Band Baj Gaya Dubai mein!

Shaadi Aapki, Kharcha Hamaara Contest was also held at Dubai.

Yogesh and Betcy were the winners for the Band Baajaa Baaraat wedding Contest conducted By YASHRAJ Films in "Band Baaja Baaraat" Ishtyle in association with 105.4 Radio Spice , Fulltoo Twisted ,and Dream Advertising.

The whole wedding was Sponsored by Radio Spice.

Grand Wedding was on a Dhow Cruise on the Creek side of Dubai , with all Band Baajaa and BAARAATI ,mehendi and Pheras . well attended by over 250 guests.

A free wedding reception was given to the couple and an after party at the Keva Lounge on 10th december 2011

Ranveer says - Everybody should get a supportive co - star like Anushka!

Thank God, no one says any more than my debut was financed by my father. That to me is my biggest victory," says Ranveer Singh.

Ranveer Singh is spoil for choices. "I think after Band Baaja Baaraat, I need to do completely contrasting character. Someone who is not loud, opinionated and unsophisticated."

The suffering of waiting is over for this debutant who came in from the outside. "Not since Akshay Kumar and John Abraham has there been a male lead from outside the industry getting such positive reactions. I just hope my example encourages talent from outside. Because right now the perception is outsiders don't stand a chance. I had no reference like mine to give me hope when I was going through my struggle period."

One call from Yash Raj changed Ranveer's life. "It was completely out of the blue from the casting director Shanu Sharma. I remember I was out on date when Shanu kept calling. I avoided her calls for as long as I could because I had other things on my mind at that moment. Imagine if I had not taken the call from Yash Raj for a fling that lasted exactly ten days! Anyway, the next day I was at Yash Raj doing two scenes. I got called back in three days. Later Adi Sir (Chopra) told he had made up his mind immediately..."

Ranveer is pleased he didn't get a conventional romantic debut. "The story in Band Baaja Baaraat is terrific. And my character Bittu was so much fun for me to play because he's so far removed from my own world. It was more than I could ever ask for. I was more than happy to be a simple character in a simple story. Not too many newcomers can dream of a break like Band Baaja Baaraat, certainly not someone unconnected with the film industry."

Catty elements within the industry had spread the rumor that his father, a prosperous business man, had financed the film.

Confesses the young polite actor, "Yes that hurt on several levels. Such ugly rumours took away from my pleasure at being the first solo-hero to be launched by Yash Raj. Ya…it was upsetting. My father and my family's pride that I had made it on my own got blunted when it was said that they financed my debut film. It was like taking away from my little achievement. I was upset more for my parents than myself. I was also upset for Yash Raj. Did they need my father's money to make a film? The entire film industry knows Yash Raj doesn't need to do all this. It's absurd. They don't need anyone's money to make films. Certainly not my father's."

Ranveer maintains he is "very good friends" with co-star Anushka Sharma, though they bickered non-stop like their characters in Band Baaja Baaraat. "She and I are very good friends. How can I change that truth just because it sounds clichéd? Neither of us is bothered with what people say."

Says Ranveer, "We came from two different schools of filmmaking. I'm a trained actor. She never attended any acting school. As a model she had faced the camera before acting and had already done two films before Band Baaja Baaraat. She is a one-take actor. I believe in lots of rehearsals. And that was very annoying for Anushka because her first take was the best. We had to reach a middle ground before we could get along. In hindsight I feel I was rehearsing more than necessary because it was my first film. I learn from her to be spontaneous. But the fact that we had to be at loggerheads on screen was certainly helped by our constant friction in the sets about our approach to acting."

Ranveer hopes every newcomer gets a supportive co-star like Anushka or else he is "screwed".

As for the rumors about Ranveer and Anushka, the promising newcomer says, "I was too much into my work to even think about those rumors. I just wanted to perform well. That was my only concern. I've never been in a serious relationship so far. And now my career has just started."

He sighs and says, "It feels cool. I had told my father a long time ago that I'd be an actor. My dream has come true. But my family is not used to the gossip and rumors."

And to think Ranveer thought of changing his name because there was already a Ranbir around. "I am glad I didn't. This is my name. This is my destiny. I'm just so happy."

He's signed for three films with Yash Raj. "But it is non-exclusive. I was waiting for my first release and so was the industry. Now they know I wasn't signed because my father paid for my dream. Adi too has plans for me though I don't know what they are. He loves playing poker with people."

Source: Bollywood Hungama

'BBB' Buzzer is on!!! Go...Go...Go

Anuradha SenGupta doing Gupshup with the crew of Band Baaja Baaraat.

Sukanya Venkatraghavan says, "Band Baaja Baaraat" is real, racy and fun loving Movie.

