'Mimi' Movie Review: More than a bit problematic, no?

MimiOn Netflix and Jio CinemaDir Laxman UtekarCast Kriti Sanon Pankaj TripathiRating Yes therersquos such a thing as a surefire concoction of a middleclass or smalltown setting dealing with big issues topped up with humour item songs and a topshelf cast mdash giving all of it the feel of a relatively lowbudget topnotch fullon Bollywood entertainer stillTo quote examples from Dinesh Vijanrsquos own productions Stree a horrorcomedy on womenrsquos emancipation Made in China on jugaad entrepreneurship Hindi Medium on Right to Education Act Luka Chuppi on livein relationshipshellip As you can tell many work Few donrsquotWhatrsquos possibly inexcusable is to simply lay an egg on the very subject a film is on Irsquom afraid that appears the case with Mimi mdash about surrogacy as a form of assisted reproduction What do I really know about this subject Practically nothingWhat do I learn from this movie apparently set in 2013 based on a Marathi movie from 2010 Mala Aai Vhaychay about a foreignerwhite couple that hires an Indian wombwoman to bear their child Well to start with a quick Google search will tell you more That this practice itself involving foreigners that the film is based on has been bannedillegal in India since 2015Also Read Laxman Utekar Feel hurt because we worked hard on filmFurthermore this firangi couple threatens legal action against the said Indian woman to seek custody of the child later What had happened in between These foreigners had run away Wait you can just do that Now itrsquos beyond the purview of general entertainment to accurately guess how all of this could pan out in real life So letrsquos just look at the filmYoung Kriti Sanon from the YouTubeReel generation plays the smalltown Rajasthani girl renting her womb in exchange for money mdash so she can use that to become a Bollywood star Pankaj Tripathirsquos character draws her into this surrogacy scheme He plays the taxi driver to the gora couple that flees on being told that the unborn offspring shows chances of Down syndromeWhat do they do next The girlrsquos parents are naturally conservative The driver poses as husband Parents nearly faint at the thought of him being Muslim ldquoMusalman hai Musalman hairdquo as if someone died Itrsquos not like the community hasnrsquot already been stereotypedghettoised all through the film mdash the Muslim character we see is either a maulvi or a tailor going janaab kabab nawab in a town where everybody else speaks rustic RajasthaniThe girlrsquos parents Manoj Pahwa Supriya Pathak turn out to be immensely compassionate otherwise The only time theyrsquove freaked out is about their unmarried daughter having borne a child from a man from another faith They seem more than okay with her having rented her womb instead Maybe this is rooted in reality Surely the writersfilmmakers can do better than normalising being Muslim as such a devastating racial slur Place a line to hinge it Also Read Kriti Sanon celebrates her birthday with a special screening of Mimi Tripathirsquos character isnrsquot Muslim after all Heave a sigh of relief And this film isnrsquot about that as much as itrsquos about pregnancy Period The girl looks like in her third trimester Doctors suggest abortion The option exists Itrsquos unthinkable for the young girl though For whatrsquos abortion but genuine homicide Murder That is the filmrsquos unquestioned argument hammered in right there No counterpointHow far back this sort of a thought can take us mdash propagated for millions of Indians even if merely watching a movie mdash is kinda scary for those yet unborn To be fair this picture is supposed to be a comedy Theyrsquove stitched the best scenes into the trailer A warped worldview is really what lies beneathEven more than that itrsquos the plot after the premise that derails so badly with the writers having painted themselves into a corner spinning a neverending yarn yoursquod casually yawn mdash if not for calling out whatrsquos being said or shown Frankly wersquove reached a point that Irsquom willing to patiently watch Pankaj Tripathi no matter what he does on screen To employ a talent like that at the height of his game for a film like this playing such a onedimensional character seems criminal to meAnd therersquos AR Rahman on the soundtrack Hersquos an era not just a musician Which means will have to listen to this score a few times over which is the only way to appreciate his music Hopefully the memory of this picture doesnrsquot haunt muchAlso Read Kriti Sanons Mimi releases four days earlier amid online leak reports

'Mimi' Movie Review: More than a bit problematic, no?

Mimi
On: Netflix and Jio Cinema
Dir: Laxman Utekar
Cast: Kriti Sanon, Pankaj Tripathi
Rating: *

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Home / Entertainment / Bollywood News / Article / 'Mimi' Movie Review: More than a bit problematic, no?

'Mimi' Movie Review: More than a bit problematic, no?

MimiOn: Netflix and Jio CinemaDir: Laxman UtekarCast: Kriti Sanon, Pankaj TripathiRating: *

Trending Stories

Latest Photos

Latest Videos

Latest Web Stories

Mid-Day Fast

Mimi
On: Netflix and Jio Cinema
Dir: Laxman Utekar
Cast: Kriti Sanon, Pankaj Tripathi
Rating: *