325. Nadhoo Khan; movie review

NADHOO KHAN
Cert PG
136 mins
BBFC advice: Contains mild violence, language

Sometimes I wish that the rigorous family values presented in Indian films were prevalent in secular society in the West.
Respect for elders is often portrayed as leading to unreasonable or even harsh demands but it lays down boundaries which I think are being lost, certainly here in the UK.
Admittedly, in India, the hold of family is no longer as strong as it was in the days represented in Imran Sheikh's Nadhoo Khan.
Here, the words of the family patriarch are everything and that may or may not be to the advantage of the younger blood.
Sheikh's film sets out to be an ambitious mixture of comedy, romance sport and the aforementioned family values.
Unfortunately, it convinces in none of the above.
Harish Verma stars as Chanan - a directionless young man who has the eye for a beautiful girl (Wamiqa Gabbi) from a nearby village.
Verma's sidekick is played by Baminder Bunny whose method of eliciting laughs is simply to be, as his character's name suggests, a 'Stutterer'.
Yep, political correctness is not high on the agenda of Indian film-makers.
I digress.
Wrestling is central to Nadhoo Khan and it is the heart's desire of Chanan's father (BN Sharma) and grandfather (Hobby Dhaliwal) for him to take up the family tradition.
The problem is that he is keener to chase skirt than grapple and grunt with hairy fat fellas and so does just that for most of the movie.
It is rather sweet how Chanan and The Stutterer have to skulk around the scrub just to catch sight of the girls of their dreams (Gabbi and Simran Dhindsa).
Being found out would lead to terrible dishonour.
But I am afraid we have seen the like so often before and bolstering a tepid love story with the wrestling backdrop doesn't work.
There is no doubt that Sheikh has tried his best - for example, going to significant length to recreate the period.
But there are many moments which jar, not least the finale which is just odd.

Reasons to watch: If you are into Punjabi romantic comedies
Reasons to avoid: Seen the like so many times before

Laughs: None for me
Jumps: None
Vomit: None
Nudity: None
Overall rating: 4.5/10

Did you know? Pehlwani is a form of wrestling from the Indian sub-continent. It was developed in the Mughal Empire by combining native malla-yuddha with influences from Persian varzesh-e bastani.

Final word. Harish Verma said, "The movie is an intense romantic drama. The storyline is very gripping. When I read the script I was convinced that I must do something so different." Ghaint Punjab

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