We watch the film’s title appear against the frown-lines on a forehead. You cannot help but break into a grin.
We’re introduced to an endearing family living in Goa. Savio (Ash Chandler) wonders aloud to his wife about “doing it” on an automatic washing machine. “We have semi-automatic,” she shoots back.
He’s the senior area manager at an underwear company. The wife Annie (Shernaz Patel) runs a small restaurant and is passionate about singing for the local church choir.
Thing is, being on the wrong side of 40, they consider her too old for the choir; the idea is to recruit younger singers to attract that age-group into the church. This ageist attitude bothers her and you often see her dip into a bottle of anti-wrinkle cream while scrutinizing the lines on her face.
As a viewer, you recognize that this is the very insecurity that the anti-ageing market capitalizes on.
Savio is going through his own trials. He is facing competition from younger staff in the company, who won’t respect his seniority.
Their adopted teen daughter Ruth (Arika Silaichia) is going through her own existential crisis. The fact that her parents don’t know her birthday and that she doesn’t look like them riles her.
To make matters better, or worse, is the sudden news that Annie (at age 46) is pregnant. The only one ecstatic in the family, Annie is further encouraged by the fact that she fainted in the church.
Savio, whose first reaction to the news is “how?” then proceeds to say his wife “is a little pregnant” when a friend inquires about her health.
The humour is subtle, delicious. The joke about Tibetan momos in a Chinese menu and Savio’s standard gag impersonating Marlon Brando are super-fun. As is Savio explaining with a straight-face, “there is no shortage of kinky people in India”, while desperately selling his idea of edible underwear.
We watch as this endearingly dysfunctional family (is there any other kind) deals with the unexpected news of the pregnancy with Savio deciding to quit his job and take up business.
Love, Wrinkle-Free is punctuated with generous doses of humour, authentic local touches, and soulful local music. The first-half breezes right through, but the tempo slows down in the second-half. The story gets embroiled in too many sub-plots, and that gets a tad tiresome.
The performances are a delight—right from Ash Chandler (Guzaarish, Mixed Doubles) who brings in a touch of very real vulnerability to his role, veteran actor Shernaz Patel (Black, Guzaarish, Little Zizou) to Sohrab Ardeshir (Fanaa, Little Zizou) and Ashwin Mushran (Desi Boyz, Kambhakkht Ishq) as the love-struck bad boy.
Arika Silaichia superbly brings out the angst owing to her age and the circumstances, and Tensin Dasang as her friend is impressive. Seema Rahmani is wonderful as the free-spirited photographer and Marianne Borgo in a cameo as Annie’s friend is a joy.
But the real hero here is writer-director Sandeep Mohan who concocts a film that’s a delight for the senses. It’ll make you laugh, make you feel, and will get you intricately involved with the characters’ lives. Don’t miss!
Rating: 3.5 stars
We’re introduced to an endearing family living in Goa. Savio (Ash Chandler) wonders aloud to his wife about “doing it” on an automatic washing machine. “We have semi-automatic,” she shoots back.
He’s the senior area manager at an underwear company. The wife Annie (Shernaz Patel) runs a small restaurant and is passionate about singing for the local church choir.
Thing is, being on the wrong side of 40, they consider her too old for the choir; the idea is to recruit younger singers to attract that age-group into the church. This ageist attitude bothers her and you often see her dip into a bottle of anti-wrinkle cream while scrutinizing the lines on her face.
As a viewer, you recognize that this is the very insecurity that the anti-ageing market capitalizes on.
Savio is going through his own trials. He is facing competition from younger staff in the company, who won’t respect his seniority.
Their adopted teen daughter Ruth (Arika Silaichia) is going through her own existential crisis. The fact that her parents don’t know her birthday and that she doesn’t look like them riles her.
To make matters better, or worse, is the sudden news that Annie (at age 46) is pregnant. The only one ecstatic in the family, Annie is further encouraged by the fact that she fainted in the church.
Savio, whose first reaction to the news is “how?” then proceeds to say his wife “is a little pregnant” when a friend inquires about her health.
The humour is subtle, delicious. The joke about Tibetan momos in a Chinese menu and Savio’s standard gag impersonating Marlon Brando are super-fun. As is Savio explaining with a straight-face, “there is no shortage of kinky people in India”, while desperately selling his idea of edible underwear.
We watch as this endearingly dysfunctional family (is there any other kind) deals with the unexpected news of the pregnancy with Savio deciding to quit his job and take up business.
Love, Wrinkle-Free is punctuated with generous doses of humour, authentic local touches, and soulful local music. The first-half breezes right through, but the tempo slows down in the second-half. The story gets embroiled in too many sub-plots, and that gets a tad tiresome.
The performances are a delight—right from Ash Chandler (Guzaarish, Mixed Doubles) who brings in a touch of very real vulnerability to his role, veteran actor Shernaz Patel (Black, Guzaarish, Little Zizou) to Sohrab Ardeshir (Fanaa, Little Zizou) and Ashwin Mushran (Desi Boyz, Kambhakkht Ishq) as the love-struck bad boy.
Arika Silaichia superbly brings out the angst owing to her age and the circumstances, and Tensin Dasang as her friend is impressive. Seema Rahmani is wonderful as the free-spirited photographer and Marianne Borgo in a cameo as Annie’s friend is a joy.
But the real hero here is writer-director Sandeep Mohan who concocts a film that’s a delight for the senses. It’ll make you laugh, make you feel, and will get you intricately involved with the characters’ lives. Don’t miss!
Rating: 3.5 stars
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