It's fun and frivolous in equal amounts, but there's nothing fantastic in here. Bad Newz isn't that bad, but it surely struggles to deliver the perfect rom-com that you expect from its premise. A spiritual sequel (whatever that means) to the hilarious Good Newwz, this latest outing starring Vicky Kaushal, Triptii Dimri and Ammy Virk is rather bizarre predictable and somewhat chaotic. 

The plot

If the trailer is anything to go by, it gives away the whole damn plot, and barely keeps anything under wraps for curiosity to build up. Even the film's Wikipedia page didn't care much and explains the storyline a bit too much in detail for audiences to wonder what more could happen. Directed by Anand Tiwari, Bad Newz is a well-intentioned film, it wants to make you laugh, but most of the times, the jokes don't land and all we get it run-of-the-mill comedy that works in parts but isn't outright funny.

With a starry cameo, not too sure if we needed that, to open the film, we are introduced to hot and ambitious Saloni Bagga (Triptii), a chef who has her eyes set on the Meraki star (Oscar for the chef). On her mum's insistence, she'd attend weddings hoping to find someone tall, dark and handsome, and have a Band Baaja Baraat kind of love story. She finally meets Akhil Chadha (Vicky), a typical Punjabi West Delhi boy, who owns a chaap shop in Karol Bagh. A rushed romance, funny first night followed by steamy romance on a European honeymoon, they are soon headed for divorce.

Switch to Mussoorie, Saloni clicks with her boss Gurbir Pannu (Ammy). A crazy night and drunk sex with these two men, Saloni finds herself being a one-in-a-billion case of heteropaternal superfecundation, as she ends up carrying twins having two biological fathers. Then what? Hell breaks loose and a comedy of errors unfolds with a series of bizarre events one after the other. Akhil and Gurbir must prove their worth to be the better father.

Hit or miss?

Written by Ishita Moitra and Tarun Dudeja, Bad Newz has an intriguing plot, and the first half is built nicely with characters having fun. Cut to the second half, the first 30 minutes just drag and the sequences between Kaushal and Virk start to look repetitive. The dialogues are quirky with some witty one-liners that trigger some laughter. But it's inconsistent to keep you hooked.

Despite a smooth screenplay, Bad Newz looks rushed. Especially Saloni and Akhil's love story – it lacks the depth and impact, and we are just overfed a couple of lovemaking sequences, including one on the dinner table with the couple throwing away the best of cutlery and smashing a beautiful chocolate cake. Alas! It does nothing to make us laud their chemistry. In fact, the scenes between Gurbir and Akhil in the second half showcase a far better camaraderie.

Bad Newz belongs to Vicky Kaushal from the word go. Though he's being himself – the true-blue Punjabi boy – the swag he brings in his performance and persona is too good to be missed. He single-handedly owns most of the film and salvages it effortlessly at several places. Vicky Kaushal makes Akhil Chadha the perfect green flag – who dotes on his mother and loves his wife. He's the hero of West Delhi, as his mum says at a crucial juncture. Loved that the makers let him flaunt his chiseled abs and serve his fans some serious thirst traps quite a few times. Even if you feel he's loud and over-the-top at certain places, guess what, it totally works. Won't be wrong to say that he's giving tough competition to Ranveer Singh's Rocky Randhawa.

Tripti Dimrii, the current hot favourite in Bollywood, is mostly looking irritated in the entire film. If not, she's only smiling wide, so much so that she could end up bagging a few toothpaste commercials. And when not smiling or irked, she is sad and crying with a wooden expression. I expected way too much from her performance given she was playing an out and out fun character for the first time after intense portrayals in Laila Majnu, Bulbbul and Animal, but she remains average. If anything, her sexy wardrobe in the first half catches your attention. Bringing calm to this chaos, Ammy Virk is endearing with his sweet, innocent, and naive portrayal. He isn't in-your-face funny, but does impress with his comic timing.

There's also Corona Maa (Neha Dhupia), Saloni's Massi who is a psychiatrist-turned-spiritual guru who is mostly dressed in her bohemian frills. She has some funny one-liners, but her characters could have been far better written. With a few abrupt scenes, there's very little she brings to the script though she makes you laugh everytime she appears on the screen.

Anand Tiwari, who has earlier helmed Love Per Square Foot, Bang Baaja Baarat, and Bandit Bandish, gets to go all out with Bad Newz. He has a strong grip on the genre and with the commercial viability of this film, he does put his best foot forward.

The verdict

Bad Newzz is plagued with stereotypes that you wish had taken a backseat by now – Punjabis loving rajma chawal, mumma's boys being careless husbands, women choosing career over marriage, and the list goes on. While comedy isn't really the high point of this film, I liked how the makers have cleverly weaved in some fabulous meta jokes that stand out. The reference to Dimri as Bhabhi 2 and ‘National Crush,’ a scene where Gurbir tells Akhil to not behave like Vicky Sandhu from Manmarziyaan, or another scene where Kaushal stops Virk from throwing a photo of Katrina Kaif saying, 'Iske liye toh tujhe meri laash se guzarna hoga' (you'll have to go over my dead body) – these are well incorporated in the script.

Also, with subtle references to countless Bollywood movies, memorable dialogues, and iconic songs and characters – Hum Aapke Hain Koun, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, Besharam Rang, Junglee Billi, Ae Dil Hai Mushkil, Bareilly Ki Barfi, Mohabbatein – it appears as if Bad Newz is paying a tribute to our cinema. And not to forget the rendition of Mere Mehboob Mare Sanam (from Duplicate), which thankfully sounds as good as the original. Talking of songs, do stay back till end credits to watch Kaushal groove to Tauba Tauba. Maybe that will turn out to be the best part about the film.

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