Binny And Family movie review: Pankaj Kapur, Anjini Dhawan film never breaks out of its TV sitcom beats

Binny, 18, smokes cigarettes on the sly in the solo toilet of their house. Strangely, neither dad Vinay (Rajesh Kumar) nor mom Radhika (Charu Shankar) ever get a whiff, even if they do know how much she loves ‘her space’, and how little Baba (Pankaj Kapur) and Dadi (Himani Shivpuri) understand her ways, which includes sneaking out to parties where her schoolmates, dressed like fashion models, lay out the alcohol.

The conflict remains mostly low stakes, with Baba handing out Binny exhortations on coming home on time, studying hard, no need for all these parties. And then it escalates with a major health scare concerning Dadi, and things get serious.

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We know how things will pan out. ‘Binny and Family’ falls into the trap of sticking to expected lines, and flat characterisations, even if the leads commit to their track. The adults do their job. Anjini, Varun Dhawan’s niece, makes a competent debut, even though the film provides her a one-track best pal (Naman Tripathy) who seems to pop up just to give her life lessons, and a not very convincing romantic possibility in another classmate (Tai Khan).

Also, when was the last time you saw a British school where the White students as well as the teachers play bit parts, with all the focus on the Asian kids?

Binny And Family movie cast: Pankaj Kapur, Anjini Dhawan, Rajesh Kumar, Charu Shankar, Himani Shivpuri, Naman Tripathy, Tai Khan
Binny And Family movie director: Ssanjay Tripaathy
Binny And Family movie rating: 2 stars