Mimi
RATING
Introduction
The biggest surprise of the week is here! Mimi which was supposed to release only on Friday has suddenly had a Monday release. The decision came in soon after the movie was leaked early on Monday, forcing the OTT giant to take this decision. Here I would like to urge the readers to abstain for piracy and watch the content only on official streaming platforms. A lot of hard work goes into making films and if we continue to watch films by illegally downloading them, then you aren’t doing justice to the entire crew. So lets try and avoid piracy. And with that I have finished watching Mimi on Netflix, its trailer looked promising, was it able to ‘deliver’ on what it had promised, lets find out.
Story & Screenplay
Mimi follows the story of an American Couple who opt for surrogacy. Enter Mimi an aspiring actor who agrees to be part of the procedure. Without revealing too much of the story or its crucial plot points I can safely say that the story is sweet, cute and will leave a smile on your face. I was skeptical considering the usual films where the grip on the narrative is lost. However, I was pleasantly surprised with the screenplay. There is this likable quality and innocence to it right from the first scene. The first half is breezy and indeed a joyride. The comic elements definitely will make you smile in what turned out to be a supremely engaging screenplay. The drama gets a little more serious in the second hour and to be honest it was the need of the hour to considering the nature of the topic and the seriousness of it post a remarkable twist at the halfway mark. The twists continue through the second hour as well although there are plenty of cliched moments and twists which were predictable. But here specifically I did not mind it at all. Where the film falters only slightly is in its final act which seemed too convenient for me. And the melodrama quotient was on the higher side as well, opposed to the rest of the second half which wasn’t as dramatic. The conflicts get resolved far too easily in the last 10 minutes which was a bit far fetched. But overall a breezy and well written screenplay that will make you laugh and cry yet leave a smile on your face.
Dialogues, Music & Direction
The dialogues filled with excellent one-liners will keep you engaged throughout. And this could so easily have been a double meaning comedy, instead the jokes are clean and can be watched with the entire family. The BGM is good but the soundtrack by AR Rahman is excellent, some of the songs I really enjoyed and I didn’t mind them stalling the narrative. Director Laxman Utekar who had last directed Luka Chhupi is in top form here. His narrative style is refreshing and he manages to do a great job in maintaining the grip on the narration. Distinction marks to the direction.
Performances
The performances are excellent. Manoj Pahwa and Supriya Pathak who play Mimi’s parents are absolutely a joy to watch. They both have limited screentime but leave a huge impact on the screenplay with their excellent performances. Aidan Whytock as John is pretty good and has a good screenpresence. Evelyn Edwards as Summer is excellent and the casting director needs to be applauded for casting two genuinely good non Indian actors instead of resorting to the usual suspects. Sai Tamhankar as Shama is such a joy to watch. An actor who is in full control of her craft and matches the craft of Pankaj Tripathi is each scene is truely phenomenal. Speaking of which Pankaj Tripathi is absolutely fantastic as Bhanu. His comic timing is on point and he is excellent in some of the high voltage scenes too. Just so effortless and a joy to watch! Kriti Sanon as Mimi has delivered the best performance of her career. Her body language is amazing and she has such a great character arc conveying so many emotions, and she does full justice to it! And her accent is top notch and consistent for most parts.
Conclusion
Mimi is a sweet and cute tale that will leave a wide smile on your face with some tears of joy perhaps. Available on Netflix.