Rarely do you find a love story that is so full of life and bouncing off the walls. Band Baaja Baarat is one of the freshest cleverly written films in recent times. It has an energy about it that makes you want to do the balle balle. So Shruti (Anushka Sharma ) and Bittu (Ranveer Singh) meet and then decide to start a wedding planning business sorry biness as Bittu might say. There is definite attraction and Bittu tries to line maro initially but Shruti will have none of this love shove. It’s too complicated. And the first rule of partnership – No mixing business with pleasure. And what are rules if they don’t get broke, really. So when Bittu and Shruti realise that, things go awry. Very. And then there is heartbreak, havoc, shouting, lots of shouting and ultimately a climax where the guy does get the girl. Obviously yaar!

The fun of BBB lies in its robust dinchak Delhiness. The colours, the language, the people, even the way relationships are played out. Shruti is go-getting, no nonsense and a firebrand and you cant but love her. As Bittu says turn her inside out and maybe some heavy limbed himbos will tumble out because she is so not just your average girl next door. Bittu is street-smart, endearing, exasperating, can’t pronounce ‘business’ but knows how to run one with brilliant instinct. He also knows that he may not be as smart as his partner but he plays a perfect foil and is there for her in the most heartwarming fashion.

The first half is stupendous, with some fast racy writing and even though the story is fairly pat down and predictable you enjoy the telling of it. The second half dips in comparison and there is too much of band baaja baarat before these two impetous very similar yet so unlike soulmates actually get together. But they are so likeable you don’t mind the wait.

Debutant director Maneesh Sharma creates such real and spontaneous characters that they prop up his occasionally bumpy narrative with the same cleverness that they run their shaadi ka business. The dialogue by Habib Faisal who also wrote and directed Do Dooni Chaar another Delhi based film is crackling, insouciant and full of life. The styling of the film is unapologetically riotous and vibrant.

Anushka Sharma is awesome to simply put it. She is ‘theeki’ and right there in the moment at all times. This is an actress to watch out for. Ranveer Singh makes a marvelous debut. His Bittu really works. Ranveer has a comic and emotional timing that cannot be ignored. There is tremendous potential here and one that has been tapped rightly in this film. Watch out for the outstanding chemistry between these two in the scene where they have their showdown and in the earlier scenes when they are getting to know each other.

BBB scores on many levels. It has a very real quality. There is no posturing at all. If the characters are eating Chinese food from a local fast food joint then the sauce does come in those little knotted up sachets and that’s just one of the many things that are authentic about the film. This is undoubtedly your best watch this weekend. Movie mubarak ho sabko!

Sources: FilmFare.com

Wonderfully scripted romcom of this Year!

The inherent flaw with the Bollywood rom-com template is that it doesn’t bother fleshing out characters and making them real, relying mostly on music and chemistry to do the job instead. Which is why we mostly end up with vacant films about pretty people conveniently positioned close enough to fall in love, which they do over several cutesy montages?

Why does she love him? What are they talking about, or bonding over? Who cares, say the filmmakers, see how great they look together as they laugh, as we fade from her punching his shoulder playfully to him making a silly face, all as the music takes turns being playful and mushy and nostalgic. Clearly, the film tells us, these people are in love – ‘oho, why else would they have a song?’ – And we’re just supposed to accept that and see what happens next.

This is why it’s wonderfully refreshing to discover a film as solid as Maneesh Sharma’s Band Baaja Baaraat, a seemingly simple romance which actually makes us care and root for the protagonists. Where the boy is mongrel-rough and the girl is perky-plain, but the relationship they share is relatable and real and worth many a smile. It’s a full-blown Bollywood entertainer, sure, but one with as much smarts as it has heart.

Writer Habib Faisal impressed earlier this year with Do Dooni Chaar, and here as screenwriter he strikes again, creating a flavourful slice of Delhi that makes up in sheer earnest enthusiasm what it lacks in accuracy. Yet the milieu isn’t the film’s strength – clearly Dibakar Banerjee has inflicted a Sai Paranjpe-like love for the capital city among current filmmaking brethren –nor is the story, though it does have some neat little nuances.

The decidedly irresistible characters meet at a buffet line in a shaadi – him scavenger, her custodian – and it is initially impossible to imagine a girl so incontrol even entertaining conversation with a lout so scruffy. She seems inappropriately uppity, he overtly out-ona-limb. And yet they both make sense, as people. As a couple of unlikely, ambitious nuts with enough can-do to make it big. Romance is the last thing on their mind as they share a bed, him watching late-night TV, her coiled comfortably into herself.

