Directed by Anshai Lal, ‘Phillauri’ is a romantic film featuring Anushka Sharma, Diljit Dosanjh and Suraj Sharma in the lead roles. The movie is about a “friendly” ghost, Shashi (Anushka Sharma) who accidentally gets married to a Canada-based Punjabi guy Kanan (Suraj Sharma) because he was forced to marry a tree in order to ward-off the “maanglik dosh” from his kundli. Shashi had a fateful love story when she was alive and that’s the reason she’s residing in a tree. And now that the tree is being chopped-off, she is bound to be with Kanan. On the other hand, Kanan is getting married to his childhood friend cum lover Anu (Mehreen Pirzada). The movie narrates the tale of two people, Shashi and Kanan in two different times. Phillauri is a fresh idea with a loosely gripping story. Anushka as a “translucent” ghost will strike a good chord with you, but you’ll definitely love Diljit and Suraj in the film. Kudos to the amazing VFX team as well! Phillauri will definitely connect with you, emotionally especially after the second half. The movie is largely a light-hearted drama with a lot of good memories, but nothing extraordinary as far as the story is concerned because it’s inspired by the famous Hollywood flick ‘Corpse Bride’. Do watch the movie if you are a die-hard fan of Anushka and Diljit, and if you’re looking for a new kind of romantic movie to watch with the whole family.

When the friendly spirit Shashi is asked why she is stuck with the soon-to-be-married Kanan, she says, "Pata nahi, main to yahi atki hui hoon." Anshai Lal's 138-minute long Phillauri could speak for itself here. Once the one-line idea of guy-getting-married-to-spirit has been established, the film hovers around, like Shashi, from one useless scene to another which are neither funny nor interesting nor of any service to whatever goodness the film has. Phillauri is pretty entertaining and appears promising in these initial scenes till the point Kanan is married to a tree because of being a manglik and Shashi, the spirit enters his life. In friendly-ghost films like these, it is the way the human and the ghost play off each other and the weird situations they create is what makes these films worth watching. But Kanan-Shashi's parts are punctuated by an elaborate backstory that is just dull and Diljit Dosanjh is a decent performer, sure, but he is not a big enough Khan to make mediocre writing worthwhile. Phillauri's concept is good and novel. But the delivery is what North Indians call KLPD. The climactic payoff at the end comes way too easily. It's just lazy writing after a point. If only Shashi emerged in the writer's room before filming began and smacked some imagination into Anvita Dutt's head.

Anushka Sharma's Phillauri begins well enough but soon falls prey to its languid pace. It only comes alive when Anushka and Diljit Dosanjh are together on screen in Dam Dam. Then it makes you sigh for what could have been if the whole film had the same energy. The pacing is not just languid, it is positively slow, and it allows scenes to go on for much longer than they should. I found myself getting impatient in too many places. Anushka Sharma is good, but not as good as she can be, and that too only in bits and pieces. A lovely song — ‘dam dam dam hai dua sau pankh lagaa tere naam ke’– which features her and Dosanjh, made me sigh. With pleasure. As a romantic interlude between two adults, it is the beating heart of ‘Phillauri’. If only the whole film pulsed with the same skill and energy.

Conceptually, Phillauri is a winner and that much was evident from the trailer. The idea is superbly original, culturally on point and has great potential. The problem is, you only get what you see in the trailer. Nothing more (and thankfully nothing less). The hilarious, exciting one-line plot develops into a two-and-a-half hour film that is full of romantic-movie tropes. The invisibility of the ghost can only get so many laughs; the narrative shifts between Shashi’s past and Kanan’s present seem abrupt; the soulful songs are easy on the ears but strain your eyes by adding to the runtime, and most importantly, Shashi’s story (the emotional core of the film) is largely formulaic. The actors sweep in and carry the film, though. With his body language and voice modulation, Suraj Sharma nails the confused-aimless millennial and lightens the mood. Mehreen Pirzada’s helpless and hopelessly-in-love Anu is endearing. Diljit Dosanjh brings his trademark goodness to a rather bland role. And as the translucent ghost (kudos to the VFX team), Anushka delivers a solid performance with a weird mix of sadness and humour. It seems as though Phillauri could have gone in a lot of directions, but it took the road usually travelled.