MATRU KI BIJLEE KA MANDOLA
SCRIPT AND SCREENPLAY : Vishal Bhardwaj and Abhishek Chaubey have written a satire which revolves around the the issue of SEZ 'S and a nexus between politicos, cops, fund managers and big corporate houses.The story begins well but the screenplay looses its sheen somewhere in the middle.All the characters are well crafted with a rustic touch but characters of Harry and Badal stand out. In fact if you want to enjoy this movie than enjoy some of the individual scenes rather than concentrating on the screenplay.The story is about Harry, a billionaire tycoon who has plans to set up SEZ in his village land with the help of a powerful politician Chaudhary Devi.For this purpose he wants his daughter Bijlee to marry Devi's son Badal.In between their plan stands Matroo, a law graduate who although works as a driver for Harry but in actual is red ribbon wearing saviour of villagers land whom villagers call MAO(who sounds chinese but is Desi) He has taken a pledge to save villagers land from the clutches of Harry by any means.
STARCAST : Pankaj Kapur has always entertained audience in his various characters but this time he has given performance par excellence.Be it as the whip wielding hot headed capitalist or as a chilled out drunk tipsy who instigates villagers to start a morcha against himself and leading them to his own house.Some of his scenes are a treat to watch and he has simply carried the movie on his shoulders. Imran Khan as Matroo created quite a buzz in promos with his rustic looks and beard but in the movie he's just fair enough.He somehow does not fits into skin of the character although he has given a good performance.His emotions and expressions as a modern educated revolutionary villager lack that punch and strength and hence look unconvincing.Anushka steps into the character of Bijlee effortlessly with ease and proves why she was chosen by Vishal for this role.Although her attire in the movie is not in sync with her portrayal of a billionaire but she still she has emoted well and given a good performance.But the biggest surprise has come from Aarya Babbar who lends a different flavour to the movie as Badal.He shines as a rich brat and displays all emotions ranging from romantic,buffoonery,slapstick,anger and jealousy.In fact his role stands parallel to the hero and hats off to Vishal for giving him a role whose screen presence is almost equal to protagonist.He's done full justice to his character and is a delight to watch in this movie. Not to forget Shabana Azmi who portrays the character of a manipulative politico to perfection and looks mean and menacing as per the character.
TECHNICAL ASPECTS : Music by Vishal is in his own impeccable subtle style and has been composed in sync with the narrative( Thankfully no forced groovy item numbers).Dialogues are again by Vishal himself and some of them are a treat to listen to especially when Pankaj says to Imran" Tumhari Jodi jaise Mukesh aur Nita Ambani" and Shabana Says to Aarya reffering to sons of politicians" Yehi farak hai tum mein aur Rahul,Sachin aur Jyotiraditya mein".Cinematography by Kartik Vijay is at its best and has been able to capture some stunning visuals that too in countryland.Editing by A.Sreekar Prasad needs a mention although in negative sense. Some scenes have been stretched a lot which not only affect the tempo of movie but also increase the length to 160 minutes which seems a little long as per the trend of short movies these days.But can't blame him as the captain of the ship is Vishal Bhardwaj who has been credited for delivering some memorable scenes in his last movies.Coming to direction it can be said that VISHAL BHARDWAJ with his immense talent and precision has handled such a major upsurge social issue in a quirky satire form and that too so deftly.He has packaged the movie very cleverly with lot of insight,quirk,laughs,hard hitting words and outstanding performances from the cast.I'll say he is a fine example of a master storyteller who not only deftly handles but also concentrates on each and every character of his movie without bothering whether his movie will be to enter that 100 crore club.
WOW MOMENTS : Dont miss the beginning as the opening scene of the movie has turned out to be a real highlight of the movie.The scene where Inebriated Harry and Matroo are trying to push away the well out of the village is outstandingly hillarious.Entry scene of Shabana and Aarya where local officials who have come to welcome them upset their stomach by popping a pill is genuinely funny.Aarya with his team trying to destroy crops of villagers ensues quite laughter.Finally a scene where Imran and Anushka behind the door discuss a plot to murder Aarya is a funny moment.But the scene where Pankaj Kapoor transits as Harry from Haria after falling in a water pool is awesome and shows why he is treated as one of the finest actors of movie industry.Not to forget the charming buffalo GULABO.
OVER THE HEAD : Casting of Imran for the character of Matroo especially when character of Matroo is very complex and has dual shades of being a commoner as well as die hard saviour attached to it.Undoubtedly he has given his best but he is too soft a face to play such a revolutionary kind of character.Some scenes have been unduly stretched like the airplane ride of Imran with Pankaj and even the scene where Matroo goes to a big flour giant to sell villagers crop where you can see a glimpse of Ranvir Shorey( God knows what was he doing there ).
OVERALL : Although it falls short of expectations but still it is a good movie to watch in comparison to those 100 crore plus potboiler kind movies( no offences meant).Vishal Bhardwaj definitely takes you on a nice cinematic ride albeit you might experience some turbulences in the journey.
ROHIT SHARMA.
rohitreview@gmail.com
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