There is a hair-saloon style painting of a Bollywood actor outside their office, Amitabh Bachchan’s Vijay looking more dour than usual. Sometimes in the dusk-stretched shadows, he looks almost like Hrithik. Neither looks like Ranveer Singh, who plays Bittoo Sharma, a wonderfully unsmooth leading man. He isn’t in any way traditional, but it’s hard not to get swept up by his dogged, unpredictable enthusiasm. You root for him, hard.

Anushka Sharma, harmlessly likeable in Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi and atrocious in Badmaash Company, is perfectly cast here as Shruti Kakkar, creating a character with both pluck and pout. They are smashing protagonists, and while each gets some photogenic time, that’s not the point. It’s about love, not the stars, as Bittoo tells a bride sobbing over SRK unable to dance at her wedding finale.

That this message comes from the country’s starriest banner is welcome news indeed. As is the fact that it has churned out a bona fide romance, a realistic tale of ambition and rules and morality, one that is both progressive and modern but intelligent enough to not rub our noses in it.

Even the final speech – that staple of romantic comedies worldwide, the maudlin soliloquy that redeems one protagonist while showing the other the light – is here handled deftly, talking about love as lifeforce, as spirit, as enjoyment. As mauj.

When things look bleak for our heroes in BBB, actor Manish Chaudhary conveniently comes to the rescue, like he did almost exactly a year ago in another great early-December YRF release, Rocket Singh: Salesman Of The Year. Now, the Manish Chaudharys of the world might not be as easy to stumble upon, and business might not be quite as easy to excel in as YRF shows us, but at least the dream they conjure up is one worth fighting for.

Source- Raja Sen's Editorial in Mumbai Mirror.

Ek Aur Phattang Interview! Jaon Jaon Dekho Dekho.

Rocking the Theatres Worldwide!

Exclusive Interview of Ranveer & Anushka.

Check out the video of 'BBB' Grand Wedding of Manpreet & Mandeep.

Band Baj Gayaa Dhinchak wala!

Go watch this feel good, fun film that has slipped in quietly into multiplexes minus any band baaja, shor-wor, marketing sharketing… and stolen hearts. Goes to prove one simple truth — an original always scores. You don’t need obscene budgets, item songs, mega stars or aggressive/innovative promotional activity when the movie itself is terrific. Word of mouth is by far the most powerful tool in this business. And going by the buzz, last Friday’s modestly made Band Baaja Baraat is bound to score a bull’s eye at the box office. It may do the trick for Yash Raj Films, the same way that a sleeper hit once salvaged RK Films with Bobby, which starred an unknown called Dimple and the bossman’s teenage son (Rishi Kapoor) as lead players.

In BBB, Aditya Chopra has sensibly picked a taaza mazedaar team and introduced a kudda (Ranveer Singh) who is as Panju as a tandoori kukkad. Here’s a debut that holds much promise and is worth noting since the young man is not a filmi son, brother, son-in-law, nephew, cousin, step-son. But the guy can act and dance with the best. His sense of timing is terrific, and his macho-crudo character who insists on talking with his mouth stuffed with bread-pakoras, is as authentic as sarson da saag. But beyond the lead players (Anoushka Sharma’s spirited Shrutti is adorable), it is the crackling dialogue (Habib Faisal) that’s the real star. Maneesh Sharma, the debutant director rarely misses a cue — the casting is spot on, especially the flower supplier and the snootybitchy Sainik Farms wedding planner who cons her clients by short changing them all the way — whether it’s on the lilies or the lights. Combine this simple story of two Dilliwalla youngsters who are partners in a ‘binnas’ (‘Shaadi Mubarak’) and dying to move up the pecking order, from dhinchak Janakpuri weddings put together for a couple of lakhs to staging multi crore super extravaganzas at massive havelis — and you get a charming, uncomplicated, zabardast entertainer. A veritable kitschy mithai shop brimming over with hazaar goodies.The director and art director have got every tiny detail right, and even the ensemble cast (guests at all the shaadis) are well picked and perfectly costumed. Vaibhavi Merchant’s choreography sizzles — and how. Don’t be surprised if Anushka displaces Sheila and Munni with her tawa hot moves. And yes — Ranveer can dance, saala!

