'Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan' is what follows when you've been spoilt silly with seven back-to-back hits by Ayushmann Khurrana and the new film leaves you dissatisfied. Firstly, it's really tricky to be making a universally-watchable comedy about a yet less-socially accepted norm as homosexuality. More than 70#37 of India, which resides in small towns, are yet to even come to terms with the existence and theory of homosexuality, leave aside accepting it. Interestingly, written and directed by Hitesh Kewalya, who earlier wrote the prequel, 'Shubh Mangal Saavdhan', the cast of the new film goes for the kill and is left with a rather perplexing task of addressing homophobia without reducing the larger theme of homosexuality as a joke. But do they succeed?

Kartik Singh (Ayushmann) and Aman Tripathi (Jeetu) are a couple, living in New Delhi and happily in love. Time comes for the relationship to be taken to the next level. Kartik accompanies Aman to his cousin-sister's wedding and wants him to come out of the closet and confront his parents, the brutally-honest mother Sunaina (Neena Gupta) and the rigid, principled father Shankar (Gajraj Rao).

Much of what's good with the film benefits from the crackling dialogues but honestly, the laughs are overtly exploited to make up for the lack of depth that is amiss in the film. Maybe, it was a conscious choice made to pull in the crowds but for those who are possibly looking towards borrowing a leaf from the film in the hope to start a dialogue at their personal end, there is little or nothing to look forward to. Because if you'd recollect, Ayushmann's recent films have largely fared well because a fine balance was struck between infusing humour and sensitivity. But in 'SMZS', the confrontations and conversations are largely surface-level. Despite, keeping the family at the epicentre, the film mostly plays out on the basis of their reactions than their understanding. The film becomes more about their potshots and less about the couple in question.

The performances don't salvage the film, much either. Ayushmann, though aptly over-the-top and dramatic but not Bollywoodised effeminate, takes the backseat here and lets his co-stars take centrestage. Here's where things go down-hill. Gupta and Rao, who shared excellent chemistry and exchanged a lot through their eyes in 'Badhai Ho', are highly under-utilised with Rao being mostly shrill. A lot of the laughs are mined by his younger brother Chaman (Manu Rishi Chadha) and his wife Champa (Sunita Rajwar). Even the immensely dependable Maanvi Gagroo who plays Aman's cousin Goggle cuts a sorry figure in the cast and her track comes across as a filler. Its internet darling Jeetu, who plays Aman with the everyman naivety and innocence that stands out as the film's most effective performance.

'SMZS' is an expectation left unfulfilled because you'd hoped that there'd be food for thought besides entertainment, given the country's favourite poster boy being at the helm of affairs.