Good Newwz

Good Newwz
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Raj Mehta
Written by	Jyoti Kapoor Rishabh Sharma Raj Mehta
Produced by	Hiroo Yash Johar Aruna Bhatia Karan Johar Apoorva Mehta Shashank Khaitan
Starring	Akshay Kumar Kareena Kapoor Khan Diljit Dosanjh Kiara Advani
Cinematography	Vishnu Rao
Edited by	Manish More
Music by	Songs: See Soundtrack Score: Jhon Stewart Eduri
Production companies	Zee Studios Dharma Productions Cape of Good Films
Distributed by	Zee Studios
Release date	27 December 2019 (2019-12-27)[1]
Running time	132 minutes[2]
Country	India
Language	Hindi
Budget	₹60 crore[3]
Box office	est. ₹318.57 crore[4]

Good Newwz is a 2019 Indian Hindi-language comedy-drama film directed by Raj Mehta in his directorial debut and produced by Karan Johar, Apoorva Mehta, Hiroo Yash Johar, Shashank Khaitan and Aruna Bhatia under their respective banners Dharma Productions and Cape of Good Films.^[5] Starring Akshay Kumar, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Diljit Dosanjh and Kiara Advani in the lead roles, the film revolves around two couples tryst with in vitro fertilisation.^[6] The shooting commenced in November 2018 and was completed in April 2019. It was theatrically released in India on 27 December 2019.^[1]

Plot[]

Varun Batra is the CEO of a Volkswagen showroom in Mumbai and his wife, Deepti Batra, is a celebrity journalist. The two are a happily married couple going on seven years, but struggle to conceive a baby. Varun's sister Richa suggests the couple meet reputed fertility specialist Anand Joshi, who suggests they do in vitro fertilisation (IVF), a fertility technique that will enhance their chances. They agree, Varun submits sperm samples, and Anand seemingly places Varun's sperm in Deepti's embryo.

12 days later, Varun and Deepti are hastily summoned by Anand's wife, Sandhya Joshi. Here, the two run into another homonymous couple, Honey Batra and Monika Batra, who have taken up IVF as well. Anand guiltily reveals that a sperm mix-up has occurred: Varun's sperm have been mixed with Monika's eggs, and Honey's sperm with Deepti's eggs. Shocked beyond belief, both couples attack the two doctors. The doctors suggest that the couples go for a minor procedure so there is no chance of pregnancy. Varun later learns from Honey that Monika is pregnant with Varun's child, and Deepti is pregnant with Honey's child, but his rudeness causes Honey to fear the loss of his own child as Deepti has also gotten pregnant. He vows to prevent an abortion on Deepti's part, and he and Monika rent out a flat just above Varun's and Deepti's, much to the couple's shock.

Varun and Deepti initially project frustration against Honey and Monika the first six months of pregnancy for interfering in their lives. However, during a routine check-up in the seventh month of pregnancy, Sandhya advises Deepti to try talking to Monika, who is probably going through as much as she is emotionally distressed. Realizing that she needs to try understanding the situation, Deepti asks Monika out for a street food treat, during which they start getting to know each other. Deepti learns that Monika had suffered two miscarriages, making her sympathise, and the women bond. However, Varun still nurses a negative attitude, especially since Deepti is not carrying his child. She takes a stand in Honey's and Monika's favour for the first time, angrily telling Varun that he never cared to understand anything that happened post the mishap.

Varun, with Deepti's confrontation still fresh in his mind, makes an attempt to bond with Honey when they meet at a bar, and they almost strike a chord with each other, until Honey expresses concern over Deepti's work commitments, which he thinks will have a negative impact on the child. Varun, incensed, snubs Honey in a possessive manner, and all else fails. An argument between the two escalates until Varun storms out and Honey is arrested by the cops after the manager drops a call.

That night, amidst heavy rains, Monika knocks on Deepti's door in desperation: she has gone into premature labour and Honey is nowhere to be found. Varun hurriedly drives Monika to the hospital and she gives birth to Varun's child. However, the newborn is shifted to a critical unit in grave condition, having been born with a respiratory defect, accelerated by Monika's history of miscarriages, with little chance of survival. As it dawns on him that the baby is in fact his, Varun begins crying and hugs Honey when he arrives after being let off with a warning. Even as Honey and Monika reunite, he goes home and breaks down in Deepti's arms, apologising for his past insensitivity.

For a few weeks, both couples pray for the baby's recovery and Monika remains in the hospital as Deepti tends to her. The baby finally recovers and after 2 months, Deepti too has a successful delivery. Varun, now a changed man, invites Honey and Monika to meet the baby. Both couples finally bond and accept each other, holding each other's babies in their arms.

