Govinda Naam Mera Review: Struggles at Comedy!

Shashank Khaitan enters the world of comedy with his Disney+ Hotstar 2022 original, Govinda Naam Mera, starring Vicky Kaushal, Kiara Advani, and Bhumi Pednekar in the lead roles. A genre he should’ve kept himself away from because this movie is a complete contrast to what he worked with before. And this movie tries to be comical but ends up making fun of itself. Something seems to be off with Bollywood comedies these days. A new trend of making forgetful comedies that aren’t even decent one-time watches.

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Govinda Naam Mera begins with Govinda Waghmare (Vicky Kaushal), an up-and-coming choreographer who wants to get a divorce from his wife, Gauri (Bhumi Pednekar), and also maintains a girlfriend, Suku, played by Kiara Advani. Subsequently, when he is trying to win a 150-crore house back from his stepbrother, the sudden demise of Gauri directs him and Suku into trouble.

Govinda Naam Mera may lack comedy, but it offers some decent twists and turns. But, in contrast, the below-the-belt humour makes you feel a bit bored. There are hardly any funny sequences, and the two-hour-ten-minute runtime felt like a lifetime when you only have a handful of laughs here and there. There is nothing wrong with the basic script, as it checks the boxes needed for a comedy thriller. All it lacked were a few genuinely funny lines.

On to the performances. First off, it took me a few minutes to believe that Vicky Kaushal chose to do this film after his career-defining performance in Sardar Udham. After his power-packed portrayals in films like Masaan, Raman Raghav, Raazi, Uri: The Surgical Strike, and more, Govinda Naam Mera felt very much like a downgrade. The same goes for Kiara Advani, who is last seen in a substantial role in Jugjugg Jeeyo. I liked Bhumi Pednekar’s accent and bindaas (chill) attitude, but the performance was not up to par.

Anyway, people all over began to doubt this film’s quality since Khaitan, Viacom18 Studios, and Dharma Productions selected to dump Govinda Naam Mera on Disney+ Hotstar when the theatres were running at full capacity. They were right, as Khaitan was wise enough and concluded that his film will not do well on a theatrical run. While Advani looks fine, Kaushal and Pednekar deserved better than this, as you might have to go hard on the fast-forward option while watching this.

‘Govinda Naam Mera’ Rating – 2.5/5

Review by @samthebestest_
Edited by Surya Komal