'Comedy Couple' review: Saqib Saleem, Shweta Basu Prasad starrer stands out with its breezy take on romance and life

It is said that you find out about a stand-up comic’s relationship on Instagram and about their break-up on stage. Zee 5’s romantic-comedy ‘Comedy Couple’ shows the same. Stand -up scene in India has witnessed a rise in recent years, with many stand-alone comics making their names in the field. To break the clutter, Deep Sharma (Saqib Saleem) and Zoya Batra (Shweta Basu Prasad), a young couple, decide to take their acts on stage as a pair and instantly strike a chord with the youngsters.

The story is of the couple and the little and big problems they encounter due to their differences. Now there is no introduction, cute- meet, the build-up of romance and revealing climax in the film. It takes on the slice-of-life genre, with regular problems of a regular couple. Of course, the stand-up side of their life sees an interesting turn of events, commenting lightly on the state of freedom of speech in the country and how easily harmless jokes hurt the sentiments of people.

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Directed by Nachiket Samant, 'Comedy Couple' feels fresh in its approach of regular run-of-the-mill Bollywood romantic comedies. It is light, fun, easy to relate to and sans melodrama. Though it does play on the trope of a regular small-town boy meets uptown girl, but again, in a country filled with aspiring young minds migrating to bigger cities, to feel free and independent, reality making a space on-screen is understandable.

There’s nothing path-breaking in the story and the intention of the film nowhere claims that to be the case. The execution is again ‘average’, something that the film celebrates through its main protagonist, Deep. Samant does successfully manage to engage the OTT viewer with hilarious twists and circumstantial turns, that make you feel deeply for both Deep and Zoya, at times. In a time when content is merely a click away from being fast-forwarded, you don’t feel like rushing this story.

The cast is the biggest strength of 'Comedy Couple'. Saqib once again impresses with his breezy screen presence and Shweta Basu Prasad is a treat to watch. Saqib portrays Deep as a young man who has found his passion for stand-up only after meeting a girl. He’s sensitive and believes that harmless lies make your life easier. Zoya, on the other hand, is the voice of the couple. She’s the funnier one between the two with all the punchlines, is open about her life with her vivacious mother and sees a long-standing future with Deep. She’s understanding and self-reliant. Both are nonchalantly grounded to their characters. Be it the romance between them or the fights, nothing feels over the top or unreasonable. Supporting the main leads are the likes of Pooja Bedi, Rajesh Tailang, Pranay Manchanda, Jasmeet Singh Bhatia and even comic Adaar Malik, who elevate the average story on the scale of likeability.

'Comedy Couple' deserves a watch because it breaks from the clutter. It portrays urban young romance in the most realistic way possible. It turns grim miseries of the society into ‘content’ for jokes and comments on them with hilarity. And most importantly, it gives you a comfort of romantic reliability in a world that seems dystopian and blurred (quite literally). To conclude, in a world expecting satirical comedy and punchlines, 'Comedy Couple' is a reliever, it won’t give you gut-punching, jaw-hurting laughter but a warm smile and a chuckle to remember it with.

PS: Don’t miss out on the soundtrack of the film.