Hamari Adhuri Kahani Review

Mohit Suri has become one of the hottest directors in Bollywood in the past few years after delivering big hits like Murder 2, Aashiqui 2 and Ek Villain. Funnily enough, Hamari Adhuri Kahani is the first time in 5 years a Mohit Suri film doesn’t have a number in its title. Anyhow, he has now teamed up with two actors who have been going through the worst phases of their respective careers; Vidya Balan and Emraan Hashmi just can’t get it right these days. That is why, inspite of having a chartbuster title track, Hamari Adhuri Kahani hasn’t created the required buzz to get a good opening. Is the film any good and will it continue Mohit Suri’s good streak?

Story: Hamari Adhuri Kahani begins with a flashback that ruins a major twist in the film. Vasudha (Vidya Balan) and Hari (Rajkumar Rao) are involved in an abusive marriage where Hari is a typical male chauvinist. He gets his name tattooed on Vasudha’s body to assert his dominance. Fortunately (rather than unfortunately) Hari gets booted away to jail on the suspicion of being a terrorist and Vasudha has to bring their child up all by herself working as a florist. By a chance encounter after half a decade, Vasudha meets a mega-rich hotelier Aarav Ruparel (Emraan) and through a song and some heavy duty dialogues they fall in love. But the problem arises when Hari makes a comeback and the fairytale love story of Vasudha and Aarav gets destroyed.

Emraan Hashmi, Vidya Balan - Hamari Adhuri Kahani

Hamari Adhuri Kahani Movie Review

Screenplay and Direction: ‘Hamari Adhuri Kahani’ should have been better called ‘Hamari Sobby Kahani’. It is a sob story where the lead actress cries her way through the film. The intentions of the makers can’t be doubted as the basic storyline shows promise but the dialogues by Shagufta Rafique and the ultra melodramatic treatment makes ‘Hamari Adhuri Kahani’ almost a torture to sit through. The spiced up drama and the emotional quotient of the film, glamorised on Indian television for decades, could be liked by a lot of people, no doubt, but the ones who aren’t fans of such extra emotions should avoid the film. Additionally, ‘Hamari Adhuri Kahani’ gets bogged down by the slow pace of proceedings.

The technicalities of ‘Hamari Adhuri Kahani’ are deft in the sense that it has been shot with a refined touch. The production design is grand and the costumes are realistic too for the characters they portray. The editing could have been spruced up a bit and the duration should have been trimmed which would have sped up the pace of the film. Also, the editing decision to reveal such an important twist right at the start is baffling.

The music of ‘Hamari Adhuri Kahani’ is very good but doesn’t quite reach the heights of Mohit Suri’s last few directorial ventures. The comparisons were inevitable and the music fails to live up to expectations. The title track sung by Arijit Singh is fantastic and high on emotions but its popularity is let down by the disappointing picturization. The other songs are also of earworm quality like Humnava and Hasi. (What’s with most of the songs in the film starting with H? Coincidence? Could be!)

Acting: ‘Hamari Adhuri Kahani’ stands on the pillars of its three lead actors. Vidya Balan doesn’t have much to do in the film except for crying her lungs out but she still manages to show maturity even in such a silly character. But ‘Hamari Adhuri Kahani’ is another proof of Vidya Balan going wrong with her movie choices. We expect more from her now that Kangana Ranaut has slowly started becoming the new Vidya Balan in the industry. Emraan Hashmi plays a character that he hasn’t really played before – a subdued character who is supposed to speak through his gazes and stares. We are used to see him perform loudmouth, streetsmart, underdog characters. However, Emraan doesn’t disappoint and does whatever he can to salvage the film. Watch him act in the scene where he tears up. Rajkumar Rao, again is let down by a shoddily written, one dimensional character and he shouts and squirms through his role. We expect better. Namit Das and Madhurima Tuli are decent in their cameos.

Conclusion: ‘Hamari Adhuri Kahani’ has a good fundamental story which holds promise but the overtly emotional treatment and the baffling bipolar decisions made by the characters, only ends up frustrating the viewer. At one point it promises to be progressive and then meanders into regressive territory once again.

Positives:

  • The summary of the book from which Hamari Adhuri Kahani was adapted sounds appealing
  • The title track is a chartbuster
  • Emraan Hashmi shows restraint and does well

Negatives:

  • The overtly emotional approach to the story
  • The dialogues are too sappy
  • Vidya Balan and Rajkumar Rao’s characters are one note and one dimensional
  • The pace is slow and a lot of people will find it boring

Rating: ★★☆☆☆ Also Read: Hamari Adhuri Kahani Critics Review

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56 Comments

  • I knew it .
    This movie Will B flop/Average as I predicted …!
    A better young starcast might hve save the Film ..!
    Jurassic world is the right Choiice This weekend …!

  • Emraan is back after 6 consecutive failures, this might be his first hit film since 2012 , nice work by vidya, rajkumar and emraan was superb with his dialogues and acting , it’s a ****/5 movie so go and watch it, you will enjoy that’s sure!!!!#Emraan

  • Critics did not understand the essence of HAK…

    HAK is true artitistic creation..those who love watching fake trash will not like it…

    And all the critics have ganged up together to save last week flop film dil dhadakne do..

    All r saying melodrama …
    Then what was DDD???.Melodrama in foreign country with all over-acting n fakeness.

    Hak will go as one of the best performance of emraan hashmi.

    These drunkard actor ranveer singh who got drunk few days back was dancing on a car full drunk in beggar style.. U can see his pic on KRK’s timeline..

  • @naman

    not 6 .. Its 4.