After watching BBB, once again I thought about all these ‘important’ movies with monstrous budgets that sink at the box office and everybody loses money and face! What a colossal waste — of talent and big bucks. Then there are the other time pass ‘entertainers’ with Godzilla budgets that also flop miserably and money goes straight down the tube. The other weird category involves super productions running into crores and crores where audiences don’t ‘see’ the money (meaning, while watching a Jodhaa Akbar, the scale and vision are enough to justify the stated cost. Ditto for a Robot). Most of the rest are pure junk — shabby at all levels. It is the superstar actor who eats up all that lolly — and then doesn’t deliver. Which is why the success of a BBB is vital to keep the film industry machine well-oiled and moving. Here, the script is king. Which is really what defines cinematic success. BBB demonstrates yet again (like DDLJ once did), that if a production house sticks to its core competence and to subjects that are in its dna (Panju shaadiwaadis, bhangra beats and gori-gori kuddis in patialas romancing hard core pappeys in tight-tight jeans ), the formula works big time. Delhi has never looked this irresistible, seductive and fun — a major feat in itself.

Source: Bombay Times.

Band Baaja Baaraat marks the celebration of good cinema.

From the patented wedding planners of Bollywood (Yash Raj Films) comes a love story of two wedding planners which is so nontraditional of the banner, sans any mush or melodrama. That in particular sets the romance apart from the regular feel-good lot and for a pleasant change this love story is not shallow on story.

The ambitious Shruti (Anushka Sharma) with a no-nonsense attitude aspires to be a wedding planner. The aimless Bittoo (Ranveer Singh) wishes to be her partner in business. Though Shruti is initially hesitant, fate brings them together as they start their joint venture Shaadi Mubarak which turns out to be a huge success. While they start with a preset rule of not falling in pyaar for the sake of vyapaar, passion overpowers perspicacity in an intimate moment.

The practical girl falls in love. The bratty boy is bemused and mellows down. As differences crop up, they fall apart only to go their own ways and start their individual endeavours. They are no-good single-handedly until fate gives them another chance to get along as planners for one big fat great wedding.

What makes this wedding planner account engaging is that it is smartly planned in terms of its script and direction. Habib Faisal (director of Do Dooni Chaar) comes up with a well-etched screenplay comprising of real characters and defined conflicts.

There is a distinctive graph to the narrative from the inset of the duo's frothy friendship, to their buildup as business partners, to cupid striking the girl, to their split up and finally the boy's realization of romance. Debutante director Maneesh Sharma gets the grammar of the romance correct and his approach to each scene is very refreshing. Even when he captures the couple in their intimate moment, it's absolutely aesthetic with no trace of titillation.

The first half works towards the rise-of-the-underdog, as the planners establish their business with middle class marriages and upgrade it to elite weddings. But the uniqueness of the film comes out beautifully in the second half. The duo's awkwardness towards each other after their impulsive lovemaking is so subtly summarized.

The cold vibes between the couple during a wedding performance, in clear contrast to their earlier chemistry, is perfectly palpable. The disputes leading to their separation seem straight out of real-life brawls. The pre-climax face-off where Shruti gives a piece of mind to Bittoo is sensible over being sentimental and very well-worded.

On the flipside the love story treads into the conventional zone with the induction of the girl's fiancée towards the end, though thankfully his presence is never felt as he remains restricted to phone-calls. Again he is conveniently cut-off from the plot in the climax, though one doesn't complain much since he was never welcome in the first place.

Habib Faisal gets the Delhi lingo in the dialogues to perfection. The art direction is demanding with a predominant wedding backdrop and the film justifies the requirement. Aseem Mishra's cinematography, Niharika Khan's costume design and Salim-Sulaiman's peppy music aptly capture the celebratory feel of the film.

The lead pair of the film share wonderful chemistry and come up with compelling performances. Anushka Sharma is brilliant in her bold and beautiful character. She looks gorgeous, is natural in her act and is exceptionally good in both lighthearted and poignant scenes. Ranveer Singh shows extra enthusiasm in the initial reels but thankfully doesn't go overboard. He puts in a confident act and has an effervescent charm. Neeraj Sood as Maqsood bhai is good.

Band Baaja Baaraat marks the celebration of good cinema.

MSN five reason to watch "Band Baaja Baaraat"

1. In recent times, one has not come across such crackling chemistry between a movie's lead pair. While Anushka Sharma has portrayed Shruti with all heart, newcomer Ranveer Singh is uninhibited as the adorable Bitto Sharma, who tries to "patao" the girl but ends up as her business partner.

2. The movie is essentially "Delhi Unplugged", right from the language to the casually overstated nature of the characters and the extremely middle-class morals of the lead pair. A delightful scene where the duo wake in bed after a night of romance where the girl feels she should get domesticated and the guy thinks of the episode as a "kaand" is hilarious.

3. If Faisal etched out utterly adorable and believable characters in 'Do Dooni Char', his dialogues in 'BBB' is what keeps you hitched for most of the time. The characters become believable only because the dialogues they mouth are believable. What's more it's a welcome break from the "lafda" and "bidu" overdose in movies dishing out Mumbaikar fare.

