Maximum City, minimum effort

Sheetal

A remake of Tamil hit ‘Maanagram’, ‘Mumbaikar’ may have shifted base to the commercial capital but its Hindi adaptation lacks soul. With films like ‘Life in a… Metro’, ‘Bombay Talkies’, ‘Gully Boy’, ‘Mumbai Meri Jaan’ and several others having explored what it is like to be a Mumbaikar, the script doesn’t go forward. It’s a shoddy job, almost another ‘Bombay Velvet’!

It’s not just that the talented cast of brilliant actors was asked to lend weight to a mediocre script, but the direction ensures that important themes that loom large in the Maximum City fail to click. Labelled as an action thriller, it lacks both action and thrill. The film is predictable and for an action sequence, there are no heroics.

Vikrant Massey plays a mellowed-down version of Kabir Singh a rebel without a cause, whose love interest (Tanya Maniktala) too does not have much to contribute to the story.

‘Mumbaikar’ marks the Hindi film debut of Vijay Sethupathi and he tries hard to save the film, his comic timing and acting chops being the standout parts. His character doesn’t hog the limelight, contrary to the posters or the trailer, and that’s a pity.

Sanjay Mishra is now a professional at playing a labourer and here he portrays a migrant who gets hired as a taxi driver but even he can’t pitch in to make it a bearable watch. As gangster PKP, Ranvir Shorey shows a different side and a character that should have been explored more.

The script lacks homework and the connection is lost in the first 15 minutes itself, as every actor seems to have been given a free run to perform however they feel like. From a wrong guy being beaten up to a kidnapping gone wrong, to the two meeting again in a big city like Mumbai, the coincidences are far too many to believe.

The film is shown in such a hurried manner, connecting all the dots only at the end with a loose climax, that you do not feel for a single character.

Since it’s an OTT release, one can always stop and switch to other options.