The young adult movie Friday Night Plan, directed by Vatsal Neelakantan and starring Juhi Chawla and Amrith Jayan, centres on the adolescent struggles of two school-going brothers. Babil Khan, who made an impressive debut in Anvita Dutt’s Netflix movie Qala in 2022, literally matures in his second movie Friday Night Plan, which is also available to stream on Netflix. Friday Night Plan is the complete antithesis of Qala, which was a cerebral investigation of the psyche. The feature film debut of Vatsal Neelakantan revolves around two brothers in a noisy high school teen drama with the typical themes of sibling rivalry and adolescent hardships.
A heartwarming sibling story
Friday Night Plan, which is produced by Farhan Akhtar and Ritesh Sidhwani’s Excel Entertainment, centres around two teenage brothers named Sid and Adi and takes place over the course of one day. Sid, the older brother who is responsible, diligent, and bearing the responsibility of maturity following their father’s sudden death, is portrayed by Irrfan Khan’s son Babil.
Adi (Amrith Jayan) is the exact opposite; he is outgoing, fun-loving, and has a strong need for acceptance and belonging. Their mother is played by Juhi Chawla, who made her OTT debut with the Amazon Prime Video series Hush Hush last year.
The brothers decide to take advantage of their freedom when their mother had to leave one day on a business trip to Pune. They have made plans to go to a party hosted by Natasha, the most popular girl in their school and a classmate of Sid’s (Medha Rana). The boys enjoy themselves, drinking copious amounts of beer and playing party games while keeping an eye out for a prom date. However, a run-in with a cop poses a threat to their plans for a stress-free evening.
exemplifies what it means to be a teenager
A humorous movie, Friday Night Plan follows its two main characters as they embark on a voyage of self-discovery. The only incident that detracts from Sid, Adi, and their group of friends’ fun-filled night out is a small altercation with a police officer. Neelakantan, the director, prefers to highlight the essence of adolescence, complete with all of its difficulties. The themes, while familiar (playing pranks on kids from a rival school, drinking games, creating Instagram reels at the party, dancing your heart out), are nevertheless fun. And in the midst of it all, the arguing siblings Sid and Adi start to open up to one another and comprehend each other’s problems. While Sid teaches his sibling about responsibility, Adi helps Sid relax and enjoy the celebration.
Babil has a strong presence on film.
Babil brings a gentle seriousness to Sid’s beguiling smile and sense of vulnerability. He conveys the emotional changes with ease and personifies the carefree yet prudent spirit. Amrith Jayan, who plays Adi, Sid’s younger brother, gives the character life with a refreshing honesty that enables viewers to identify with Adi’s quest for identity. The relationship between Babil and Amrith gives the movie depth and genuineness. Juhi does an excellent job of playing an empathetic mother despite having very little screen time.
At the movie’s conclusion, there’s a suggestion that there might be a sequel, which makes us wonder what Sid and Adi’s future holds. We wouldn’t mind joining the group again for another midnight excursion.
