone apart from the leads was awful. Irfan and Juhi were brilliantly cast. All in all, worth a one time watch, but nothing sparkling.

The movie is about Asmi Ganatra (Juhi Chawla), a woman who dreams of becoming a famous director. She then visits the Joshi family, requesting that she use their upcoming family wedding as a part of her TV serial. The bride's father agrees to the idea, but the rest of the family refuses, thinking that they will lose their right of privacy. Asmi is disappointed at their decision, but doesn't give up just yet. She then comes to realize that Manoj Joshi (Irrfan Khan), the bride's youngest uncle has fallen in love with her. She manages to talk him into an arrangement where hundreds of cameras would be installed in the huge house. Manoj gives in and agrees to the deal. The family, unaware of the hidden cameras continue to act like their normal, everyday selves. Over some time, Manoj realizes that he has made a huge mistake. His family's privacy gets invaded by secret cameras, and incidents that should be kept secret are revealed. But the story doesn't end just there, it goes on further... more secrets are revealed... some that may even change the story's plot... to find out what happens next, watch 7 1/2 Phere... I, honestly think this is a great movie. What makes 7 1/2 Phere unique is its storyline; it is unlike any other Hindi film I have ever seen.In addition to that, the movie is loaded with comedy. I especially thought Juhi's acting was as great as ever and she looks beautiful as always. The only downside to the movie is it's not really the kind of movie you would want to see over and over again, but I would recommend it to anyone.