Tiku Weds Sheru review: Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Avneet Kaur’s awkward pairing along with shoddy writing sink Kangana Ranaut’s rom-com ship

City lights, Tinseltown, and the baggage that comes with it. Tiku Weds Sheru, directed by Sai Kabir, is a failed attempt to tell a story with two actors with potential—Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Avneet Kaur—left gasping for breath in a badly scripted film. It’s not only the shoddy writing that deserves a slow choke, but also the dead chemistry between the pair brought on by the script. Produced by Kangana Ranaut, the romantic-comedy strives to tickle you and leave you teary-eyed. But somehow one will end up curling into the foetal position as the first half lulls you into a deep, uh, snore.

Tiku Weds Sheru is the oft-told story of two people, dreaming to be superstars in the blinding lights of Mumbai, and their happily ever after. The film begins with Tasneem Khan (Avneet Kaur) reciting one of her shayari couplets as the camera forces the audience to dive into her eyes and ‘spot’ her beauty mark above her lips. The frame, then, immediately shifts to Shiraz Khan Afghani alias Sheru (Nawazuddin Siddiqui), a junior artist, whose inner superstar does not allow him to underact. Shouted at and moved to the background, Sheru does not lose hope and continues to work on his script writing. 

Sheru is also a pimp and trapped in the seedy world of notorious and affluent politicians, to whom he supplies women. He finds his peace at his one-room apartment with his cat, Elizabeth, to whom he recites his shayari. Besides, Elizabeth, Sheru is infatuated with one of the girls, Natasha, who he sends on to his clients. Filmi Sheru keeps Natasha’s photo among his scripts and adores it every now and then. Sai Kabir’s chaotic direction overshadows the little emotional bits that would have held the audience. ‘And it’s a fact.’

Lonesome Sheru rejoices after his brother sends Tiku’s photos for marriage. He travels to Bhopal and meets the prospective bride who is way too younger than him but that can be ignored as he is offered Rs 10 lakh cash in dowry. Tiku, a rebel, refuses to marry Sheru on the spot which shatters his ego. The only best part of the scene is Nawazuddin’s intense eyes and his shayari. 

Agreeing to her lover, Tiku decides to get rid of her abusive family and become a superstar by marrying Sheru. With a fist full of secrets that both seek to hide from the other, Sheru and Tiku move to Mumbai with stars in their eyes. Just when one starts to realise the shoddy writing by Sai Kabir and Amit Tiwari collectively, the story turns insipid when Sheru figures out she's pregnant from her boyfriend, who turns out, as the wornout familiar script drags on, to be a dokhebaaz.

With no desire to live and dead scared about her parents finding out the truth, Tiku tries to kill herself, not once but twice. Moving forward with the forced drama, which I do not dare to mention, Sheru pretends to be a film financier in front of his wife. The husband and wife go to parties, expensive clubs, and resorts, also because Sheru hates being poor and destitute. Their first night out together follows a ‘romantic’ scene by the beach that triggered a debate ahead of the film's release. But trust me! The alleged romance is not worth two words. The age gap between Nawazuddin and Avneet can be ignored, but their pairing is hell of a lot awkward and the now-famous kiss is evidence.

Sai Kabir’s direction lacks flow and the aha moments. The film’s background score crooned by Mohit Chauhan and Shreya Ghoshal is a brief respite. But Avneet Kaur dancing to ‘Meri Jaan E Jaan’ in a loud red costume could have been skipped. 

Besides the music, the film can be vouched for highlighting the struggles of background artists who are slapped with insults if they overshadow the leads. It focuses on women artists who suffer sordid shady-things just to make a name in showbiz.

Tiku Weds Sheru fails to deliver the promised ‘rom-com’ and is all over the place. The awkwardness in the film roars louder than the performances of Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Avneet Kaur. However, the 21-year-old Kaur does not disappoint and catches every nuance of the character.