Tiku Weds Sheru Movie Review: Perhaps we should count our blessings with Tiku Weds Sheru, a film that, like many of its predecessors, seems to have been dumped on OTT to save the embarrassment of a theatrical release. A blessing in that, it is produced by Kangana Ranaut, an actress notorious for her hateful bias against a religious minority. Even though her two lead characters are from the same community, her film does not serve vile propaganda against the religion, unlike The Kashmir Files or The Kerala Story. This is a blessing that we should cherish, as the film has nothing else to offer in redemption. Tiku Weds Sheru: Nawazuddin Siddiqui Gives Shah Rukh Khan's Example Over Criticism On Kissing Scene With Avneet Kaur.

Tiku Weds Sheru is about two disparate individuals who are united by matrimony, and find love despite the queasiness of the whole equation. The plot feels like an amalgamation of Main Madhuri Dixit Banna Chahti Hoon and Titli, but lacks neither the rooted charm of the former or the grittiness of the latter.  Sheru (Nawazuddin Siddiqui) is a struggling junior artiste in Mumbai, whose better source of income is pimping models for politicians and producers. His family back in Bhopal is clueless about what he is doing in the city, and they are looking for a suitable girl for him to marry.

That girl turns out to be Tasleem (debutante Avneet Kaur), also known as Tiku, which I believe is her nickname. However, Sheru also keeps calling her Bini. Tiku does not like Sheru, much to the chagrin of some of the autocratic members in her family, but she agrees to marry him. You see, Tiku has a boyfriend and dreams of becoming an actress. Her boyfriend advises her to use this marriage as a ticket to get to Mumbai and fulfil her dreams. Tiku does exactly that, but things do not exactly work out as planned when she lands in Mumbai with her new husband.

Watch the Trailer of Tiku Weds Sheru:

It is difficult to relate to a romcom, or what Tiku Weds Sheru pretends to be, when the characters do not exactly make us warm to them. I mean, it is not a prerequisite for a film that we have to empathise with the leads, but Tiku Weds Sheru takes every effort in its writing to ensure that neither Tiku nor Sheru ends up being likeable. Sheru, despite his best intentions, is a manipulative liar and a pimp. Tiku claims she does not like to lie, yet she forgets that she married Sheru by lying blatantly to him and is quite shallow about her aspirations. When the screenplay forces them to fall in love, their lack of chemistry and discernible age gap definitely add to the ick factor.

Much has been said about the age difference between Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Avneet Kaur, especially after their kiss went viral from the trailer. While this is bothersome, the fact that there is no warmth in their sketchy relationship is more troubling. There is an interesting Easter Egg in the film when I caught a glimpse of a photo frame of Nawaz in Sheru's kholi that is a still of the actor from Ritesh Batra's Photograph. This photo reminds us that even mismatched couples and wide age gaps can be ignored if the film is beautifully made, and what's more, it is also set in Mumbai and makes fantastic use of its locales. No such luck with Tiku Weds Sheru. Photograph Movie Review: Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Sanya Malhotra’s Slow-Paced Love Story Is Filled With Sweet, Whimsical Moments.

Speaking of other Nawaz films, there is another scene in Tiku Weds Sheru that reminded me of another movie of his, albeit in a negative light. Remember when his character slaps his much younger wife in Motichoor Chaknachoor (I apologise for assuming that everyone has seen this film)? Well, his character does the exact same thing here! Considering the actor has been accused of domestic abuse in real life, that's an odd colour to give to his character in the film.

Tiku Weds Sheru, in my opinion, has the weirdest tone transition I have seen in recent times. In the beginning, it acts like a comedy, though laughs are hard to come by. Midway, however, the film takes a bizarre turn into serious drama territory when Sheru gets imprisoned for drug dealing, while his wife, who gets to know his truth, propositions herself to get an acting job, and is even forced to work as a club dancer. And before you know it, there is another bizarre turn when Nawaz drops on the scene dressed up as a woman and we have a shootout that seems to be parodying a Vishal Bhardwaj gangster film.

Interestingly, Nawaz plays a transgender in another film of his, and I wonder if he accidentally walked into this set in that getup and they decided to roll with it. Oh, wait! There is also a baby in the mix, who is as crucial to the plot as Kangana's 10-second cameo in the film. But hey, no matter how short that cameo was, the producer gets the third billing in the cast names shown in the closing credits.

Speaking of performances, Nawazuddin Siddiqui is his usual self, which is to say, his performance is good but is severely impacted by the mediocrity of the film he is in. Avneet Kaur, from what I read about her, is a very popular persona on Instagram and she does have that camera confidence. There is rawness in her performance (she is a little shrill when her character needed to go loud), and she is also burdened by a poorly written character, but there is a conviction to her performance that cannot be ignored.

Final Thoughts

Tiku Weds Sheru is a bizarre and meandering film that fails to be either a comedy or a drama. The characters are unlikable and the plot is impacted with with bizarre tonal shifts. The performances from Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Avneet Kaur are good, but they are not enough to save the film. Tiku Weds Sheru is streaming on Amazon Prime Video.

Rating:1.5

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 23, 2023 10:09 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).