Shahid Kapoor plays Sushil, a crooked lawyer who makes a living out of blackmailing businessmen into coughing up money when the claims in their advertising does not match a product’s performance. The entire first half is devoted to Sushil’s shenanigans, his friendship with Sundar and Lalita, and numerous devices to prove that the film’s writers have mastered the local Uttarakhand dialect. Director Shree Narayan Singh starts with exploring the friendship angle between the three leads. Susheel Kumar aka SK (Shahid Kapoor), Lalita Nautiyal aka Nauti (Shraddha Kapoor) and Sundar Mohan Tripathi (Divyenndu Sharmaa) – three best friends confused when it comes to love. Both the guys are in love with Nauti but at the same time don’t want their friendship to get affected.
The courtroom scenes between SK and Gulnar (Yami Gautam) are over the top and dramatic, but if you’re ready to be slightly chichora (cheap), you’ll enjoy the heartland humour. Also, the fact that the maker has studied the power scam issue so deeply and slapped the administration that is constantly talking of vikas (progress) and kalyan (prosperity) makes this an important film to watch. However, it is unforgivable if a movie educates and fails to entertain.
Shahid Kapoor shines as SK and is in his top form. Catching the dialect, the quirks of his character along with retaining his old-school charm, Shahid is excellent. Shraddha Kapoor, just after Stree, delivers yet another charming performance. Divyenndu Sharmaa, during an interview had explained how he wants to try different stuff when it comes to acting and with this he proves what he said. Yami is spirited in her special appearance as the defence lawyer. But the screen time allotted to her is minuscule.
The soundtrack by Anu Malik, Rochak Kohli and Sachet-Parampara is pleasant; if one song makes you swing, the other offers solace. You also get to experience the magic of Tehri, a virgin landscape, where the sights and sounds are different from those in our bustling cities. However, despite it all, there is a soul missing here because the premise is stretched.
Directed by Shree Narayan Singh, Batti Gul Meter Chalu tells the story of how people are suffering from corruption in the electricity system.