Vicky Vidya Ka Woh Wala Video Review: Rajkummar Rao's film is a cringefest

Rajkummar Rao and Triptii Dimri-starrer Vicky Vidya Ka Woh Wala Video gets some points right but misses the mark in many ways. What's right and what's wrong? Read on to find out. 

Director Raaj Shaandilyaa has many fans for his unconventional stories and quirky characters. However, he doesn't always get it right. Vicky Vidya Ka Woh Wala Video is a prime example of this. While watching the film, the only thing that I was wondering about was the movie's purpose, questioning what was the need for this film. In brief, the movie is a cringe fest that's not easy to tolerate.

What is the movie all about?

The movie takes you back to the '90s era when cameras, CDs and long hairstyles for men were all the rage. Set in the North Indian town of Rishikesh, which was back then under the state Uttar Pradesh, not Uttarakhand, the movie revolves around two lovers Vicky and Vidya. 

The film picks up with Vicky and Vidya, who cleverly trick their families and get married. Soon, the newly married couple jets off to their honeymoon in Goa, where they shoot intimate moments to maintain spice and romance in their relationship for years to come. However, their lives take a major turn when the CD of their video gets stolen. How this CD theft unravels a big video racket secretly going on in the city makes the rest of the story. 

Apart from Vicky and Vidya, the other characters who take the limelight are their family members as well as the cop played by Vijay Raaz. 

The boring cringe-fest

Throughout the movie, I had plenty of concerns, but what irritated me the most was the presentation of the characters, whether Vidya's mother (played by Archana Puran Singh), who is constantly chewing tobacco or Vicky's father (played by Tiku Talsania), who wears a shade with a black cover over one eye. All these characters came off as caricatures, adding little comic factor to the movie. 

After a good and entertaining start, the movie soon feels stretched and boring, with everything seeming irrelevant. While the stolen CD of Vicky and Vidya serves as the main plot, the other subplots feel out of context.

What fails the film even more are the dialogues and mindless additions that didn't look credible at all. Co-written and directed by Shaandilyaa, the movie is a tedious slapstick comedy, with everything being overly dramatic and the plot lines too bizarre.

Things turn terrible in the second half as the film reaches climax and we also get a pinch of horror with the incorporation of the saree-clad witch from Rao's film Stree. 

Despite so many additions and numerous twists and turns and cameos, the movie fails to entertain. What was more disheartening was that it came from the director who has given us hits like Dream Girl. 

Cast performance 

Rajkummar has always won hearts as a small-town boy and is currently being loved in Stree 2. But, in this movie, he's nowhere close to his previous portrayals. Triptii Dimri, who has been in the spotlight since Animal, looks beautiful, but her performance as Vidya fails to leave a mark. 

Vijay Raaz is an actor of excellence with the ability to make any role shine, but the terrible writing and presentation of his character hinder his performance. Mallika Sherawat makes a comeback after a long time, and while her character was given enough screen time, she was still an unnecessary addition to the movie.

Final verdict

Vicky Vidya Ka Woh Wala Video comes with a nostalgic essence of the 90s and a dollop of crowd-pleasing dialogues and the plot. If you are a fan of Rao and Vijay then you can go and watch this movie, otherwise, skip and wait for its OTT release.