4. The script is racy enough to keep you glued to the seats for most part of the movie and the dialogues once again make for those interesting interludes where it raises enough laughs without traversing into total craziness and chaos. Unlike some of the recent comedies, the laughs are more situations than forced.

5. There is an earnestness in the entire cast and the crew in making this movie plausible and interesting at the same time. Of course, one may find fault with a few situations that are contrived to say the least, but at two hours and change, it doesn't become an affront to the senses.

Band Baaja Baaraat is easily entertaining, breezy, fresh and fun..

WHAT'S IT ABOUT: It's a tried and tested formula that works. To borrow a cliche, bring two opposites together and they're bound to attract one another, sooner rather than later.

Shruti Kakkar (Anushka) is the sorted-out middle class Dilli girl who has her future all planned out. She's a go-getter, knows what she wants and is focused on getting it. Bittu Sharma (Ranveer), on the other hand, is a roadside Romeo-type, care-a-damn yet streetwise slacker who wants to prove to his farmer dad that he can make it on his own.

Bittu decides to hitch his dreams to Shruti's wagon and offers to be the brawn to her brains. He tags along wherever she goes. Their first stop is at the 'site' of a biggie wedding planner, Chanda Ma'am. They realise just in time that the lady in question conducts her business in a not-so-honest manner. A disagreement and blame game later, Shruti walks out and Bittu follows.

They then open their own wedding planning bijnes called Shaadi Mubarak. They get a gang together -- a flower decorator and a caterer -- and start work. They begin small, with galli mein shaadis moving on to flashier clients simply by word-of-mouth.

One successful big wedding later, they have a private party at their dukaan. The two, who now share a close friendship pop champagne, dance, get drunk and make love. The next morning, she's in love. He's just freaked that she is.

Why? Remember how Shruti had a one-track career plan? Can't mix business and love, goes her oft-repeated line. Bittu forgot that under that 'independent' 'no-nonsense' exterior was a girl who wanted to be treated like a guy should treat her. The boy calling their special night together, a 'kaand' and a 'mistake' breaks her heart.

She steels herself but finds herself unable to keep their personal and professional equations apart. She decides to write him out of the business and a nasty separation follows.

They become competitors with little or no individual success. In the end, it takes a hotel magnate's pre-condition to get them to come together. Work together on his only daughter's wedding and there's a crore-full bounty. If not, their lives can only go from bad to worse with creditors milling around their shops.

They take up the offer after much persuasion by common friends and get to work. Will they find it within them to work together as partners again?

What's hot: Debutant director Maneesh Sharma brings Delhi alive like few filmmakers have in recent years. His confidence with his craft shows. And if you wonder why Dilli seems more familiar and apna-sa than ever? It's because Habib Faisal (the Do Dooni Chaar director co-writes). Despite the loud, garish overtones (that's why we call them big fat Indian weddings, no?), the film's feel never grates. The script is mostly fluid with the rare weak moments but what really holds up the two-hour flick are its lead pair. For someone who's two films old (Anushka) and a debutant (Ranveer) to entertain with josh and a fervent energy without a single big name in any frame calls for appreciation. Also, the score by Salim-Sulaiman is mostly phatte!



What's not: You see it coming a mile away. They squabble, work together, part ways, come together and eventually marry. But I wonder ¦ why is Bittu non-committal in the first place? I'm scared of hurting her, he says. So he does care. She doesn't then she does. But does Bittu have to be browbeaten into saying yes to love and later, marriage? Also, one would've appreciated a little variety in the weddings shown. No Christian weddings, kya? Couldn't there be a different twist to the usual white wedding? Also, does dhaba food count for all catering. We are never told if the jovial Sardarji is adept at other cuisines.

What to do: Go watch it. It's easily entertaining, breezy, fresh and fun. Watch it simply for the vibrant energy it exudes.

Shubh Mahurat - Minty Tejpal Of Mumbai Mirror says.

In many ways it is quite fitting that the ultimate marriage movie, with a plot involving non-stop shaadis on screen, should come from the Yash Chopra stable, known for its lush, syrupy romantic sagas.

Unfortunately of late YRF has been producing a succession of lame duck horses, not expected from the industry leader, but they finally get it kind of right with Band Baaja Baaraat, a fun, honestly made movie, with an engaging storyline, superb dialogue and sassy music, ably handled by debutant director, Maneesh Sharma.

Then, the lead pair of Anushka Sharma and debutante Ranveer Singh looks fresh and has an easy natural energy, which makes the film worth watching.

Band Baaja Baaraat is entirely shot in Delhi, and the director gets the flavours of the city just right. Bittu Sharma [Ranveer Singh] and Shruti Kakkar (Anushka Sharma) are studying together in college.

