Rajkummar Rao and Janhvi Kapoor starrer Mr. & Mrs. Mahi finally released in theaters this Friday. Check out our review to find out more about the movie.

Story:

Mahendra Agarwal (Rajkummar Rao) dreams of joining the Indian cricket team but fails. His father pushes him to run the family business instead. Later, his parents arrange his marriage to Mahima (Janhvi Kapoor), a doctor. Mahendra is surprised to learn that Mahima loves cricket too. He hopes to achieve his dream with her support. Will Mahima support his wish and leave her job? How will their parents react? What will ultimately happen? Find it out in the movie.

Plus Points:

Rajkummar Rao once again proves why he is one of the finest actors around. His portrayal of a character experiencing hope, distress, failure, and ambition is truly remarkable.

Janhvi Kapoor looks decent on screen, and her dedication to learning cricket is evident in her performance.

Other actors, such as Kumud Mishra, who plays Mahendra’s father, and Rajesh Sharma as the coach, deliver commendable performances in their roles.

Minus Points:

While effective promotion is crucial for films like this, the trailer inadvertently revealed too much, robbing the big screen experience of its surprise factor. It’s like opening a gift only to find out you already know what’s inside.

The plot suffers from predictability, crying out for unexpected twists and turns to inject vitality into the storyline. Without these surprises, the viewing experience feels more like enduring a slow-paced match on a rainy day, testing the patience of even the most fervent cricket fans. Instead of delivering the adrenaline rush of a T20 match, the film unfolds at the leisurely pace of a test match, stretching the audience’s endurance to its limits.

The practice scenes and matches fail to ignite genuine excitement, blurring the lines between a cricket match and a family drama. This confusion persists throughout the unnecessarily protracted runtime, transforming the experience into a marathon rather than a sprint.

While the songs offer a brief reprieve, the lackluster background score fails to amplify the film’s emotional beats. Furthermore, the presence of numerous errors throughout the production only adds to the list of shortcomings.

Technical Aspects:

While the concept holds promise, its execution falls short. A tighter screenplay by Sharan Sharma could have redeemed the film, but missed opportunities abound.

John Stewart Eduri’s score misses the mark in elevating key moments, while Anay Goswamy’s cinematography fails to capture the dynamism required for a sports drama.

Nitin Baid’s editing feels sluggish, further hindering the film’s momentum. Nonetheless, the production values manage to scrape by with a passing grade.

Verdict:

On the whole, Mr. & Mrs. Mahi falls flat, neither delivering the excitement of a sports drama nor the warmth of a family tale. Instead, it stretches like an overlong short film, testing the patience of viewers. While Rajkummar Rao shines, the rest of the film feels like a tedious endurance test. Skip it and catch the upcoming T20 World Cup 2024 for real excitement.

123telugu.com Rating: 2.25/5

Reviewed by 123telugu Team

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Rathna is introduced to the viewer just as he is making huge leaps in the world of crime and power. Here, Chaitanya builds Rathna as a man with a clean slate who is writing his destiny. However, the sudden revelation of a backstory brought up in the second half feels disingenuous. That one brief sequence, providing context for Rathna’s childhood, belies everything we have learned about Rathna until then. Gangs of Godavari has many such over-reaching strides that derail the film. Usually, such films are saved by a strong central performance. However, Vishwak Sen, playing Lankala Rathna, never attempts to scratch beyond the surface. He excels in conventionally heroic moments but is far too content with merely providing a swaggy outline to Rathna. If there’s anything more existential about Rathna, we never get to know.

Such a hasty attempt to tell a big-scale story also leads to multiple missteps in the film’s tonality. The character of Doraswami (an impressive Goparaju Ramana) dwindles between appearing like a strong adversary and a comically dim-witted rival. Mala’s character, after a colourful intro, moves in and out of the narrative at the makers’ convenience, being called in to play whenever Rathna needs a helping hand. (Anjali, despite her sincere performance, is wasted in this miniscule role.)

In one of the more interesting stretches of the film, Rathna uses his cunning and shrewd thinking to outwit his adversaries. Considering the introduction sequence where Rathna is showcased as a macho, physically menacing man, these moments work in a pleasantly subversive manner, as Rathna revels in his own lack of moral compass. However, we soon return to the familiar visuals of a daredevil hero figure cutting limbs and slitting throats to protect his family. There are also a few stylistic touches sprinkled around to keep things interesting, like the visuals suddenly turning black-and-white when Rathna explains the workings of Doraswami to his subordinate.

Krishna Chaitanya does succeed partially in building the multiple action set pieces, lending them some adrenaline. Yet, there is little originality at play here, and the excessive slo-mo shots and deafening music do little to convince us otherwise. Even the dramatic scenes are bombarded with a heavy background score, often overpowering the events on screen. At one point in the second half, as Rathna waits at a hospital for a beloved to regain senses, a small board in the background reads, ‘Noise Annoys.’ I couldn’t help but chuckle at the irony, while wishing that director Krishna Chaitanya also pondered that scenario as long as I did. Maybe then he would have realised the irony of it, and Gangs of Godavari would at least have been a slightly quieter film.

Film: Gangs of Godavari

Cast: Vishwak Sen, Neha Sshetty, Anjali, Nasser, Goparaju Ramana

Director: Krishna Chaitanya

Rating: 2/5 stars

Film Critic Tony Toscano joined us with movie reviews for the weekend.

After being delayed by the actor’s strike and writer’s strike, “Billy the Kid ” returns to MGM+. The series focuses on Billy the Kid and his early days as a cowboy and gunslinger in the American frontier, to his pivotal role in the Lincoln County War and beyond. Tony says, “Billy the Kid is a western that shares the legend and is not about historical accuracy, it’s simply a love letter to the old fashioned TV western. He gives it a B and it’s rated TV-MA.

In selected theaters is the biographical drama “Sight”. The inspiring true story of Ming Wang, an impoverished Chinese prodigy who flees Communist China to become a pioneering eye surgeon in America. When tasked with restoring the sight of an orphan who was blinded by her step mother, he must confront the trauma of his own violent youth. Tony says, “One of the most inspiring films this year, “Sight” offers a story of overcoming odds, commitment and victory.” He gives it an “A” and it’s rated PG-13.

Also in theaters is the comedy / drama “Ezra.” “Ezra” follows Max and Jenna struggling to co-parent their autistic son Ezra. When forced to confront difficult decisions about his future, Max takes Ezra on a cross-country road trip that changes both their lives. Tony says, “Ezra is a must see film that offers a comedic and tenderhearted approach to the subject of autism. The film is poignantly funny all the while showing us the struggles of parenting a child on the spectrum.” He gives it an A and it’s rated R.

You can learn more at screenchatter.com.