Thank You For Coming Review: Bhumi Pednekar's film is all 'very changa si' but late by 25 years

The fictional Samantha Jones of Sex and the City once said, “The good ones screw you, the bad ones screw you…and the rest don’t know how to screw you.” That was New York, where discussing sexual pleasure, unabashedly at that, with your girlfriends wasn't frowned upon. But, hello! We are also the land of the Kama Sutra, where women are allegedly born with an ‘instruction manual’ and it took more than a few decades for Bollywood to voice what women want in bed. Karan Boolani’s Thank You For Coming is not the first Hindi film hollering loud about sex and orgasms. But, thankfully, it is more than just sex.

For the film, Boolani brought Bhumi Pednekar, Shehnaaz Gill, Dolly Singh, Shibani Bedi, and Kusha Kapila together on screen. However, it is said too many cooks spoil the broth, the analogy applies to the film too. Too many fingers and thrusts but just no teeny, weeny orgasm.

Kanika Kapoor, played by Bhumi Pednekar, has been eagerly waiting for her frog, aka Veer Pratap Singh, all her life. It is her 30th birthday when she turns into Rani from Queen and realises ‘uska toh itna life kharab ho gaya.’ She drops the bomb on her married best friends Pallavi, played by Dolly Singh, and Tina, played by Shibani Bedi, and reveals she never had an orgasm. On her 32nd birthday, Kanika finally gets a bikini wax as she gets a special message from Arjun, played by Karan Kundrra. However, she is disheartened to see Arjun with Rushi, played by Shehnaaz Gill. Kanika agrees to get a ‘tick mark’ in her life by marrying Jeevan, Pradhuman Singh Mal. But, is Jeevan the frog of her life?

From Arjun to Rahul, played by Sushant Divgikar, to the professor, played by Anil Kapoor, Kanika invites all her exes to her engagement night. She puts her faith in vodka shots and finally gets the orgasm of her life. However, her memory takes a back seat and the story shifts to a conundrum. With the help of her BFFs, she embarks on the journey to find her frog who can be anyone including the rabri wala. In the backdrop, Tina’s teenage daughter Rabeya, played by Saloni Daini, explores her sexual desires and lands in trouble. 

Written by Radhika Anand and Prashasti Singh, Thank You For Coming tries to tackle things that are twisted in Indian society, making the plot ho-hum. It is messily written with a series of forced fun moments and the performances range from mediocre to exaggerated. Though Bhumi Pednekar is a badass and relatable as Kanika, she fails to hit the spot. Dolly Singh, Shibani Bedi, and Shehnaaz Gill are their natural selves while Kusha Kapila’s less screentime is something I wasn’t rooting for given her presence during promotions. The beauty of the film lies in its small details like the ‘My Neck, My Back, My Anxiety Attack’ tee Bhumi wore in one of the scenes, the quintessential Punjabi Delhi wedding with a hint of peppy songs, and the 66-year-young Anil Kapoor, which pulls one out the boredom around finding the frog.

Thank You For Coming tries to school society which sees women as the flagbearer of ‘sanskaar’. From objecting to sex or pregnancy before marriage to holding women responsible for atrocities against them, Karan Boolani’s film is like an avocado, which has an appealing texture but no taste. 

Because how boring and blase it is, to compare women with men!