Mubarakan Movie Review

There’s nothing like a good comedy film, something the Hindi audience hasn’t been treated to in a very long time. Director Anees Bazmee’s track record of wholesome family entertainers is excellent with films like ‘Welcome’, ‘No Entry’ and ‘Singh Is Kinng’ to his credit. He returns with one of his favourite actors Anil Kapoor in a film titled ‘Mubarakan’ also starring Arjun Kapoor, Ileana D’Cruz and Athiya Shetty. The big question: does Bazmee deliver?

Story: ‘Mubarakan’ is a story of twin brothers; Karan and Charan, one is based in London while the other is from Punjab. Karan is head over heels in love with Sweety (Ileana) and Charan has a soft corner in his heart for Nafisa (Neha Sharma). Their families are unaware of their relationship. Enter Jitto (Ratna Pathak) who sets up Charan’s marriage with Binkle (Athiya), daughter of the rich Mr Sandhu (Rahul Dev). Charan seeks uncle Kartar’s (Anil Kapoor) help to solve his love-problem. The rest of the film is about how the two brothers, along with their uncle Kartar solve their problems, confusion and all the madness that surrounds the family.

Review: Mubarakan is one of those films that entertains from start to finish, a ‘paisa vasool’ entertainer of a dysfunctional Punjabi family. It doesn’t get into slapstick zone, the funny scenes haven’t been forced into the screenplay to make the audience laugh. Instead, what we get is a bunch of actors who excel with their comic timing and situations that will have the audience in splits. The first half is excellent, Anees Bazmee is in top-form, as good as he was in films like ‘Welcome’ and ‘No Entry’. Things begin to slow down in the second half and as the drama takes over from the comedy, the film gets more predictable. But ‘Mubarakan’ does end well.

Moving on to the performances, Mubarkan is Arjun Kapoor’s best performance since his debut film ‘Ishaqzaade’. He excels as Charan, the Punjabi character. What stands out is the amount of shared screen-time that both characters have. It would’ve been incredibly difficult for one actor to make two characters look completely different. Arjun succeeds and how. Anil Kapoor is fantastic in Mubarakan. His comic timing and expressions add tremendous value to the film. Pavan Malhotra is brilliant. Ileana D’Cruz looks stunning and acts well. Athiya Shetty has less screen time, she is okay. Neha Sharma has a small role, she does well. Ratna Pathak is excellent.

The music of the film is a mixed bag. ‘Hawa Hawa’ is the best song in the album and it’s the only song that stays with you after the closing credits. Amar Mohile’s background score is good. The cinematography and production design are top notch, something that wasn’t visible in the promos of the film.

Overall, ‘Mubarakan’ is one of the most entertaining films of the year so far. A film that should be watched and enjoyed with the entire family. It has scenes that you recall and laugh, after the film has ended. It’s films that ‘Mubarakan’ that most of the Hindi film audience has grown up watching and it’s these kind of films that have, quite unfortunately, been missing on the silver screen. If you love clean entertainers, ‘Mubarakan’ is the film to watch this weekend.

Rating:

Positives:

• Anees Bazmee’s direction
• Clean family entertainer
• Excellent first half
• Performances by Arjun Kapoor, Anil Kapoor and the rest of the supporting cast.

Negatives:

• Second half weaker as compared to first.