Saunkan Saunkne Movie Review: Rib-tickling comedy with a missed opportunity
Saunkan Saunkne Movie Review: Rib-tickling comedy with a missed opportunity

Saunkan Saunkne Movie Review: Punjabi Mania present before you the full movie review of recently released Punjabi movie titled ‘Saunkan Saunkne’.

Cast: Ammy Virk, Sargun Mehta, Nimrat Khaira, Nirmal Rishi, Kaka Kautki, Sukhwinder Chahal, Mohini Toor, Ravinder Mand.

Director: Amarjit Singh Saron.

Producers: Jatin Sethi, Ravi Dubey and Sargun Mehta.

Music: Desi Crew.

Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romantic.

Running Time: 150 minutes (U/A certified).

Saunkan Saunkne Movie Review

Nirmal Singh (Ammy Virk) and Naseeb Kaur aka Seebo (Sargun Mehta) are childless despite being married for eight years. Accompanied by Nirmal's mother Chand Kaur (Nirmal Rishi), the family tries everything possible ranging from medical science to superstitions in the hope of being blessed with a child (read baby boy) but without any success.

Inspired by a left-field idea, Seebo convinces Nirmal to marry her younger sister Kiran Kaur aka Kirna (Nimrat Khaira) in order for the family to be blessed with a child. Nirmal, a Panchayat member of his village who is responsible for solving problems of his fellow villagers, himself adopts problems by both underestimating the enormousness of a second marriage and failing to predict its menacing consequences.

This aforementioned build-up results in a rib-tickling comedy movie helmed by Amarjit Singh Saron. Saunkan Saunkne is Saron's first-ever movie with Virk and Khaira and third (out of four) with Mehta. The team successfully joins hands to deliver an enjoyable and light-hearted 150-minute movie. Saron, who has become a reliable name in the field of direction, is at his habitual good throughout the movie.

While one looks forward to chemistry between married couples in a movie, chemistry between the two sisters is worth-watching in Saunkan Saunkne. We are told that Seebo and Kirna never really got along with each other even as kids and the same is quite evident post their marriage to the same person.

It would be an understatement to say that Seebo and Kirna have contrasting opinions. Always ready to pick an argument with each other, a public fall-out between the two sisters for sharing a husband witnesses them quarelling, tussling, engaging in war of words to turn the family into an amusing slanging match. I don't intend to make comparisons by any means but two sisters continually fighting with each other in a movie reminded me of Vishal Bhardwaj's 'Pataakha' (2018).

In what unequivocally becomes the pinnacle of Saunkan Saunkne, one doesn't need to write much about how well Mehta and Khaira have portrayed their respective characters. Khaira might not have the acting experience such as Mehta but there are some argumentative scenes in which she manages to outperform her polished co-actor.

Writer-director Amberdeep Singh, who has written the movie, also needs to be credited for writing such unremitting counter-attacking dialogues which form the focal point of the movie. Having said that, Saunkan Saunkne will go down as a sizeable missed opportunity for the writer with respect to the other aspects of writing.

First of all, Saunkan Saunkne is guilty of limiting the length of its best part, i.e., encounters between Saunkans. Sequences between Mehta and Khaira reach the audiences after a lot of waiting. While their performances make up for the wait, Saunkan Saunkne leaves you with wanting for more.

With more, I don't mean more screen time but more of quarelling between the two actors, more of fun element on the back of crispier writing in the first half and more of a larger motive for what Saunkan Saunkne stands for. Not that the movie is bad without this "more" but could have been even better for the audiences deserve more from all the above mentioned names as their potential is capable of delivering more.

All things considered, Saunkan Saunkne will be remembered for the makers attaining a favourable outcome regarding making a comedy movie without cliched slapstick elements. Comedy emerging as a derivative of a merger of witty dialogues, expressions and acting skills come out as quite refreshing.

Last but not the least, kudos to music directors Desi Crew and lyricists Raj Ranjodh, Bunty Bains, Rony Ajnali, Gill Machhrai and Arjan Virk for putting together a music album which remains in sync with the script of the movie. Khaira and Miss Pooja working together for the first time to sing the title song of Saunkan Saunkne has resulted in one of the best Punjabi songs (movie) of the year thus far.