Ranveer comes from a rich farm owning family from Saharanpur and stays in the Kirori Mal hostel, while Anushka lives with her middle class parents in Janakpuri.

Even as the boyish Ranveer is busy goofing off in college, trying to resist going back to his orthodox family, the ambitious Anushka is dreaming of starting her own business, that of a wedding planner. When an attempt to patao her fails, a desperate Ranveer offers to be her business partner. At first Anushka refuses, saying then love-shove will start, and she believes 'vyaapar mai kabhi bhi pyaar nahin'.

Ranveer promises no love, so they start a wedding company together, Shaadi Mubarak. Slowly they organize non-stop shaadis, Ranveer buys a bike, their business increases and so does their friendship.

Eventually one drunken celebratory night, they kiss, fully and actually on screen, clap clap, and then make love, cheers. That's interval, and so far so good,

The next morning after the night before, the equation between them changes. She starts calling him 'tum' and making chai for him, which she never did before, all of which makes the macho Ranveer uncomfortable. He starts distancing himself, until they stupidly fight and divide the company.

This portion of the film is the weakest, and becomes too rushed and convenient. So then they start their individual wedding planning companies, till they are again forced together to organise a big ticket shaadi.

Finally they resolve their differences and live happily ever after. Though the film is full of non-stop shaadis, what saves the film is the smart dialogue by Habib Faisal like 'packaging phado toh andar se dus takde ladke niklenge', and crackling chemistry between Anushka and Ranveer.

The rest of the cast also does a good job, specially Neeraj Sood, and the music by Salim-Suleiman is very hummable, notably Tarkeibein and Aivi aivi lut gaya.

Finally, newcomer Ranveer Singh is a good find, necessary in these troubled times where the big heroes are charging the moon, and yet not delivering. Ranveer has an easy, natural swagger and insouciance, and an overall endearing quality.

That coupled with a muscled torso, handsome jaw and decent acting skills, surely makes him prime hero material. Anushka Sharma continues to impress again, with her bindaas brand of sassy, saucy chick who can kick ass when needed, a quality which more than makes up for her slightly unconventional looks. In the end, Band Baaja Baaraat is a shaadi worth attending.

YRF finally gets it kind of right with Band Baaja Baaraat, a fun, honestly made movie

Nikhat Kazmi gives 3.5/5 - Band Baaja Baaraat

The Delhi belly is being split wide open in film after film. And what a delightful smattering of colors is spilling forth as film makers try to understand what makes the Indian capital -- with its amalgam of cultures and communities -- so charismatic.

Band Baaja Baaraat works smartly as a sociological study of saddi Dilli, with moods, moments and characters that crisply capture the life on the other side of the neon lights. Like Dibakar Banerjee and Rakeysh Mehra, director Maneesh Sharma chooses to look the other way and talk about the earthy, emotional, rough-edged quintessential Dilliwala who peppers his language with street talk, doesn't believe in minding his Ps and Qs, revels in an in-your-face attitude and cocks a snook at the HS (high-society) people...Only because he thinks he ain't less than them, any which way. Bittu and Shruti are unabashedly Janakpuri types. And that is what makes them so warm and vibrant. They meet in DTC buses, gorge themselves on ice candy at India Gate and discuss `binnas' (business) plans on bread pakoras. And yes, high strung and emotional blokes that they are, they do the disco at the drop of a hat, hug tightly when things go right and fight rough when misunderstandings begin.

As long as you view Band Baaja Baaraat as a loving, heartfelt take on what makes Delhi go dhak-dhak, the film holds your attention. The screenplay and the dialogues (Habib Faisal) are spilling over with recognisable nuances and emotions. When Bittu refers to their romantic interlude as a `kaand', a mistake, you cannot help smiling. But when you begin to view the film as a new age romance, it becomes somewhat awkward and rough, primarily because the lead couple can hardly light up the screen with passion and pyaar. As they rightly lay down the rules at the very beginning: No pyar in vyapar....

Performance-wise, the duo do have a spontaneity that is disarming, specially Anushka Sharma who pitches in her best act. Watch her in the morning-after sequence when Bittu hopes she isn't the `chipkoo' types and you'll understand how she's growing as an actor. As the Janakpuri dhin-chak girl, (that's what she calls herself) she's lively and watchable. Thumbs up to all the desi, downtown girls who are grabbing attention these days. Strangely, the music score (Salim Suleiman) doesn't have much to recommend, despite the effervescence of Delhi's bhangra beats.

It may not scorch the box office and may not go down in your must-watch list. Yet Band Baajaa Baaraat engages you with its fond look at fun-loving Dilliwalas.

