Shaadi Mubarak - Matchmaker, Matchmaker, make me your match

 

Shaadi Mubarak

Telugu, 2021

Directed by Padmasri

Stars Dhrishya Raghunath, Sagar, Priyadarshini Ram, Rajashree, Ajay Ghosh, Bhadram

Mohan's Measure ⭐⭐⭐

One of the things humanity will probably never tire of is rom-coms.  Predictable, but always quirky and funny, the movie genre, if presented with the right formula, is something we can watch with a romantic partner at the theater; or, as current situations demand, with the whole family plumped on the couch in front of the TV.

Shaadi Mubarak is one such tale which makes the mark.  A predictable, low-budget, but lovely little tale, it brings Dhrishya Raghunath to the fore as a matchmaker who must take a prospective groom to look for suitable matches. The time they spend in Hyderabad's chaotic traffic gives her time to discover, however, that the best match for him would, indeed, be herself.

The two new leads are limited in their acting skills, and the chemistry between them couldn't light a matchstick most of the time.  But, the skills of such greats as Mr. Ghosh, Bhadram, and an extended cameo by Rahul Ramakrishna makes up for it, giving a rough, comedic edge to all that happens.  This brings reality to what could easily have become too sappy.

Unfortunately, the ending tries to clean everything up with the usual set of coincidences that seem to be almost taken for granted.  This weakens an otherwise good comedy down to a fun, one-time watch.