Director: Anees Bazmee
Cast: Arjun Kapoor, Anil Kapoor, Ileana D’cruz, Athiya Shetty, Neha Sharma, Pavan Malhotra, Ratna Pathak Shah
Anees Bazmee’s directorial lies somewhere in middle – in terms of category, in terms of entertainment and in terms of performances. The film doesn’t deliver enough laughs to fit solely in the group of comedies nor does it offer any hardcore emotional moments as such to find a place in the drama genre. Instead, it goes from being partly funny in the first half to being a textbook of family relations in the second. The film is neither too entertaining nor absolutely unbearable – it has its moments, however subjective they may be. If there’s a distracting Athiya Shetty in one frame, there’s a noteworthy Ratna Pathak Shah in another.
The rather sloppy plot finds its base on the incompetence of two twin brothers – Charan and Karan (Arjun Kapoor) - in being able to admit to their families about their respective girlfriends. So the story goes something like this. Two identical twin brothers, due to a sad twist of fate, end up being cousins brought up in different countries - Charan in Punjab and Karan in London. Except for their appearances, there’s nothing identical in them. Of the two, Charan is the turban-clad docile, obedient man and Karan is the outspoken enthusiastic lad. Both have a pretty sorted love life – Karan is in love with Sweety (Ileana D’Cruz) and Charan with Nafisa (Neha Sharma) - until a family-forced rishta of Binkle (Athiya Shetty), comes into the picture. To sort things out, the two seek advice from their uncle, Kartaar Singh (Anil Kapoor). They expect him to be a savior of their complicated lives and we pray for him to be the savior of this film.
The story of Bazmee’s directorial maintains the essence of his previous ventures– a complex family that only complicates further throughout the running time and the flavor of familiar jokes – the ones you’ve heard before but can still be successful in making you giggle and at times, laugh. The idea of wealthy Punjabi families, their slangs, their supposed ‘loudness’ and family morals are as intact as you’d expect them to be. Just that, the basic premise, if at all, is too sloppy for one to be hooked throughout.
Arjun Kapoor, who appears in a double role, is slightly inconsistent. While his turban-clad half is mellowed down, his London-half is a bit over-the-top. Had he been a little unswerving in his parts, the impact of his jokes and one-liners would have been better. Of the three young women – Ileana gets the maximum screen time and tries to make the most of it, Neha gets a limited time but maintains a dependability and Athiya doesn’t even have enough substance in her character, leave alone her acting skills. While Ratna, as an affluent Punjabi senior-most sister in a family, gets it right, it’s Pavan Malhotra, an otherwise fine actor, who goes overboard in portraying the aggressive Baldev Singh.
Anil’s Kartaar is probably the only character who tries to maintain a steady run and makes you chuckle, if not laugh. Pretty ironic that even one Anil is enough to outshine two Arjuns. However, as much as he tries, his energy doesn’t reach too far and often gets mixed with that of the rest. Plus, how much can Anil do to save an otherwise predictable film?
Mubarakan, in short, is a typical ‘leave your brain home’ kind of a film that, at times, is too much of pegs and pugs served under the flag name of comedy drama. If it’s for some chuckle-worthy moments and a mildly diverting family drama, watch if you may. But be prepared to just go with the flow.
Rating: 2/5
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