The interval point in Pati Patni Aur Woh Do arrives with a visual where all the main characters find themselves at one place. There is a misunderstanding, however — some of them haven’t noticed the others; meanwhile someone begins to question all their life choices — and you know the confusion has only begun. Director Mudassar Aziz stages this visual with such old-school conviction that you can’t help but smile at the sincerity. To describe Pati Patni Aur Woh Do as a ‘comedy of errors’ would be a grave understatement. The Ayushmann Khurrana starrer rides on the theme and commits to the chaos that comes with it, even if the results aren’t always positive. 

Co-written by Ravi Kumar and Mudassar Aziz, the film tells the story of Prajapati Pandey, a likeable and popular forest officer whose life goes out of control when an old friend, Chanchal (Sara Ali Khan) reaches out for his help in uniting with her star-crossed lover Sunny (Vishal Vashistha). A well-meaning Prajapati tries to help, only to end up jeopardising his own marriage and reputation as a loyal husband. He must now win back the faith of the other two more important women in his life — wife Aparna (Wamiqa Gabbi) and colleague Niloufer (Rakul Preet Singh).

Cast: Ayushmann Khurrana, Sara Ali Khan, Wamiqa Gabbi, Rakul Preet Singh, Vijay Raaz, Ayesha Raza Mishra, Tigmanshu Dhulia

Director: Mudassar Aziz

Rating: 2.5 stars

Like any conventional comedy-of-errors, PPAWD has a confined set of ambitions and plays within that field. Fortunately, with a duration of 1 hour 57 minutes, the film also knows not to overstay its welcome or drag things down. An element of hyper-energy runs throughout. It’s a fast-paced plot, one that doesn’t take many breaks (except for a dream song sequence jarring in its tonality). Gags and twists arrive at a breakneck speed.

And yet, unfortunately, this also means there are very few breathers. There is a certain desperation in the narrative, to keep the ball rolling at any cost. The background music is too blaring, and the edit pattern is too hasty. Every scene is pitched at a note that often gets a little too loud for comfort. There is a thin line between restlessness and chaos, and PPAWD walks that line with great trepidation, succeeding and struggling in equal measures.  

The actors too receive the memo — of keeping it a notch higher than required — and not every performer lives up to the challenge. Sara Ali Khan struggles to fit in, while Rakul Preet Singh tries a little too hard. Meanwhile, Wamiqa, despite having the least comical role among the three, looks the most comfortable in this madcap universe. As the anchor of this wacky ship, Ayushmann Khurrana lands the right pitch between being cartoonish and understated.

The real joys, as is often the case with these comedies, lie in the ensemble, and the real fun here is being had by those unburdened with the load of carrying this film. Ayesha Raza Mishra is an absolute hoot, as the overzealous bua ji who cannot help being emotionally invested in her niece’s life. Besides making a vague reference to his iconic role in Gangs of Wasseypur (2012), Tigmanshu Dhulia delivers a few laughs as the patriarchal political figure. Meanwhile, Vijay Raaz is in top form and reliable as always, bringing his quintessential deadpan humour to the table. 

PPAWD is old-fashioned and archaic in some good ways. It wants to stick to the known template, going purely for laughs and worrying about little else. And yet, even in comedies as surface-level as this, a sense of emotional ground-building only helps to underline what’s at stake. Perhaps some of the moments would have landed better if we knew more about Prajapati’s devotion to Aparna or his camaraderie with Niloufer. However, we are too busy with the gags, and too little invested in the underlying drama if things truly go wrong. When Prajapati talks about being more worried about not wanting to hurt Aparna than being afraid of her judgment, it rings true because of Ayushmann’s sincerity, not because of the scripting.

While we get a few off-handed, topical jokes about inter-caste marriages or how truth can be manipulated in our modern society, PPAWD is largely a comedy that plays it safe and conventional. Perhaps that’s also why some of these comedies work. There is little at stake, but barely anything to offend us either—and maybe nothing else matters; as long as we find ourselves mildly amused by the end of it all.