'Khandaani Shafakhana' review (2.5/5): Sonakshi Sinha's light-hearted film delivers a serious message

With an eye-grabbing storyline and quirky previews, Sonakshi Sinha's 'Khandaani Shafakhana' has been creating a buzz ever since the film was announced. The film is a light-hearted comedy-drama that highlights how sex is still a taboo in India. As the much-anticipated Bollywood venture has finally hit the theaters, let's see what's it all about.

Setting the Scene: 

The film stars Sonakshi Sinha as Baby Bedi, a streetsmart small-town Medical Representative, who despite her modest income never matches up to the requirements of his family. However, with the turn of her wheel of fortune, she gets the ownership of her uncle's sex clinic, however, with the condition that she has to run it for over 6 months to get the right to sell it.

Plot: 

With the impending crisis on her family, Baby Bedi (Sonakshi Sinha), the breadwinner of her family finally agrees to run the clinic without the approval of her mother and relatives. Her brother Bhooshit Bedi, played by Varun Sharma, however, stands by her and agrees to maintain the secret for their mother. While initially, she takes up her responsibilities at the sex clinic solely for money, eventually she gets a deeper understanding of the underlying problem relating to the lack of sex education and decides to break through the 'hush hush'. Her actions, as expected, brings in disagreements. 

Verdict: 

The film is certainly a brave move by the makers. Discussing such a serious issue in a comedy-drama, with a female lead, is definitely worth the praise. The film has managed to deliver an adequate amount of humour without distracting from the main idea. It has smartly kept a distance from making any dirty jokes.  

Sonakshi Sinha did a great job portraying the protagonist, however, in some scenes, one might feel her character could have been crafted better. Varun Sharma is an absolute stunner. He deserves credit for 80% of the films' laughable moments. 

Meanwhile, 'Khandaani Shafakhana' also marks Badshah's acting debut in Bollywood. The rapper did an impressive job and proved himself to be an efficient actor as well. However, the film had some loose ends, which could have been avoided.  

With a number of rib-tickling instances and few emotional scenes, the film can be described as a light-hearted comedy-drama with a serious message to deliver. 

Cast: Sonakshi Sinha, Varun Sharma, Annu Kapoor, Badshah, Priyanshu Jora, Kulbhushan Kharbanda and Paresh Pahuja

What works: The film has a very interesting concept. The actors also delivered impressive performance on-screen. 

What doesn't work: The films seems to be a bit stretched second half. It could have had a more-gripping storyline. 

Rating: 2.5/5

Watch the trailer here: