Page3 Nashik reviews the Friday release- Shaadi Ke Side Effects. Debutant director Saket Chowdhary falls notches short of making a total fun riot. The movie – a sequel to much-appreciated Pyaar Ke Side Effects – has it’s high points and the actors (Vidya, Farhan, Vir Das, Ram Kapoor and Ila Arun) do impress with their performances. However, the punches and the desperate effort to fuse comedy and philosophy fall flat. Saket Chowdhary’s directorial venture is full of twists and is a bit over-stretched. The chemistry of lead pair Vidya Balan and Farhan Akhtar makes the film sizzle.
The first half of Shaadi Ke Side Effects is somewhat listless. But the film perks up considerably post-intermission. Staid Sid, egged on by his sis-in-law’s hubby Ranvir (Ram Kapoor), decides to turn overly adventurous in order to put some spart back into his marriage. That triggers a series of missteps that put his relationship with his wife in serious jeopardy. Shaadi Ke Side Effects, via the words of Ranvir, hands out some dodgy pop psychology to justify a somewhat far-fetched ‘formula’ for a happy marriage. Shaadi Ke Side Effects isn’t exceptionally engaging fare. It is essentially a single idea stretched to the very end of its tether.
Shaadi Ke Side Effects (SKSE), written and directed by Saket Chaudhary, who also helmed Rahul Bose-Mallika Sherawat starrer Pyaar Ke Side Effects, opens on this contrived note and meanders for an over-stretched 145 minutes, full of twists and turns, that one has come to so famously associate with soaps produced by Balaji. While Chaudhary has aptly showcased the problems faced by couples once they become parents, he has gone overboard with his portrayal of two individuals trying to find ‘me-space’ as they grapple with parental responsibilities.
Surely, Akhtar and Balan, two of the finest actors in contemporary Bollywood, need to be applauded for pulling off SKSE without giving you any side effects once the credits begin to roll. The chemistry between Farhan and Vidya crackles and hisses with tantalising tension. Brittle and yet supple, the lead pair’s chemistry irons out the film’s uneven edges. 
Farhan and Vidya are Sidharth and Trisha Roy, a happily married couple living in the modern Indian double-income-no-kids urban home. Sidharth, an aspiring music composer, tries to make the relationship work with white lies and some `inspirational` advice for married couples. However things change with the coming of their first child, Mini. The movie is about how Farhan tries to manoeuvre around the changed relationship at hand. Sidharth`s tolerance is tested, with Trisha increasingly shifting her focus to the child.
Just as `Pyaar Ke Side Effects` was an objective look at the urban relationship, `Shaadi..` takes a look at the urban marriage. However, this movie will make you believe that marriage equals baby; and ideally it should have been called “Baap Banne Ke Side Effects”. The entire movie is based on what having a child did to the husband and not the wife.
The music by Pritam is peppy. `Harry’s Not a Brahmachari` by Jazzy B and Divya Kumar is a good dance number, sure to be popular in clubs this season. `Bawla Sa Sapna` by Mohit Chauhan is soulful.
If only the makers could have thought up a better second half, this could have been a winner. While still watchable due to the novelty of Farhan and Vidya pairing up, and the everyman status of Farhan`s character that everyone can relate to.