Blessy Chettiar - Don't miss the Band Baaja Baaraat

Jisse vyapaar karo, usse kabhi na pyaar karo is the rule of business that Shruti Kakkad (Sharma) swears by. She’s a feisty Punjabi kudi, focused yet realistic about her plans of making a career out of planning weddings, armed with a scrapbook of marriage themes, some experience, and dreams of her future venture.

Now meet Bittoo Sharma, bhukkad, lazy, and aimless. The two poles come together to set up Shaadi Mubaarak, a wedding planning agency, in partnership. What follows is a ball of a time they have organising weddings, from taking care of guests to food, decoration, lighting, sound, and whatnot. One wedding after the other and Shaadi Mubaarak breaks into the wedding planning scene in Delhi.

Predictably, the twist in the tale comes when Shruti’s ‘binness’ rule goes for a toss as she falls in love with Bittoo. The dip in the narrative also comes with the twist in Band Baaja Baaraat.

Debutant director Sharma’s writing is crisp and the story is vibrant and colourful. It successfully carries the Yash Raj tinge of romance and drama against the backdrop of the big fat Indian wedding. The dialogues (by Habib Faisal, who directed and wrote the dialogues for family comedy Do Dooni Chaar) are sharp and conversational. Delhiites will particularly relate to the lingo and the flashy weddings, a status symbol among many North Indians.

Newcomer Singh is impressively confident and effortlessly good at his job. Watch out for this Yash Raj find. Anushka Sharma is comfortable in her skin and carries off the rough-and-tough girl’s part with ease. The lead pair is comfortable and their chemistry striking.

The music is loud, like most other things in Band Baaja Baarat but the peppy tracks could well qualify as wedding staples this season. Notable among the lot are Ainvayi Ainvayi and the title track Band Baaja Baaraat.

Wedding planners Bittoo and Shruti are set with their preparations to welcome you at the nearest theater. Don’t miss this vibrant spectacle that celebrates the great Indian wedding.

'Band Baaja...' is a charming entertainer says Rajeev Masand

'Band Baaja Baaraat' is a rather unlikely offering from Yash Raj Films, a studio that has seldom deviated from its tradition of making extravagant movies featuring larger-than-life stars.

This charming entertainer directed by Maneesh Sharma is set in middle-class Delhi and tells a story of two ordinary characters. Newcomer Ranveer Singh stars as Bittoo Sharma, a Delhi University graduate who'll do anything to avoid returning to his village Saharanpur, where a life of sugarcane farming awaits him. He offers to become partners with his friend Shruti Kakkar, a Janakpuri resident played by Anushka Sharma, who wants to set up a wedding planning business.

Band Baaja Baaraat benefits enormously from its two core strengths - sharp writing, and shooting on location. Both, in fact, give the film and its characters a real, believable feel. Bittoo's strong accent, the way he says 'binness' instead of business, the pair's aspirations to graduate to planning fancy Sainik Farms weddings, and the clever dialogue by Habib Faisal are the kind of little touches that make all the difference in this film.

The first half is immensely enjoyable as Bittoo and Shruti establish their company and their reputation by working hard to organize the best weddings they can. The conflict arises around intermission, when we learn that Shruti herself may have broken that one key rule that she laid down for them before they started out - "Jisse vyapaar karo, usse kabhi na pyaar karo" (meaning: don't fall in love with the person you're doing business with). The second half of the film, unfortunately, loses steam early on. The pair bickers continuously, and logic goes out of the window, only for things to fall comfortably back into place in the last 15 minutes or so.

Yet for the most part, 'Band Baaja Baaraat' works because it's invested with an earnestness that's become increasingly rare to find at the movies. It's refreshing to see mostly unknown faces playing smaller parts like Bittoo and Shruti's flower supplier, caterer, and their own families. In fact, the supporting cast does a competent job of never turning these characters into caricatures.

But at the heart of this film are its delightful leads. The ambitious but straightforward Shruti Kakkar, played with a zeal we haven't seen before in Anushka Sharma's previous roles. And Ranveer Singh as the unpolished but lovable Bittoo Sharma, who steals the film with a confident, uninhibited performance that is the best thing about this film. Both actors share a comfortable chemistry that make this film an easy watch.

I'm going with three out of five for director Maneesh Sharma's 'Band Baaja Baaraat'. It's a romantic comedy done correctly. Fun, but with warmth at its heart. Don't miss it.

Band Baaja Baaraat" is a pitch perfect surprise packet. - Shubhra Gupta

Yashraj Films gets most of it right with `Band Baaja Baraat’, a film which toplines two ordinary characters played by a couple of actors who can make you believe in their ordinariness : two-film old Anushka Sharma is a dab hand at doing the girl next door; and you can’t get more average than newcomer Ranveer Singh.