Cast[]

• Akshay Kumar as Varun Batra : Deepti's husband , Monika's Child's Father.
• Kareena Kapoor Khan as Deepti Batra : Varun's wife , Honey's Child's Mother.
• Diljit Dosanjh as Honey Batra : Monika's husband , Deepti's Child's Father.
• Kiara Advani as Monika Batra : Honey's Wife , Varun's Child's Mother
• Tisca Chopra as Dr Sanya Joshi, Anand's wife a fertility specialist
• Adil Hussain as Dr Anand Joshi, the two couples' fertility specialist and Sanya's husband
• Anjana Sukhani as Advocate Richa Batra Ahuja, Varun's sister
• Faisal Rashid as Vivek Ahuja, Richa's husband
• Mohit Raina as Murari, the flight passenger beside Deepti (cameo appearance)
• Sunita Dhir as Honey's mother
• Amishka Sood as the IVF Receptionist
• Yukta Mookhey as patient at IVF centre
• Richa Kapoor as Mrs Batra, Varun's mother
• Pradeep Kuckreja as Mr Batra, Varun's father
• Kavita Pais as Deepti's mother
• Shivam Pal as the airport cab driver
• Karan Ashar as Akash, Varun's colleague
• Taksh Dave as the showroom kid
• Vishwa Sharma as the old IVF customer

Special appearances[]

• Karan Johar in the song "Chandigarh Mein"
• Badshah in the song "Chandigarh Mein"
• Harrdy Sandhu in the song "Chandigarh Mein"
• Sukhbir in the song "Sauda Khara Khara”

Production[]

Pre-production[]

This film's name was announced on Twitter as – Good News. It is Dosanjh's first film under the banner of Dharma Productions.^[7]

Filming[]

Filming commenced in December 2018, with Dosanjh and Advani filming their scenes.^[8] Kumar and Kapoor joined filming in January and announced it by posting on Instagram.^[9] During a recent interview and in a Twitter post, Kumar said about Kapoor, "We are extremely fond of each other. Bebo and Lolo tease me about the amount of money I’m making and I tease them about having a flat in every building in Bandra. That's our fun banter."'^[10] Anjana Sukhani of Golmaal fame joined the cast to essay an important role, which was revealed to be that of Kumar's sister.^[11] The filming was finished in the first week of April 2019.^[12]

Marketing and release[]

The film was slated to release on 6 September but was pushed to 29 November, later it was again pushed to release on 27 December 2019.^[1]

Soundtrack[]

Good Newwz
Soundtrack album by Tanishk Bagchi, Rochak Kohli, Lauv, Lijo George – DJ Chetas, Manj Musik – Herbie Sahara, Sukhbir and KSHMR
Released	26 December 2019[13]
Genre	Feature film soundtrack
Length	27:55
Language	Hindi
Label	Zee Music Company
External audio Official Audio Jukebox on YouTube

The film's music is composed by Tanishk Bagchi, Rochak Kohli, Lauv, Lijo George–DJ Chetas, Manj Musik–Herbie Sahara, Sukhbir and Kshmr. The songs are written by Kumaar, Rashmi Virag, Tanishk Bagchi, Sukhbir, Gurpreet Saini, Ari Leff, Michael Pollock, Herbie Sahara and Vayu. The background score has been composed by John Stewart Eduri.

The song "Sauda Khara Khara" is a remake of Sukhbir's original hit, recreated by Lijo George-DJ Chetas, while the song "Laal Ghagraa" is a remake of Sahara's and Musik's original hit, and has been recreated by Bagchi, who added an interlude from Daler Mehndi's hit song "Ho Jayegi Balle Balle" to the recreated version.

Reception[]

Taran Adarsh gave the film 4 out of 5 stars and said, 'Excellent. This one's a sure-fire hit. Smart writing. Fantastic humour. Heartfelt emotions... Superb performances Akshay, Kareena, Diljit, Kiara. 2019 will conclude with a big winner, with Good Newwz.'^[14] Rajeev Masand of News 18 gave the film 3 out of 5 stars and said, "If Good Newwz doesn't go off the rails when the tone shifts, it's because the actors stay sincere and committed as the narrative evolves. The heart of the film is its cast anyway."^[15]

Box office[]

Good Newwz earned ₹17.56 crore at the domestic box office on its opening day. On the second day, the film collected ₹21.78 crore, On the third day, the film collected ₹25.65 crore, taking total opening weekend collection to ₹65.99 crore.^[4]

As of 21 February 2020, with a gross of ₹208.21 crore in India and ₹40.36 crore overseas, the film has a worldwide gross collection of ₹248.57 crore and is the seventh highest grossing Bollywood film of 2019.^[16][4]

Home media[]

The film was made available to stream on OTT platform Amazon Prime on 22 February 2020.^[17]

References[]