102 Not Out
RATING
Introduction
Amitabh Bachchan and Rishi Kapoor have worked together five times – Kabhi Kabhi , Amar Akbar Anthony(one of my favourites), Naseeb, Coolie and lastly Ajooba. And post that it took Bollywood 27 long years to get them back together on the silver screen with this week’s release, 102 Not Out. The curiosity was sky high, did their magic rework, lets find out.
Story & Screenplay
102 Not Out follows the story of a 102 year old father and his 75 year old son. This is all you need to know before watching this movie. The story, based on a Gujarati play by the same name, is a good one though slightly in the mould of Baghban. Having said that, it is breezy, frothy and light and never gets heavy or preachy. The screenplay is also well paced and very well penned. The dialogues are funny in many places but also leave you teary eyed at times. The music is a bit of a weak link here and this movie perhaps could have done without any songs. Director Umesh Shukla, best known for OMG, and who last directed the dud ‘All is Well’, is in fine form here although his work was eased out a bit by the script and some amazing performances.
Performances
Jimit Trivedi, who was last seen in the Gujarati Superhit ‘Gujjubhai- Most Wanted’ is hilarious here too but also wishes out some heart warming emotions. Rishi Kapoor the stalwart is again excellent as Babu and his is the character that has an arc. And then there is Amitabh Bachchan who is a legend and as usual is in top form. His character is a distant cousin of Bashkor Banerjee in Piku and shares some of the warmest moments with Rishi Kapoor. Amazing how two brilliant actors play off each other.
Conclusion
All in all, 102 Not Out is a film that makes you laugh till you tired but also makes you weep a bit. More importantly this reunites, Mr Bachchan and Rishi Kapoor. This movie comes with my highest recommendation, a movie for all ages. PS : Coincidently, its run time too is 102 minutes.