(Crisp) Movie Review: VED by FENIL SETA

Ved is a Marathi movie, starring Riteish Deshmukh and Genelia Deshmukh. It also marks Riteish’s debut as a director. An official remake of the Telugu film Majili, it starts on a rocking note. The love story, in the first half, though clichéd, is engaging. The use of flashback makes for a good watch, as it keeps viewers intrigued about what must have led to the present circumstances. This is all the more evident at the intermission point. Post-interval, there are some lovely and touching scenes which keep the interest going. Riteish has given the film the much-needed scale and this is surely an impressive directorial debut. However, there are too many silly moments. Also, a few aspects are never properly explained. The villain track is quite weak. Speaking of acting, Riteish Deshmukh delivers the finest performance of his career. He never goes over the top in scenes where he is in a drunken state and gets his act just right. It is also heartening to see viewers whistling at his entry scene. Genelia Deshmukh makes a fine comeback. She gets to play a well-written and novel character and puts her heart and soul into it. Jiya Shankar has a great screen presence and gives a worthy performance. Ashok Saraf is adorable. Khushi Hajare steals the show. Vidyadhar Joshi is decent. Raviraj Kande is okay as the villain and his background music is quite menacing. Salman Khan is too good in the cameo. The songs by Ajay-Atul are well-tuned, especially ‘Ved Tujha’ and ‘Besuri’. All in all, Ved is a fine effort, despite minuses. It has come at the right time and can work in cinemas due to the hype and also because it’s a complete family entertainer.

My rating – *** out of 5!

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