Director -Homi Adjania
Writers- Bhavesh Mandalia, Gaurav Shukla, Vinay Chhawall, Sara Bodinar
Cast- Irrfan Khan, Radhika Madan, Deepak Dobriyal, Kareena Kapoor, Dimple Kapadia, Ranvir Shorey, Pankaj Tripathi
High expectations sometimes lead to most terrible heartbreaks and alas that happens so often with cinema lovers. Such heartbreaks also remind us that a good film is an outcome of so many aspects coming together, good writing , direction , and good performances being the three most primary. If either of them fails, the result is bound to suffer , no matter how good the rest of the things are.
In a nutshell :
Angrezi Medium is supposedly a light ,humorous story with some blend of emotions about a father who turns his life upside down to fulfil his daughter’s dream of studying in a London University. Disappointingly ,it turns out to be a very average film that remains interesting only due to its cast and their performances, is able to provide tepid humour with few laughs but fails to impress or connect emotionally.
Plot:
Champaklal ( Irrfan) is simple sweet shop owner in Udaipur and a doting single father to Tarika( Radhika) whose dream into to be able to study in London. While she studies hard and almost achieves her much sought after ambition , a fiasco by her father puts her admission in doldrums.But he wows nevertheless to get her what she wants.And then begins their adventure( literally) and our misadventure wherein they tick all the boxes of implausible.
Having been misguided by an NRI friend Babloo ( Ranvir Shorey) they land in London, behave in the most stupid manner, get deported back, enter again through illegal means , barge into police again ( literally), keep frolicking around the town,try to buy a university seat in an obnoxious amount, receive money through hawala and what not. Champak is accompanied by his cousin Gopi( Deepak Dobriyal) and on their roller coaster ride , they meet many like Naina, a police officer ( Kareena), her mother ( Dimple), a Dubai based agent( Pankaj Tripathi).All this while ,Tarika remains in London, waiting for admission to get through , completely oblivious to their adventures and she’s on a trip of her own , enjoying her new found freedom and lifestyle and behaving badly with her father while she’s not on her part time job !
What all this mumbo jumbo leads to, is what comprises the climax and it is “ supposed” to have some message that is as contrived as the situations in the story.
Analysis:
The first half is slow but breezy and while we wait patiently for the build up, we enjoy Irrfan’s presence and the humour he brings in.The small town set up is cute and the detailing of locations , sets and costumes is impressive.
The second half is better in the sense that it picks up pace and we see many more actors joining the fray and get to enjoy Deepak Dobriyal in his meatiest role till date.But what comes in as flip side are the incredulous twists.
The good – Humour that can be credited to the bankable performances of the cast and some laugh out moments.
The bad – Contrived situations that seem incredible.The characters absolutely fail to connect emotionally. The screenplay is quite slow and many scenes seem to stretch beyond the time we could enjoy the actors and the humour they had.
The film was written by a set of four writers who have done a pretty shoddy job I would say.The run time could have been lessened.
This is undoubtedly Homi Adjania’s most disappointing film till date.
With the kind of cast he had , the film should have been a laugh riot.
Performances:
The actors and their performances are the only things that kept us going.
IRRFAN , as always gives an effortless performance as the simple loving and naive man. His expressions and trade mark wry humour are always a pleasure.
DEEPAK DOBRIYAL pitches in a good performance often bringing in the major chunk of laugh out aloud moments.
Together , they both hold fort and could be reasons enough to watch this film.
RADHIKA MADAN , I am afraid fails to make a mark. Having seen her in Vishal Bhardwaj’ s Patakha, she is capable of more than what this role offered her.
KAREENA , DIMPLE, PANKAJ TRIPATHI, RANVIR SHOREY all looked and played well in their small roles.
Recommendation :
While the film is a good watch for Irrfan and Deepak Dobriyal Fans , for others ,it could be a one time watch depending upon your palate for cinema. If you can relish a slow film with good performances that offers mild humour , you could probably opt for this one.
Score 6 on 10