You know how a simple song with a pleasant melody can be ruined by the singer’s off-key notes? Zara Hatke Zara Bachke is like that song. Laxman Utekar’s movie has a simple plot with promise — a loving, middle-class couple in Indore want to move out of the family home for some privacy and (spoiler alert!) files for divorce to be able to qualify for affordable housing. But flat writing, jokes in poor taste and the sanskari bubblewrap make it hit some serious off-key notes that prevent it from achieving that potential.

Vicky Kaushal’s Kapil Dubey is a penny-pinching yoga instructor who lives with his wife of two years Saumya Chawla Dubey (Sara Ali Khan), a tutor, in his family home with his daddyji, mummyji and permanent visitors mamaji and mamiji and their son. They might be married for two years but they are still visibly very much in the throes of love and unable to keep their hands off each other.

But having been shunted out of their room onto the living room floor to accommodate mamaji and mamiji, they need privacy to nookie. They both plan to buy a house but the one they like is beyond their budget. Kapil is willing to save up to be able to afford the house but Saumya wants a house and wants it now. So like many middle-class couples, they try to find a way to make their dreams come true — they file for a fake divorce so that Saumya qualifies for the government housing scheme.

But having been shunted out of their room onto the living room floor to accommodate mamaji and mamiji, they need privacy to nookie. They both plan to buy a house but the one they like is beyond their budget. Kapil is willing to save up to be able to afford the house but Saumya wants a house and wants it now. So like many middle-class couples, they try to find a way to make their dreams come true — they file for a fake divorce so that Saumya qualifies for the government housing scheme.

So far so good. Except for some elements of so-called comedy that are very low-grade. Like when mamiji goes on an abusive rant about Saumya’s Punjabi roots spoiling their vegetarian beta because they eat non-veg and drink alcohol, even the women. Not funny. Then there is a scene where Kapil tips a child waiter very poorly and even takes that back when the boy offers it back to him. Again, not funny. His penny-pinching self might be relatable to most middle-class people who are “saving from their today for their tomorrow” but this is taking it far enough to feel icky. Then there is the whole matter of Saumya utilising the feelings of Kapil’s childhood friend to get compromising photographs to hurry along the divorce. Ugh.

The second half of Zara Hatke Zara Bachke tips into melodrama when the housing scheme seems to have stalled and Kapil and Saumya clash enough to make their fake divorce feel like it might become a reality. And of course there is the whole ‘home is where the heart is’ sentimentality and the understanding family trope and the realisation that they were happier the way they were before, which flips the switch from rom(not)com to dramatic.

Acting-wise, Vicky Kaushal carries the film with his ability to slip into any character and make them believable. But Kapil is a character Kaushal can play in his sleep, so it is hardly a challenge for him. Sara Ali Khan and Kaushal’s chemistry is a plus point for the film, but on her own she lacks the nuances that would elevate her character to believable. She is good when they are fake fighting but when they are really fighting, she is still the same, which then slides into overdramatic. Inaamulhaq is worth a mention as Kapil’s overdramatic lawyer friend who was perhaps the only one who got some genuine chuckles out of the audience.

After watching films like Tu Jhooti Main Makkar and now Zara Hatke Zara Bachke, one is left with a serious question — when will Bollywood stop garbing misogyny in wokism? Yes, both Saumya and Kapil agreed to the divorce and both said sorry at the end, but it is made quite evident that Saumya was the one who was willing to go to any lengths to achieve her dream. Kapil just went along to make her happy. Because he is a good bachcha and the woman is vile? It is time to stop. Please.