Vicky Vidya Ka Woh Wala Video Movie Review: Three times this year alone, I’ve received lectures from Rajkummar Rao (via the screen, of course). Once about hard work and success, and twice about women’s empowerment. I’ve also watched Triptii Dimri attempt comedy and falter on her first try. Never did I imagine I’d be subjected to another round of Rajkummar’s lecturing and Triptii’s comedy. But I took the plunge with Vicky Vidya Ka Woh Wala Video, and let me tell you, it wasn’t as smooth as a shot of tequila.
Throughout the film – especially in the second half – I found myself questioning not just its length, but the very direction. I wanted to ask director Raaj Shaandilyaa, “Kya banane ki koshish kar rahe ho?” (What exactly are you trying to make?). Is this a comedy? A drama? Or a horror film? It seemed like the filmmaker, who also wrote the film, couldn’t decide which route to take, so he chose all three for fun. Sadly, sitting in the passenger seat, I couldn’t play along after a certain point, no matter how much I wanted to.
As the trailer revealed, Vicky Vidya Ka Woh Wala Video revolves around Vicky (Rajkummar) and Vidya (Triptii), a couple who tricks their families into letting them marry. Off to their honeymoon in Goa, they decide to shoot a ‘special video.’ After returning, they replay it one night but forget to remove the CD from the player. The next morning, the player and the CD are gone. Vicky sets out to retrieve it, ending up in a shady market, getting framed for attempted murder, and even stumbling upon a massive racket that his lost CD could expose.
I love a good nod to the ’90s, and the movie starts off with a humorous throwback to the era, using cliché tropes to deliver funny punchlines and move the story forward. But 45 minutes in, the film starts taking itself too seriously. Rather than continuing to have fun with the ’90s theme, it shifts its tone drastically.
This tonal shift could have worked, and it even manages to get interesting at the interval point. But the second half is where things fall apart. Out of nowhere, Raaj introduces a horror element and — spoiler alert — brings Stree into the story. The forced cameo doesn’t evoke a smile, let alone a laugh.
The plot becomes unnecessarily convoluted. While the Stree gags attempt to keep the humour alive, Raaj flips the tone once more, turning it serious again. At this point, I was exhausted and just wanted the film to end. But before that, I had to endure another monologue from Rajkummar and Triptii about respecting women. By now, the film was truly testing my patience.
Vicky Vidya Ka Woh Wala Video suffers from weak writing, with the plot and screenplay all over the place. Raaj put effort into the dialogues, which land in some places, but the sloppy writing rises to the surface quickly, ultimately impacting Rajkummar’s performance. He tries his best to carry the film but is weighed down by the lackluster script. Triptii, on the other hand, lacks screen presence. Aside from the scenes already shown in the trailer, she doesn’t stand out as much as one would hope.
For a film named after its lead characters, there’s surprisingly little chemistry between Vicky and Vidya on-screen. As a viewer, I found it hard to root for them.
Raaj underutilises the talented supporting cast, a stark contrast to his work in Dream Girl. Instead of letting them shine, he reduces them to Comedy Circus-style gags. Mallika Sherawat and Vijay Raaz provide some of the film’s brightest moments with their banter, while Archana Puran Singh and Rakesh Bedi, playing Triptii’s parents, are restricted to just a few scenes. Tiku Talsania had more room to work with but was similarly underused.
Vicky Vidya Ka Woh Wala Video feels like a mix of Govinda-era slapstick, Ramsay Brothers’ horror, and a dash of Priyadarshan-style comedy. While kudos to Raaj Shaandilyaa for attempting something different, the execution falls short.
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