Movie Review: Trial Period On the whole, TRIAL PERIOD rests on fine performances and a few good scenes.

TRIAL PERIOD is the story of a mother who hires a father on rent. Anamaya Roy Choudhry aka Ana (Genelia Deshmukh) is a single parent to son Romi (Zidane Braz). They reside in Delhi's CR Park. Ana works as an architect and tries her best to attend to Romi's needs. She also has the support of her loving neighbours, Mamaji (Shakti Kapoor) and Mamiji (Sheeba Chadha). Yet, Romi feels the absence of his father. He is bullied in school and doesn't tell Ana about it as he feels that it'll add to her stress. Romi often hangs at Mamaji's house and he observes that the latter is obsessed with watching a channel called Tele Mandli. The viewers of this channel are encouraged to buy various kinds of products. If they are unsatisfied with their purchase, they can return it within the thirty-day trial period. Romi, one day, demands that Mamaji should order a father from Tele Mandli! Ana, Mamamji and Mamiji obviously try to explain to him that it's not possible. But an adamant Romi refuses to understand. Ana hits upon an idea - she decides to bring a boring man as a trial father. She is convinced that Romi would detest him and he'll stop asking for a father figure in his life. Ana's search leads her to Prajapati Dwivedi (Manav Kaul) aka PD, a teacher from Ujjain who is in Delhi to find a teaching job. He decides to take up the offer as he isn't getting employment and also after his only relative in the capital city, Shrivastav (Gajraj Rao) forces him to go for it. What happens next forms the rest of the film.

Aleya Sen's story is hilarious and could have made for a fun-filled comic caper. Kunwar Shiv Singh, Akshat Trivedi and Aleya Sen's screenplay fails to do justice. Some scenes are well written but several sequences are insipid. Aleya Sen and Akshat Trivedi's dialogues are fine.

Aleya Sen's direction is not up to the mark. To give credit where it’s due, she has handled some of the aspects of the film sensitively. A few scenes stand out like Ana pouring her heart out to PD, PD asking why ‘Talk time’ is not a part of their schedule and Ana’s father making a valid point about how Romi will be affected once the ‘trial period’ will be over. The bullying episode is not fully convincing but the point comes across nicely. Also, the way Ana and Romi warm up to PD despite their cultural differences is sweet.

On the flipside, the introduction scenes are poor. The film takes a while to come to the main focus of the story, that is, a man being hired as a father. The editing is jerky. The scene where Romi gives a speech on fathers and fails seems like a poor imitation of a similar scene in KUCH KUCH HOTA HAI [1998]. The sequence of a drunk Ana talking to PD starts off well but then falters. The finale is predictable and the ‘Wow’ factor is missing.

Trial Period – Official Trailer | Genelia D’Souza | Manav Kaul | Streaming Free 21 July | JioCinema

Speaking of performances, Genelia Deshmukh puts in a sincere effort and is very likeable. Manav Kaul steals the show. It’s also good to see him in a comic role for a change. Zidane Braz is cute and does very well. His dialogues, at a few places, are difficult to comprehend. Shakti Kapoor and Sheeba Chadha are dependable. Gajraj Rao leaves a huge mark in a small role. Barun Chandra (Ana’s father) and Swaroopa Ghosh (Ana’s mother) are damn good.

Only one song registers – 'Gole Male'. 'Dhappa', 'Dheere' and 'Papa Superhero' are forgettable. Anupam Roy's background score is much better. Manoj Khatoi's cinematography is simple. Rohini Sen's production design is realistic. Karishma Gulati's costumes are straight out of life. Genelia’s saree in the Diwali song is beautiful. Shahnawaz Mosani's editing could have been sharper, especially in the beginning. The transition in several scenes is too quick.

On the whole, TRIAL PERIOD rests on fine performances and a few good scenes. But it suffers on account of insipid script and direction.

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