- Date of Release: 24 January 2025
- Genre: Comedy, Drama, Thriller
- Language: Hindi
- Watch On: Zee5 Premium
Hisaab Barabar
Introduction
You are introduced to the two principal characters Of Radhe (R Madhavan) and Micky Mehta (Neil Nitin Mukesh), very early on in the Hindi film Hisaab Barabar. Almost immediately, you realise that the two are leading contrasting lives – Mehta is seen partying in a high-rise hotel off the beach of Mumbai, and Radhe is more grounded, leading a humbling life as a Ticket Collector who likes to settle his accounts on the spot. The economic disparity between their contrasting lives is essentially the crux of the film, on which the drama is mounted, with the distance between them being bridged by a banking fraud that surfaces. In the past, there has been content on celluloid that has touched upon the fraudulent practices that have either hampered the working class, or been a cause of the rise of an anti-hero. Be it the Scam series featuring Harshad Mehta or Telgi, or even the recently released Telugu film Lucky Baskhar, the genre of a financial scam impacting the common man has slowly gathered momentum, while sprinkling its magic on celluloid. But one thing that worked for each of these films/shows was the level of detailing that not only exposed the prevalent scam but also succeeded in exploiting its principal characters, until they find themselves on the right side of the law (or alternately escape) or eventually meet with their tragic fate. And this is where, Hisaab Barabar falters in its writing and execution that remains sketchy, and reminiscent of the old school of filmmaking.
Story & Screenplay
One of the many issues that I had with Hisaab Barabar was its characterization. The initial montage of highlighting the life of Mehta just felt cliched and brimming on the surface. The writing failed to get into the deeper psychological realms of the character on what prompted him to misuse his position of power in the first place (remember Lucky Baskhar?). As a result, the impact of the character consistently remains low and less threatening, even during his confrontational scenes with Radhe. On the other hand, the characterization of Radhe does work partially. In his introductory scene, you see him chasing a train with oranges in his hand, until he is pulled over. Here, orange is symbolic of equality (as far as I could read), that can evenly be distributed as a whole fruit to everyone, or alternately bit by bit. Either way, Radhe does believe in settling his account, be it financially or even otherwise given his love for numbers that prompts him to take CA lessons for a handful of students from the lower stratas of the society. Radhe, the character is designed to be your stereotypical underdog – leading a peaceful life with his son, to occasionally bumping into a fellow passenger while mildly being infactuated to her, to also having to deal with an annoying neighbour and her quietly boastful husband, while having a flair for numbers. Therefore, it hardly comes as a surprise that he challenges an interest amount deficit to the bank, a meagre sum that he attributes to his principals.
The issue of an unstructured and fragmented screenplay was quite evident from its first act that hindered with my complete involvement in the film. The writing seemed confused on what it wanted to be – a serious full-throttle scam content drama like Scam 1992 (2020), or a playful one like Lucky Baskhar (2024). Both are diverse genres that need sharp writing, but the in-between conundrum of Hisaab Barabar is evident. It does venture into a comic space in a few scenes – a random TC character wishing to charge a fellow passenger, a penalty of Rs 450, only to be interrupted by Radhe to tell him that he is wrong….and that his actual amount is Rs 490. Elsewhere, a character randomly runs into a room while falling face-first in a bowl while citing ‘Raita Fail Gaya’ (we are f*cked). These jokes seem like random set-pieces as opposed to organically being a part of this world. Yet, the drama jostles into a serious category between these two scenes, even as Radhe discovers that his meagre amount (and a rich compensation) may all be a part of the larger scam, even as his friends do not wish to take the bureaucratic route.
The proceedings are mildly interesting while woefully being marred by the writers’ reluctance on delving deeper into the scam. As a result, you see Radhe explaining the entire scam on a glass wall, with flashing numbers in order for the layman to understand the context. However, the system that he is aspiring to take on, never really feels like a threat given that the viewers aren’t able to gauge the magnanimity of his opponent, thereby reducing the drama to surface-level stuff. In many ways, the remaining parts of the drama feels stagey and straight out of a Shankar film. The cliched trappings of the genre are very evident here – a common man pitted against a system who refuses to budge, cops blows including that virtually in his personal life only for ‘New India’ to rise to the occasion. Even in an important scene wherein Radhe understands the psyche of the common man in a rather tragic manner, it felt fragmented and not quite in unison with the drama.
The treatment of the drama literally reeks of a stalemate – the rich villain is shown to confront the protagonist in a police van, to the plot randomly shifting focus to the other folks involved, to Radhe having to prove his innocence after being accused of a Rs 17 scam himself. Needless to say that these incidents aren’t exactly cohesive but simply being convenient plot-points with respect to the writing that refused to go deeper in any issue, while always being content with its surface-level treatment. To think of it – Radhe climbing a table to prove his innocence because he is a ‘common man’ while a random ‘common man’ sealing the deal for the antagonist, has got to be one of the most cliched final acts that I may have watched in a while. Somewhere between, a story that was worthy to be told was buried in a sea of mediocrity that never rose to its full potential.
Dialogues, Music & Direction
The dialogues are pretty ordinary while being cliched to the point of repetition (the word ‘common man’ is repeated on loop). The music and the BGM is instantly forgettable while failing to meet with the gravitas of emotions that are in store here. The notes are as confused as the tone of the drama – the emotional outlook even with respect to Radhe dips after a point while the drama remains mid. The cinematography is adequate but also generic with its frames that aren’t groundbreaking in any way. The editing is patchy, almost being a collection of sequences that are loosely connected to each other while failing to be cohesive in its structure. Director Ashwni Dhir fails to get into the intricacies of the character or the world. His skills are majorly broad stroked with respect to the drama while not focused enough with the detailing of any kind. That in turn, hampers the emotional outlook of the drama that remains on the surface while not digging in deeper. It won’t be wrong to point out that the filmmaking here is old school and in turn results in a stalemate. The direction is just average here.
Performances
The performances are decent here by the members of the cast although none of the characters really get a character arc to boast of. Sachin Viddrrohi as Aman has a solid screen presence and he manages to shine in each of his four scenes. Talented actors like Manu Rishi Chadha, Sukumar Tudu and Rajesh Jais are literally wasted, while their characters aren’t fully allowed to blossom. Rashami Desai as Monalisa is a little annoying with her Bhojpuri accent that doesn’t always land. Kirti Kulhari as P Subhash delivers a dignified act while she remains nicely understated with her character. Neil Nitin Mukesh as Mehta is oddly off-tune with his character that never really allows you to be intimidated by his presence, neither does he feel like a threat. R Madhavan as Radhe is top notch once again, which kind of saddens me given that the writing doesn’t fully do justice to his stellar act. Maddy definitely tries to emote while hustling between the varied tones of the scenes featuring him, and if this film remains watchable then it is due to his phenomenal acting prowess.
Conclusion
Hisaab Barabar is a middling drama on a relevant subject matter that is marred by sketchy execution, and makes for an average watch. Available on Zee5 (from 24th Jan ’25 onwards).
