MIMI (2021)
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| Critic - No. 227 |
Director: Laxman Utekar
Written by: Laxman Utekar, Rohan Shankar
Produced by: Maddock Films, Jio Studios
Casts: Kriti Sanon, Pankaj Tripathi, Sai Tamhankar, Manoj Pahwa, Supriya Pathak, Evelyn Edwards, Aidan Whytock
Language: Hindi
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Music: A.R.Rahman
SYNOPSIS:
An aspiring actress in a small town, Mimi (Kriti Sanon) agrees to bear a child for a visiting couple seeking a surrogate mother for money, but her experience takes unexpected turns when the couple is informed that the child might have a problem.
REVIEW:
Surrogacy dramas are not very common in Indian cinema but ‘Mimi’ takes the idea to the masses clearly with effective situational comedies laced with a nice emotional conflict to talk about what motherhood is. No, it is not that it hits unknown or fresh territories, but the film does come out as a heartwarming watch, thanks to Laxman Utekar’s sharp direction.
Based on Marathi film ‘Mala Aai Vhhaychy!’ by Samruoddhi Porey, Mimi is skillfully adapted by Laxman Utekar. Like I said earlier, the use of situational comedy refrains the film from trapping itself from the melodrama that the premise contains. Utekar entertains but not at the cost of sacrificing substance. The problems that come from unexpected motherhood are highlighted well here. Captivating character arcs and performances elevate the somewhat predictable tale. The film seamlessly oscillates between drama and comedy, without losing its grip. I particularly loved Bhanu’s character, an innocent driver who is stuck in the tale but steps up to solve everything, even if it costs his name to be tarnished.
Pankaj Tripathi was my favourite of the brilliant cast ensemble. He effectively scores in both comic and emotional scenes. Kriti looks incredibly matured in handling her emotional scenes and shows a good transition from a playful aspiring actress to a bold mother. I really hope she gets better films that feed her acting talent. Sai Tamhankar, Manoj Pahwa, and Supriya Pathak, as Mimi’s best friend and parents respectively, elevate the drama as well in the latter half. Actors playing the American couple— Evelyn Edwards and Aidan Whytock are decent as well. Their characters are not one-dimensional (as commonly portrayed in Indian films), which is refreshing. On the technical front, A.R.Rahman’s music gels well with the theme of the film as well.
On the flip side, I felt that the film’s second half takes a sharp turn in mood as melodrama starts to engulf the realisticness of the narrative. Yes, the situational comedy does try to balance things out but towards the last 20 minutes, the film gets trapped into convenient writing as we see them inserting an adoption angle to it. The conflict never rises to its potential and ends off in a somewhat underwhelming note with an educative paragraph that talks about the statistics of children waiting for adoption. For me, it was such a disappointing ending, given the strong characters the film had. That said, ‘Mimi’ is a sincere film in all rights and it does, to a certain extent, discuss the theme of motherhood quite impactfully.
VERDICT:
Though the film takes a slight melodramatic turn in the latter half, ‘Mimi’ is a heartwarming film about motherhood, elevated by terrific performances by the cast ensemble that will make you both tear and smile at the same time.
CELLULOID METER- 3.25/5:
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