Befikre (2016)

Set in Paris, Befikre is the free-spirited, contemporary love story of Dharam and Shyra, two young people who believe in living life to the fullest.

Director:

Aditya Chopra

Writers:

Aditya Chopra (story and screenplay), Aditya Chopra (dialogue)

Stars:

Ranveer Singh, Vaani Kapoor, Akarsh Khurana

Cast

Credited cast:
Ranveer Singh	...	Dharam
Vaani Kapoor	...	Shyra
Akarsh Khurana	...	Jogi Gill (Shyra's Dad)
Ayesha Raza	...	Juhi Gill (Shyra's Mom) (as Ayesha Raza Mishra)
Julie Ordon	...	Christine
Elisa Bachir Bey	...	Nathalie
Noom Diawara	...	Shyra friend 3
Djinda Kane	...	Naomi
Pauline Deshons	...	Marie
Armaan Ralhan	...	Aney (as Arrmaan Ralhan)
Aru Krishansh Verma	...	Mehra
Vincent Paquot	...	Phonecall Guy 3
Bertrand Usclat	...	Phonecall Guy 2
Sandra Rosinsky	...	Slap Girl
Oceane Dailly

Storyline

Befikre is a story that celebrates being carefree in love. A quintessential Delhi boy Dharam (Ranveer Singh) comes to Paris for work in search of an adventure. Just when he was about to embark on this journey of his life he bumps into a wild, free spirited, French born Indian girl Shyra (Vaani Kapoor). A feisty romance ensues between the two in which both of their personalities- one being an equal match for the other are tested to the limit. Battling their ups and downs, both realize that love is a leap of faith that can only be taken by those who dare to love.

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Plot Keywords:

bare butt | public nudity | naked in public | fantasizing | shower | 

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Taglines:

Those who dare to love

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

The song "Nashe si Chadh gayi" was copied directly from theme song from the anime Junjou Romantica.

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Goofs

When at night Shayra and his banker friend walk in and he holds her cheeks, the earphone can be easily seen in her left ear. The earphone through which director communicates with actors.

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Quotes

[From trailer]
Dharam: He's not gonna turn.
Shyra: People wait for turning in nineties. I was just checking out his ass.

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Connections

Referenced in The Kapil Sharma Show: Ranveer and Vaani in Kapil's Show (2016)

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Soundtracks

Je T'aime
Performed by Vishal Dadlani, Sunidhi Chauhan

User Reviews

Buffoonery Of Eiffel Towerian Proportions ♦ Grade F

Aditya Chopra has issues with understanding love and relationships. He first started throwing up his ideas in 1995, and it took him close to two decades to finally get the people to understand that his interpretations are awfully wrong. Clearly evident in this ritzy romance drama.

Shyra (Vaani Kapoor) is a young, carefree, and promiscuous French woman born to Indian restaurateurs while Dharam (Ranveer Singh) is a comedian from Delhi who has final-stage satyriasis. They bump into each other at a rave party in Paris and immediately indulge in wham bam thank you ma'am. Dharam hopes that he can maybe start scoring, starting from Shyra, but is internally crestfallen to learn that the fun they had the previous night was just a one-time thingummy for Shyra, a professional travel guide who moonlights as garcon at her parents' rotisserie. The 2-hour game-play between these youngsters misrepresented as today's youth is what the film is essentially about.

Viewers are ushered into the film with a montage of various couples kissing and groping each other in the beautiful locales of France. As we move further in the non-linear story-line, Singh comes in as this joker, summoned by his Indian friend to add elan to the latter's comedy club-cum-cafe. But, we mostly see him as a nudist trying to get it on with Shyra, who has terrible taste in fashion, considering her nationality. The story-line tries too hard to showcase the youngsters' mentality when it comes to romance in the free world, but forgets to take all aspects into consideration. If the first half is foreplay followed by carnal knowledge, the second half is post-coital clean up, which is both gross and non-pleasurable.

Dating in the 21st century is everything NOT like one sees in Befikre. Instead, the film is a personal diary of director Chopra who chose to market it as something about no-strings-attached relationships. There is, however, some humor in the drama, contributed mainly by Singh. Albeit, there are too many improbable situations here, which makes the whole shindig slightly unbelievable for the viewers. Dharam shares an apartment with two homosexual women, while Shyra observes licentiousness while living with her parents. Convenience looks good in a store, not in a film. So much, that it flip flops from one idea to another, and often churns out dialogues pinpointing certain stereotypes and gives out critiques which do not pass muster. Today's youth are impulsive, which is not a novel thing about them, but writer Chopra thinks of it as a paradigm shift as we move ahead in life.

With very less background data about the protagonists, the film largely engages in differentiating them as Dilliwala and Pariswali, as if trying to tell that the film may not be universally relevant. Which is true to some extent. The makers also try to bridge the gap between how romance is perceived in India and elsewhere in the West, but falls through, because there is no consideration of the complexities and stigmas that come with it. They fail to realize that casual relationships are not just practiced in Paris and New York, but also in Connaught Place and South Bombay. Also, I'm surprised how the Indian CBFC even cleared the film for the morally-virgin Indian consumers.

Sort of a reverse primer for marriages, the film can most relevantly be described as the less faithful version of Karan Johar's exaggerated snooze-fest, Ae Dil Hai Mushkil (2016). While that took a distorted look at relationships, this one here take the on-off approach. It refutes its own claims of how romantic relationships nowadays are - proclaiming that they are fleeting at one point, and then describing it as a bond at another. All in all, it blows its chances at depicting how hook- ups affect people's lives, because while love takes the backseat, lust hops in to take care of the wheel.

Singh marginally steals the limelight with his stronger performance, while Kapoor is let down by her costume and a weird air. Their mannerisms may be a reason to ignite vanity, but their glossy performances fail to ante up the narrative. For a moment, one may even think that the actors are starring in a ridiculously long advertisement by the France tourism board, but then chuck that thought because a French ad would have more French in it than Hindi.

Of course, there are some minor takeaways from the film, which I am leaving alone for your individual capabilities to grapple. Nonetheless, there is one dialog from Shyra's parents that Chopra gets right: "These days parents don't bring up their children, it's the other way around." Don't get excited, because even this is spoken in Hindi.

BOTTOM LINE: Aditya Copra's fourth film, "Befikre" is like a fancy boutique situated in a romantic city. It sells everything from horseplay to foreplay, targeted at the YOLO generation and endorsed by good-looking people. However, by the time you fill your cart with one or two good pieces and go to the counter to check out, you take a glimpse at the backside storeroom, and repulse in fear because you realize you have been duped by men and women who want to set bad examples. Skip for life, or use as a travel guide when you visit Paris.

Can be watched with a typical Indian family? NO

Details

Official Sites:

Befikre - FACEBOOK OFFICIAL

Country:

India

Language:

Hindi

Release Date:

9 December 2016 (USA)

Also Known As:

Carefree

Filming Locations:

Paris, France

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$498,000, 11 December 2016

Gross USA:

$498,000

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$1,040,421

Company Credits

Production Co:

Yash Raj Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

130 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1