Well, sarcasm and black humor at its best. That’s what I feel about Vishal Bharadwaj’s new outing in the box office “Matru Ki Bijlee Ka Mandola”. Typical Vishal Bharadwaj feel is there and the fun filled approach on present industrial and political situation is something that should definitely be appreciated. Mr Bharadwaj has managed to squeeze out the best out of his actors and the package is totally entertaining in a creative level.
The story happens in Mandola village. A wealthy industrialist Harry Mandola who loves getting drunk decides to make his land a special economic zone with the help of politician Chaudhari Devi. Mandola who dreams of making his land an industrial one with all the latest facilities and all decides to move against the people by refusing all their demands. Matru his assistant who learned LLB from Delhi University dreams about a revolution of giving importance to agriculture and all decides to lead the village people against Mandola and Chaudhari Devi. Mandola’s daughter Bijlee understands the intention of Matru and joins hands with him. Certain unfortunate incidents derail the dream of Matru. The events happening after these situations which make Mr. Mandola realize the dark intentions of the politicians and how he gets out of the trap is the soul of this movie.
The biggest plus of this fun filled entertainer is indeed its sarcastic treatment. The character modeling done by Mr Bharadwaj is really smart. Just by narrating an event in a village in a non-conventional way, he makes a strong statement against the social setup in our country. The fun elements such as Mandola’s illusions of seeing a pink buffalo and how it is presented in the climax, his night rides with Matru, the plane sequence, Anushka’s drunkard entry in the wedding etc are kind of waakda, but still the presentation makes those scenes really impressive.
On screen, star of the show is none other than Mr Pankaj Kapoor. The way he begs for alcohol, the way he turns strict, his scared face while the buffalo illusion happens and many many scenes are there for us to rewind and laugh. As LLB holder Imran was a bit less from what we will expect, but still he managed to do his role smartly. His combo scenes with Pankaj Kapoor were really cool. Anushka continues her hot form in this one too and the actress brings a lot of energy to the screen with her bubbly and sparkling screen presence and arrogant dialog delivery. Shabana Asmi as Chaudhari Devi and Arya Babbar as Baadal were also really cool in their roles.
In the making, it is indeed a Vishal Bharadwaj film with no gimmicks. Every character has the rough edges and the typical raw treatment is also visible throughout the film. Screenplay is nicely paced and packaged. The simple treatment of a serious subject may annoy some people for sure, but fortunately I am not in that list. Cinematography is in sync with the feel and the cuts are cool. Decent VFX and the music of VB is a bit hatke as always.
On the whole Matru Ki Bijlee Ka Mandola is an original theme that won’t have any resemblance with any movies. With a smart fun filled treatment, the value for you money is guaranteed. I am giving this movie a 4/5 with a bright smile. It’s a waakda fun ride.
Green: Recommended Content
Orange: The In-Between Ones
Red: Not Recommended
