Vicky Donor is a 'fantastic sperm'

The first quarter of 2012 has been fantastic for the Hindi film Industry. We have witnessed small but significant films like Kahaani and Paan Singh Tomar make their mark at the box office, and there have been a couple of massive blockbusters in form of Agneepath and Houseful 2. Amidst all the hue and cry about that coveted 100 crore club and star power, the audiences have consistently rewarded smaller films that come up with novel and interesting stories. Director Shoojit Sircar's 'Vicky Donor' is another such small film albeit with a big heart.

Vicky Donor's biggest plus point is a unique and 'never been touched before' kind of subject. The issue of sperm donation is still a taboo in Indian society and the masses at large have little knowledge about the same. Shoojit Sircar's film successfully deals with this sensitive subject in a very humorous as well as educative manner. So at the end of the film, you not only come out with your funny bone tickled, but also with your mind illuminated.

The story of the film revolves around the protagonist Vicky Arora (Ayushmann Khurana), who is a quintessential young Delhi boy. Yet to find a suitable job for himself, he lives life as it comes. The Arora family comprises Vicky's Punjabi mother Dolly (Dolly Ahluwalia) and grandmother (Kamlesh Gill). While the former often nags Vicky about job and life in general, the later always backs the young boy. On the other hand there is Dr. Chaddha (Annu Kapoor), a fertility expert, who is frantically looking for a sperm donor for his rich clientele and addresses human beings as 'sperms', like 'confused sperm, complicated sperm'. His eyes are set on Vicky, in whom he sees the perfect 'Arya Putra', an excellent reservoir of finest quality sperm. Ashima Roy (Yami Gautam) is Vicky's love interest, who discovers her beloved's 'Donor' realty quite late.

There is plenty of quirky Punjabi humor throughout the film, specially the first half. Some scenes, like one where Vicky's mother and grandmother bond over late night drink, are madly comical. Dialogues are top notch with granny cracking you up with outstanding one-liners. The film takes a different turn post interval with less emphasis on humor and more mileage being given to the core 'issue'. There are subtle subplots of complex and beautiful human emotions and relationships, like the bond between Vicky and his mother, his mother and grandmother, Vicky and Ashima and not to forget Vicky and Dr. Chaddha. Here, I would ike to mention a solitary scene from the film where Vicky comes back to his home late at night to find his mother sleeping in his room. The hardly 3-minute sequence beautifully depicts the mother-son love, and stands out as the emotional high point of the film.

Ayushmann Khurana as Vicky comes across as a complete natural. He gets into the skin of Punjabi boy character and charms you all the way through with his impeccable comic timing. Not to mention, he looks dashing on-screen, justifying in every sense the title of 'Arya Putra' being bestowed upon him. Annu Kapoor as Dr. Chadha is terrific. He is funny, maniacal and a total Dilli da doctor. Seeing his remarkable performance, you tend to wonder why dont we see him more often on the celluloid. Yami Gautam as Ashima looks yummy and charming! She beautifully underplays her character, letting the surrounding Punjabi folk take the center stage. Apart from these three main leads, Vicky Donor boasts of an enviable support cast that delivers a cracking performance. Dolly Ahluwalia as Vicky's mother is sufficiently over the top and reasonably gentle. The showstopper, however, is the veteran Kamlesh Gill playing Vicky's granny, who makes you laugh more than any other cast of the film.  

Director Shoojit Sircar (and scriptwriter Juhi Chaturvedi) deserve applause for conceiving and executing a subject oriented film. Debutante producer John Abraham also deserves some brownie points for backing a project like this and walking an untrodden path. The film also boasts of soulful music with 'Paani Da Rang' being the pick of the lot.However, editing leaves a little to be desired with a scope for 15-20 minutes trimming of film's length. Also, film loses pace in middle portions when humor seems to be making room for few emotions.  

But all said and done, you need special sperms (read people) to make a film like Vicky Donor. It is a brave, humorous and educative film that does not get preachy even for a second. Humor here is mostly subtle sans all the possible awkwardness, given the kind of topic in hand.  

Watch Vicky Donor to get rid of a few stereotypes and have a sperm count of laughs! (read a million laughs)


Rating- ***1/2 (Very Good)

P.S. - By now you know that title of the review intended to say- 'Vicky Donor is a fantastic film.'