 "Janhvi Kapoor and Rajkummar Rao’s Mr. & Mrs. Mahi Movie Review")
Language: Hindi
Director: Sharan Sharma
Cast: Rajkummar Rao, Janhvi Kapoor, Kumud Mishra, Zarina Wahab, Rajesh Sharma, Arjit Taneja
“If you have a dream, you got to protect it.” Mr. & Mrs. Mahi is about Mahendra (Rajkummar Rao) who dreams to be a cricketer and be a part of the Indian cricket team. The first half of the film shows his internal struggles and how he deals with criticisms at home and outside. In the second half we see how this simple character transforms into an insecure man laced with jealousy and the way he uses his wife to climb up the ladder of fame.
Zarina Wahab’s as Mahendra’s ( Rajkummar Rao ) mother was one of the most realistic characters that was written well in the film. Soft spoken yet strong, the conversation that Mahendra (Rajkummar Rao) has with his mother is the scene stellar of the entire film. A short and sweet role that Zarina Wahab plays, but she has done true justice to it. She makes her son realise that there is more to life than fame. Fame and name doesn’t last for long. It is only the relationship and bonds with real people that you make in life is what is important. This scene I think was my take- home from the entire 2 hours and 19 minutes’ film. She tries to make him understand that probably this is the reason that today’s generation is always stressed out and never happy. We hoped for more such moments in the film, but sadly that doesn’t happen.
When you have ambitions more than your capability, it can be disastrous. But again it is okay to be ambitious, but at the same time you should know where you stand in life. And not have expectations beyond your capability. In this film Mahendra ( Rajkummar Rao ) is shown as a hopeless loser. He is hardworking and dreams to be a cricketer. He is just an average cricketer and wants to be a part of the Indian cricket team. He wants to be famous like MS Dhoni, but he lacks that talent. But the one thing that is good about him is that he is honest and that is the reason Janhvi Kapoor (Mahima) falls for him and agrees to get married to him. But later she realises that he too is insecure and not as honest as he thought him to be. It is a flawed film, but there are moments of joy too when we see Janhvi Kapoor (Mahima) smashing sixes. She is an A-grade student and a doctor. But she too loves cricket and that is the place where both Mahima and Mahendra connect well.
The problem was not with their craft, but a brilliant actor like Rajkummar Rao just couldn’t hold up a loosely written story. He tries hard to make his character convincing by trying to project a man who is subjected to criticism by his father all the time. We needed more layers to that character. The idea of the movie was no doubt excellent, but a bit too filmy for today’s evolved audiences. Directed by Sharan Sharma, Mr & Mrs Mahi can be called a sweet love story that is far from reality which didn’t go down well with today’s refined taste buds. Only if the script had the desired zing, probably we would have been able to appreciate the special talent of Rajkummar.
The character of Mahima is a little hard to believe. I strongly believe that Janhvi Kapoor’s talent too is under- utilised in the film. How can an educated woman of today be so naïve and fail to understand the hidden intensions of the husband? I wonder why she never stood up for herself and why was she so over-shadowed by the male figures in her life. Mahendra (Rajkummar Rao) is seen helping his wife live her dream. He believes that she has the capability of becoming a good cricketer. Mahendra (Rajkummar Rao) wishes to live his dreams through her by becoming her coach. But there is definitely a hidden motive behind it. The dialogues were good, the humour was decent, but what was lacking was the way the story was stitched together. The moral again was good and it taught the audiences to never give up on your dreams.
The father-son’s love-hate relationship is shown in a brilliant way and giving us good guidance as to how we can deal with parenting issues, but somehow actors like Rajkummar Rao, Janhvi Kapoor or Kumud Mishra were unable to live up to the expectations of the audiences. It’s not that they didn’t try, but sadly it faltered in many places, unable to bring out the right emotions and the depth that the characters demanded. The pace of Mr. & Mrs. Mahi is inconsistent and the film failed to bring about that excitement which a movie on cricket does.
Rating: 3 out of 5
WATCH the trailer of Janhvi Kapoor and Rajkummar Rao’s Mr & Mrs Mahi here
Lachmi Deb Roy is the entertainment editor of Firtspost, Network18. She reviews films and series with a gender lens. Her interviews are called 'Not Just Bollywood' because she takes huge interest in world cinema. OTT over theatrical releases is her preference unless and until its a King Khan film. She takes interest in fashion, food and art reviews too.