Sholay, Don, A Wednesday, Sarfarosh and…
MISSION MANGAL
DIRECTED BY –
JAGAN SHAKTI
CAST- AKSHAY
KUMAR, VIDYA BALAN, SONAKSHI SINHA, TAPSEE PANNU, SHARMAN JOSHI, VIKRAM GOKHALE
AND OTHERS
So what do Sholay, Don, A Wednesday, Sarfarosh and this
movie have in common? Just like all these movies Mission Mangal has the
tightest script I have seen in a Bollywood movie in a long time. Now am not
saying the movie is an all time classic like Sholay or Don, but from my
perspective, these are the few Bollywood movies which have a script with just the
right amount of everything they need to make them work. The movie is as long as
it needs to be without feeling too long or too rushed, there is hardly a moment
wasted here or there to indulge the directors personal fetishes (looking at you
Anurag Kashyap and Ram Gopal Verma), all the dialogue including the humor have
a point (staring the fuck at the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe accusingly)
and it has the right amount of drama as and where it needs to. Look at that
list of movies- two of them were written by the greatest script writers ever-
Salim Javed (Sholay and Don), all the others including Mission Mangal were
written by their directors. This just goes to show that when a director makes a
movie based on a story he has written, it usually flows much better because he
knows the ins and outs of it all.
While looking at the credits of any Hindi movie, am very much
interested in who wrote or directed it, because based on that I kind of know
what to expect. When I saw experienced director R Balki (Cheeni Kam, Pa,
Padman) named as one of the writers, I was glad that at least we'll get a
decent movie. But I was in for a pleasant surprise when the movie surpassed my
expectations. I went in looking for a Uri like patriotic drama (I can enjoy
that), with bad Bollywood level CGI and some unnecessary dramatic moments. Well it almost had none of it. There were no deshbhakti speeches, not more than were
necessary to get you involved in the film and also the unnecessary melodrama was just
not there. The movie forgoes cliche's and gives its characters actual depth thus making them more than cutouts.
For example the movie begins with us in Vidya Balan’s home showing her doing the
working mom routine – cooking breakfast, chiding her husband,
ironing her saree etc. Sanjay Kapoor plays her typical Indian male husband –
strict with his kids, too lazy to get up and do house hold work, watching CNBC
early in the morning etc. Now usually with movies like these, the family
especially the husband would have been used to create drama regarding
emancipation of women, orthodoxy etc. however that is never the case. Initially
though Sanjay Kapoor’s character might feel like a typical strict Bollywood
dad, the movie gives him time to shine as well. Yes you heard that right, the
movie gives Sanjay Kapoor time to shine and makes his little arc about learning
to loosen up important to the overall fucking story of India's Mars Mission.
The movie introduces a plethora of characters but manages to convey their backstories and motivations without letting their little stories become bigger
than the main one. All the while making subtle points about womens rights,
religious bias, orthodox point of views, religion, science, patriotism, spirit
of discovery, bureaucracy etc. seriously I can keep going on and on about how
really good the script is. The movie even ties up all the arcs perfectly, none…I
mean not even one single line is uttered which does not have a resolution later
on in the movie. Even a joke about ordering one by two tea is addressed and
used brilliantly two scenes later. The movie must also be credited with
respecting the scientific lingo and technical jargon perfectly. Usually in
movies (Hollywood or any other) either the science talk is way too deep or too superficial, but just like good science based movies like The Martian or
Interstellar, this one simplifies it to a level that anyone with general
intelligence can understand it but without treating us like simpletons. This crash course in physics is then used perfectly to create the
thrilling moments when in spite of knowing that India did succeed in its Mars
Orbiter Mission.
However a great
script is nothing without a good cast to perform it. And this is the perfect
cast- every one really does justice to their character. Akshay Kumar is like Will Smith at this point. There is just some
charisma to him that you are naturally drawn to him. Of all
his peers, especially the Khans(with exception of Saif oddly, who is
doing great in Sacred Games), he is surprisingly the one doing the most
experimentation from Masala movies to sports movies, historical epics and these 'based on a true story socially conscious' movies as of late. Here he plays a
cheeky, sarcastic, yet silently optimistic genius…I mean I almost want him to
play Tony Stark at this point that’s how well he portrays this role. However, his measured performance allows him to be an influential presence without overshadowing anyone because the script does not make him the one hero of the story
fighting against the system or whatever (looking the fuck at you 3 idiots).
Just like actual space missions, he is one of the many characters and it can be
said that other than his presence, the real fulcrum of the story has to be
Vidya Balan. There is no doubt that she is a phenomenal actor but here she
brings in her star power charm as well. She is perhaps the most convincingly
genuine ‘cool’ mom I have ever seen in a Bollywood movie before. Her coolness
comes not only from the script but the soothing yet strong presence she brings
on screen. She casually orders two beers for her and her husband while wearing
a saree and searching for their daughter in a disco with none of it looking too unreal. All the rest of the cast –including Dalip Tahil- whose presence always
means that he’ll be playing a villain, give measured performances. They stop
two steps short of becoming caricatures and become well rounded characters.
The movie based on India’s Mars mission had actually no
reason being this engaging, funny, charming and having this much depth. It
covers all points from the need for a space program, to the politics behind it
and also the technical challenges surrounding it. It explores contemporary
Indian society through its characters but doesn’t overdo it. It also does not
dramatize the reality too much and gives credit to the real stars at the end –
the scientists of the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) and even if you
are not an overtly patriotic Indian these days (like me) it will still bring
sense of pride to your heart watching how this almost impossible challenge was
accomplished. The lines at the end culled from Narendra Modi’s speech are the cherry
on the top. Just like its titular Mars mission the movie is well executed without wasting an inch of resource and in perfect time (just 2 hours to convey stories of about 7 characters and the main story). This has to be my favourite Bollywood movie since Andhadhun (2018).
It’s probably the best movie I have seen this year yet. Absolutely must watch.
DO NOT MISS THIS AT ANY COST.
Because the movie is SUPPERIFIC!!
PS-Now
that you are interested in Space programs after hearing about this movie, try
reading about the mysterious death of the father of our space program- Dr.
Vikram Sarabhai.
