'Mr & Mrs Mahi': Janhvi Kapoor and Rajkummar Rao deliver in this tale of ambition and redemption

Gulf News

There’s a lot packed into Rajkummar Rao and Janhvi Kapoor’s benign slice-of-life drama ‘Mr & Mrs Mahi’. On the surface, it’s a rallying cry of a young man, Mahendra, who suffers from severe low self-esteem and is looking for respect/redemption from his toxic father and the world around him.  Read the full story here: https://gulfnews.com/entertainment/bollywood/film-review-mr--mrs-mahi-starring-janhvi-kapoor-and-rajkummar-rao-is-a-serviceable-tale-of-ambition-and-redemption-1.1717165468889  Subscribe to Gulf News on YouTube and watch more of our videos: https://www.youtube.com/user/GulfNewsTV  See more videos at https://gulfnews.com/videos Read more Gulf News stories here: https://bit.ly/2HLJ2km  #UAEnews #India #Mr&MrsMahi

Transcript

00:00This may not be as exciting as an IPL final, but it has its good moments.

00:06Mr. & Mrs. Mahi, starring Janhvi Kapoor and Rajkumar Rao, is the latest Bollywood movie

00:12that's released in the UAE cinemas. This may not be as exciting as an IPL final,

00:16but it has its good moments. We are talking about Janhvi Kapoor and Rajkumar's new movie

00:21called Mr. & Mrs. Mahi. This is a new Bollywood film directed by Sharan Sharma.

00:26We have Rajkumar Rao, who plays Mahendra, who is an aspiring cricketer. He comes from the state

00:32of Rajasthan. He wants to represent his state in the country level cricket match, but then he fails

00:38and his overbearing and toxic father, played by Kumud Mishra, convinces him to join his family

00:44business. He is very unhappy, but his life takes a different spin when he meets Janhvi Kapoor's

00:50character, who plays Mahima. She is also known as Mahi. So, Mr. & Mrs. Mahi form this unique

00:56partnership, where they decide to pursue cricket. Apparently, as a kid she wanted to be a cricketer,

01:02but her passive-aggressive father convinced her that following medicine is a great idea.

01:07She relents, she is happy, but then it's her husband Mahendra who convinces her that it's

01:12not up to your parents to chart your dreams, it's up to you to make those life choices.

01:16There are several interesting themes that are explored in this drama. We have a guy who

01:20suffers from real low self-esteem. He then looks to his wife, turns to be her cheerleader,

01:26looking for respect from the outside world and from her, without realizing that somewhere the

01:30respect has to come from within. So, this movie does deal with a lot of dynamics between even

01:35parents and children, how Indian overbearing parents often don't know what is best for their

01:40kids etc. There are several complex themes that are addressed in this movie. The problem is that

01:46it is all packed into one and a half hours or two hours film, so it kind of gets lost in

01:51translation. There's also this interesting dynamic, where Rajkumar Rao's character gets

01:56jealous of Janhvi Kapoor's rising success. She becomes a cricketer, whereas he feels that he's

02:01not being credited enough despite being her coach, despite giving her life direction and renewed

02:06purpose. All of those issues on the surface are dealt with nicely, but there is no depth to it

02:14and that's where the film fails. When it comes to performances, Rajkumar Rao and Janhvi Kapoor

02:19are on a very strong wicket. They give it their all, they put their best foot forward. In the

02:24beginning, the chemistry isn't very apparent, but as the movie grows along, the pair grows on us.

02:29But the sad part about it, although it is powered by very good performances, even from Kumud Mishra,

02:34who plays a very overbearing Indian dad or Zareena Wahab, who plays Rajkumar Rao's very

02:40understanding mother, who gives him a crash course on adulting, I feel that all these characters are

02:45sometimes a bit lost and you get a bit bored. Somewhere along the way, you feel the conflicts

02:51in the film are very repetitive. I mean, we have seen this theme of a jealous husband of, you know,

02:58a husband who's extremely jealous of a very successful wife. We have seen that in movies

03:02like Abhiman. So, you feel that it's just being forced into it, it's not very convincing. But

03:06when it comes to performances, I think that's the strong point of this film.

03:10This movie may lag in between and you may find yourself checking your phone from time to time,

03:15but I think the heart is in its right place. So, therefore, you go along with the ride.

03:20I've gone with 2.5 out of 5. For our full review, you can always go to gulfnews.com.

03:25And do tell us what you think of the movie.

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