Comedy Couple Review: No Laughing Business

A still of Saqib Saleem and Shweta Basu Prasad from Comedy Couple, Picture Courtesy: YouTube

Comedy Couple
On: ZEE5
Director: Nachiket Samant
Cast: Saqib Saleem, Shweta Basu Prasad, Pooja Bedi
Rating:

Comedy Couple is a name that's enough to suggest what the film is going to present. The couple here is Saqib Saleem and Shweta Prasad, and the latter describes this pair as the first Comedy Couple in stage history. And since they both are in the same profession and that too at the same time, there are barely any chances of rivalry or professional jealously. So what could be the reason for conflict? The comedy itself!

The couple is named Zoya and Deep, and the former's mother Zohra (Pooja Bedi) advises her to do stand-up comedy alone. Maybe she wants to see her daughter gather all the glory or is insecure and intimidated by the timing of her husband. Maybe she's perturbed by the idea of the division of the accolades. The couple's life is frothy and fun, and given the nature of the narrative, the other characters have to be as comedic, delivering quips instead of dialogues.

One of their friends actually feels Deep is too funny in real, but loses steam when on stage. He and Zoya face other challenges as well, from gossipy neighbours to agony aunts, they bare all the storm and even pay the price for it. Bikas Ranjan Mishra, who has penned the story, and Raghav Raj Kakker, who has written the screenplay and dialogues, have kept the material light, and director Nachiket Samant treats their work with care.

It takes a while to embrace the on-stage and off-stage chemistry of Deep and Zoya, despite the earnestness of the duo, and it's a unique casting choice, albeit with good actors. But it's also ironic that the supposed first comedy couple in the country barely cracks a good joke when on stage. At best, it manages not to be as lame as Ranveer Singh from Befikre or as ghastly as Saif Ali Khan from Humshakals.

More fun is to be had when they face one turmoil after another back at home, from being caught kissing in the lift to being almost thrown out of their residency, these touches work better as the humour stems from their responses and reactions and the sharp lines that come out with ease and effortlessness. It's all filmy in the end with slow-motion shots and dramatic background music.

The idea behind Comedy Couple is refreshing, only if it didn't get jarring by the end. Making a drama about comedy isn't a joke, after all.

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