The actors are a good fit for their characters, DU spare Bittoo Sharma and Dilli girl Shruti Kakkar. A spare in Delhi University lingo is someone who has no idea what to do with his life. Bittoo knows only that he doesn’t want to go back to his sugarcane `bijness’ run by his father and forefathers. What he wants is to become partners with Shruti ( whom he calls Shurti in authentic Dilliwala accent) who in turn wants to become India’s best wedding planner.

A big part of the delight of ‘Band Baaja Baraat’ is the writing which imparts nice little touches to its characters, making them real as opposed to outlined caricatures. The supporting cast is fine. The families of Bittoo and Shruti are played by actors we haven’t seen before. Smart move. So are the brides and grooms who are married off in the course of the film, all of whom who want their weddings to be planned by the duo based in a slummy DDA market in Pashchim Vihar : their company `Shaadi Mubarak’ starts out from Shruti’s `mohalla’ in ultra-middle class Janakpuri and breaches the ultra-luxe gates of Sainik Farms. ‘ Band Baaja Baraat’ navigates surely and smartly through its turf, slipping up when it gets its leads plumb in front of India Gate : I am waiting for the day when there will be a Delhi movie minus such tired markers as India Gate and Red Fort and Qutb Minar.

There are more slips in the second half, where a silly conflict is created between the two which stretches the film for no reason. Till Bittoo and Shruti are heckling each other with high ‘tu-tu-main-main’ verve, all the better to get cosy with, it’s all peppy and fun. Post interval, the film tries for mush,and dips, extricating itself only right at the end.

But both Sharma and Singh, the near pitch-perfect surprise packet of the film, make you smile. Enough reason for a visit.

Pankaj Sabnani says Grove and Celebrate this weekend with 'Band Baaja Baaraat'

We've seen several films on weddings and some of them have been made under the Yash Raj banner (DILWALE DULHANIA LE JAYENGE, MERE YAAR KI SHAADI HAI). But this is perhaps for the first time that a film throws light on the profession of wedding planning.

We must have attended many weddings till now. But apart from commenting about how good or bad the bride and the groom look or the quality of the food, have we ever thought about the efforts that go into organising the various events? Perhaps not. Even I didn't until BAND BAAJA BAARAAT. Right from decoration, to the food, to booking the venues, to welcoming the guests, there are several things that go into a wedding.

BAND BAAJA BAARAAT is the story of Shruti (Anushka Sharma), a final year student who wants to be a wedding planner. She's so ambitious and determined, that she has even fixed the name of her company, 'Shaadi Mubarak'. She meets Bitoo (Ranveer Singh), a chilled out college student who doesn't know what to do in life, at a wedding he has gate crashed into for food. Despite their contrasting personalities, they soon become friends and after sometime later even partners in their wedding planning business. Shruti's rule is simple: Jisse vyapaar karo, usse kabhi na pyaar karo. Their business grows along with their relationship. Shruti breaks her own rule and starts loving Bitoo.

The main reason why BAND BAAJA BAARAAT works is because of its refreshing script. The wedding planning business is not just used as a backdrop. Just like ROCKET SINGH: SALESMAN OF THE YEAR (also a Yash Raj Film), which was about sales, BAND BAAJA BAARAAT explores wedding planning along with Shruti and Bitoo. Debutante director Maneesh Sharma spends almost the entire first half on how they reach newer heights in their business through their good and honest service. It separates the film from being just another love story. In the second half, there's a slight dip in the narrative after Shruti falls for Bitoo. The plot gets a bit threadbare and even predictable. Wish it was much tighter.

There's an interesting blend of humour, drama and romance in the film. It's replete with great scenes like the one in which Bitoo cleverly inquires about Shruti over the phone or the one in which he talks about foreign guests taking pictures of practically everything from a camel to a pigeon. Dialogues and screenplay by Habib Faisal, who is the director of DO DOONI CHAAR, add merit to the film.

Aseem Mishra's brilliant cinematography captures Delhi in a new light. Music composers Salim-Suliman's music is excellent with many eclectic numbers that go well with the film. Ainvayi Ainvayi, Mitra and Tarkeebein are the best.

Anushka Sharma delivers a spirited performance. She suits her role perfectly. But the real star of the film is debutante Ranveer Singh. He has an amazing screen presence and performs his role impeccably. Right from his dialogue delivery to his body language, everything is just right. The chemistry between Anushka and Ranveer totally rocks! All the other actors have performed well too.

Make sure you join the celebrations and groove with this BAND BAAJA BAARAAT. Strongly recommended.