    Rush and ungli was delayed.. If u don’t count roy as ranbir’s films..then don’t count gunday as Arjun Kapoor film..

    Genuine failures of emraan etd,ghanchakar,rn,mrx

  • Hak was awesome. Its delicate characters could only be performed by mature actors..

    Young actors can only give
    fanny
    kill dil
    roy
    tevar
    gunday
    ddd
    dawat e ishq
    htp like flop films.

  • @nipun: Gabbar got much better reviews than Mr.X and Roy.

    As for Emmi,it is sad to say but it will be extremely tough for him to come back ,HAK was a great opportunity..music was wonderful,director had couple of huge hits to his name..but still sadly HAK is going to tank.

  • Thank you for your time in this film industry Emraan Hasmi,Wishing u all the best for your next carrier.Thanx for the entertainment !!!

  • I will never ever trust critics reviews from now, yesterday night i lost interest in watching this movie after hearing negative reviews form critics.
    But instead of these i gone to watch this movie, And it was really good movie. it is really must watch movie for atleast once, that to for haters , yes there is some loopholes that can be ignored easily. I dont know what critics wants in the movies.

  • Hahahahahahahah Good Job @MAYUR
    I Know U R A Die Hard Emran Fan & Now u R So upset with the reviews & trying too hard To spread Positivity by Ur Fake Cmnts ….!
    Keep trying Spreading Positivity For A Bad Film bt The Result Will Not Change …Ye Baat Maan le …!
    mne Pehle hi Kaha Tha TuZhse Ki HAK > Flop/Average nd This will be the final Verdict Without A Doubt ..& U Can Use My NAme To spread Positivity ….Say thanks to me :P

    & DDD Is Not A Flop .
    DDD’S opening Weekend Is more then Lifetime Collection of emrans last 6 Films …..HAHAHAHAHAHA
    DDD-> ABOVE Average As I predicted …..

  • Watched Emraan Hashmi’s Hamari Adhuri kahani and it is an unforgettable classic. It reminded me of Mughal eazam. Emraan hashmi gives the greatest performance any male actor has given in the last 30-35 years, even challenging Dilip kumar’s many roles.Rating:5/5

    Greatest Hindi movies ever:
    1.Mother India
    2.Mughal e azam
    3.Hamari Adhuri Kahani
    4.Sholay
    5.Devdas
    Watch HAK and make it a blockbuster.

  • i just loved it..
    only bcz aftr distraous performance of bv, fox was not hvng money to gv critics thts why they ol r gvng ngtv ratings.
    lol
    but wasnt expected frm indicine atleast..
    evryone sud go n wtch it excpt fans of sallu bhai bcz thy love obly wtchng craps…
    emmj bhai rocks again.

  • @MySupporter

    Lol. Nice troll. This is why I love indicine. Comments section make my day :D

    *Proud to be a so-called chameleon* lol.

  • @arjun youngistaan fan
    achvmnt??
    lol
    jst name a single hit for youngistaan dis year excpt badlapur n dlkh.
    n u sudnt count TWMR bcz it wrkd bcz of kangana n exrmly pstv wom.

  • When you goes back to HAK trailer article on Indicine, you will find only positivity for the film, people were saying it could be first 100cr grosser and blah blah, what happen them now are not any of them went to see that movie, suddenly surprising that they changing colors without watching the movie and giving negative reaction. I had said that time movie will be superb and Rajkumar will appreciated the most but it turn out to be very less screen time and reviews aren’t positive. The most attractive thing for me in the trailer was Rajkumar’s scenes, sadly movie doesnt belong to him.
    Both Emraan and Vidhya are not popular any more, it’s need something extraordinary or different stuff to bounce back.

  • if emraan hashmi had avoided talking trash about other actors in koffee with karan 2 yrs back he wouldn’t had to face series of flops…. also he said he doesnt watch bollywood films and funny thing is he didn’t even know rajkumar hirani’s name who directed 3 idiots… he was like, “who directed 3 idiots?” i guess this the reason why most of the ppl are avoiding that hashmi’s films

  • But when people are loving the movie it must have something for the audiences. A very very heart-touching film I think. I love Emraan, he gave many different kind of lovable films. Love from an Aamir fan.

  • Very nice movie with some really good performances. Surely could have been better but it snit that bad and much much better than star studded DDD who the media are trying their best to save from getting Doomed.

    Funny that reviews have been bad but people have given a big thumbs up to the movie. I bet if thsi had starred the critics current flavour of the months star like Varun or Arjun they would have tried to make it a hit by giving rave reviews.

    Emraan hashmi may deliver 10 flops in a row but he is a proper actor unlike the new gen bodybuilders. He just need one movie to work then he will be back.

  • I loved HAK movie …. has a good story and connects emotionally ..
    Saw Jurasic world too .., those who haven’t see Jurasic Park will enjoy it …

  • saw it yesterday at the cinema.. from the trailer I could say the following: a serious, romantic, sad film.. so that encouraged me to go and see it with best performance by the cast for sure. It’s a love story, emotional film which touches your heart specially in the second half. what I loved that they used Rahat Fateh’s song which I liked, watching the clip of Zaroori Tha when released last year in the Indian channels.. loved the song and the clip, so it made me happy to see this song used in the film. A good direction for sure and a cinematography, for first time I see Emraan Hashimi in a clean innocent love story.. I didn’t get bored at all although it’s a slow film, so this film is not for the majority to watch, no comedy scenes at all, but for ppl who wish to see some serious love story films which touches their heart.

  • A very well made film.
    Don’t know what’s wrong with the critics they give movies like happy New year 4 stars but classics like hak only two stars.

    Ps. I am not a fan of any star but just of gods movies

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