Mirzya Movie (2016) – a Viewer’s Review

They say,

“First Impression is the Last Impression.”

After watching this movie, the debut film of Harshvardhan Kapoor – Anil Kapoor’s mostly not in news son, somehow reminded me of Ranbir Kapoor & Sonam Kapoor’s debut film ‘Saawariya’. Confused then read on.

Seeing the first trailer of this film, I was charmed by the screen presence of debutant Harshvardhan Kapoor and the spectacular shots captured by Rakeysh OmPrakash Mehra. My expectations for the film further rose because some of the most experienced names from the Indian film industry are associated with the film like Gulzar who has done the screenplay, Rakeysh Mehra (producer-director) & Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy (music). Plus the film is based on the famous folklore love story of Mirza-Sahiba from the Punjab side. This is the reason why I went ahead to watch this roughly 2 Hr. 10 minutes semi-musical film.

What Worked for Me:

• Some scenes especially those from the old era story have been shot brilliantly with utter clarity in the mind of the director Rakeysh Mehra.

• Harshvardhan Kapoor & Saiyami Kher: The leading pair looks good onscreen but both of them have a long way to go when it comes to acting.

• Art Malik & Anuj Choudhry: Have acted well and suited their respective roles.

• Shankar Ehsaan Loy Music: The music is fresh and the folk touch to songs in the first half is superb. Daler Mehendi has sung his heart out in the title song. Even the song Teen gavah hai Ishq k is catchy and romantic.

• Second Half of the movie: The movie catches pace in second half. {Thankfully!} As if the editor suddenly got up from sleep which he had caught while watching the first half and then being afraid of getting kicked out of the job did the editing of second half diligently. There are fewer songs in second half.

• Locations: In this film, one gets to see the unseen portion of Udaipur’s beautiful City Palace. Jodhpur city, Jaisalmer & some portions shot in Ladakh are brilliant. But why the film story is not set up in Punjab is a question that makes my mind worked up!

What Didn’t Work for Me: 

{This is going to be a long list, unlike the movie I will try and keep it quick. 🙂 }

• Casting for the movie: Apart from few actors roped in for the film all others have failed to deliver including the leading pair. Om Puri is simply wasted. Even the child actors in the film the girl has been shown big and boy small still they are in the same class!

• Audience pleads let there be ‘Light’: Many scenes of the movie are shot in dark or poor lighting leaving audience clueless of what’s happening. Try and remember Saawariya you would definitely be able to co-relate both films in this aspect.

• The direction of Rakeysh Mehra by and large disappoints a viewer like me who is otherwise a big fan of his films like Rang De Basanti & Bhaag Milkha Bhaag. There is no clarity while executing the present day story. Love gets reduced to a lusty affair in the film and the songs.

• The first half of the movie: Though in the film a lot of horses have been shown but the first half of the movie is snail paced. Songs coming after almost every scene makes the first half of the film boring and annoys the viewer.

• Screenplay: I am not even a minuscule to comment on Gulzar Sahab’s work but for sure this is not one of his best works or even closer to his best works. The screenplay could have been drafted in a far better way since the basic plot of Mirza-Sahiba love story hasn’t been much used in Hindi movies till date. There are several loop ends in the story-line.

• The styling of actors is not up to the mark. Saiyami’s character in the old story looks more like Cleopatra than Sahiba. While Harshvarshan Kapoor isn’t really looking like a warrior.

Story:

The film is based on the famous love story of Mirza-Sahiban from Punjab. Two friends live in Jodhpur and study in the same class. One incident separates them and after many years they meet in the form of grown-ups. The boy who was formerly known as Mukesh is now called as Aadil Mirza (Harshvarshan Kapoor) who manages the horse stud farm of the royal family. The grown up girl (Saiyami) is all set to marry the Prince (Anuj) when she discovers that Aadil is her long lost school friend. They fell in love but their love comes into the notice of Art Malik, who is the father of Saiyami in the film. He persuades her to marry the Prince but on the day of her wedding, she elopes with Aadil. The couple gets caught but since the lady love of Mirza had emptied his gun before, he gets killed in the firing. The lady also eats poison and dies in the arm of her lover to make their love story immortal!

Verdict:

I fail to understand  why the producers of the film thought of making a semi-musical film and then introducing almost all new/lesser known actors in the film? The film clearly disappoints the viewer in many aspects like acting, directing, screenplay, the story has been superficially dealt and the basic plot has not been researched well. Mirzya is a lusty affair and not a love story!

The film is slow in the first half but only for the second half I will give the rating of the film 3/5 stars.

If only you are a die hard fan of musical films then you can go and watch the film in a theater. Would personally like to miss this movie! Lastly, wishing debutants Harshvardhan Kapoor & Saiyami Kher all the best for future projects.

Feature Image Source: http://www.trendinfo.in/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/mirzya-movie-poster.jpg