Movie Review of Sorry Bhai

Decent thanks to performances of Sharman Joshi, Chitrangda Singh, Shabana Azmi, Boman Irani and Onir's direction but the average character development lets the movie down.

Directed by: Onir

IMDb link: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1327833/

Sharman Joshi, Chitrangda Singh and Sanjay Suri in Sorry Bhai


Spoilers ahead...


Plot: A romantic comedy-drama involving two brothers and the same love interest

Siddharth (Sharman Joshi), looking to fly a dog through his new theory "everything is alive," sets off on a journey to Mauritius with his mother, Gayatri Mathur (Shabana Azmi), and father, Navin Mathur (Boman Irani). The journey is to attend the marriage of his brother, Harshvardhan Mathur (Sanjay Suri), who is in love with Aaliyah (Chitrangda Singh). They spend one week in Mauritius, during which Aaliyah tries to get close to Harsh's family, as she had been deprived of parental love. Harsh has changed a lot over the past five years, giving more time to his career for a better life instead of Aaliyah, and Aaliyah misses the old loving Harsh. Somehow, she manages to find that love in Harsh's brother, Siddharth. But what will happen when Harsh comes to know about it? The story deals with various emotions of these five characters who are quite different from each other yet close to each other.

What Works: Onir's Direction and Performances of Sharman Joshi, Chitrangda Singh, Shabana Azmi, and Boman Irani

  • The chemistry between Shabana Azmi and Boman Irani is simply superb!
  • Chitrangda Singh looks stunning in many scenes and gives a good performance too. Not having seen Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi, I can't make any comparison.
  • The complex theme is quite well handled by Onir; it is not easy to show a person falling in love with his own brother's fiancée.
  • Onir brings some unusual comic touches at various places to keep the main theme from making a major impact on the brain.
  • Sharman Joshi gives yet another good performance with complete ease.

What doesn't work: Underwhelming character of Sanjay Suri and the attraction arc towards Siddharth for Aaliyah not executed well

  •      Sanjay Suri's character gets underutilized a touch in the end.
  •      Chitrangda's character could have been more properly written; her sudden affection for Siddharth after the postponement of the marriage didn't come out too well.

My Favorite Scenes in Sorry Bhai

  • All scenes between Gayatri and Navin.
  • The scene where Siddharth admits his mistake to his brother Harshvardhan.
  • The scene where Aaliyah tries to control her feelings in front of the mirror.

Final Verdict: Good film minus weak character development of Aaliyah and Harshvardhan

Overall, Sorry Bhai is a decent romantic comedy film in terms of performances and emotions. However, when you think about it realistically, there's no doubt you would feel that the path followed by Aaliyah wasn't right; she should have given time for her differences to settle with Harsh instead of falling completely in love with Harsh's brother. One section of the audience would agree with this, while another wouldn't.

My Rating: 6/10

Also, Read my Take on Bommarillu