- Date of Release: 17 June 2022
- Genre: Action, Comedy, Drama
- Language: Hindi
- Watch On: Theatres Only
Nikamma
Introduction
Being a movie critic ain’t easy. Not only do you have to consume a lot of content but also consume a lot of trash at times. It is all a part and parcel of the job. So while we get to watch some marvellous content, every once in a while there comes along a film or series which is so bad that you feel like quitting your job. So after Bachchan Panday and Heropanti 2, another film is out titled Nikamma. Not that I had any hopes from the film given its mediocre trailer but often trailers are deceptive as seen in Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2. So there is always a hope that flickers. But then this was a remake of a Telugu film MCA which should not have been made in the first place. So with much skepticism I stepped into a theatre to watch Nikamma. Does it flatter to deceive, lets find out.
Story & Screenplay
Nikamma follows the story of…..wait there was a story too?? If there ever is a question as to why Bollywood has been on the receiving end of a fair share of criticism then it is films like these. Just to put it on record, I have nothing against anyone and I always do appreciate good cinema. But it just triggers me when I am served such dogsh*t and this is as bad as it can ever get. Why would you want to remake(or adapt whatever) a film which wasn’t even a commercial success back in the day. Is there an absolute dearth of writers or is the industry just not wanting to take any sort of a risk?
The screenplay at almost 150 minutes meant that I was in for a slog. This is a typical 80s story and a screenplay which is predictable from the word go and just unbearable. Not one sequence was engaging and I wonder whether the writers were oblivious to the fact that this is the most cliched piece of art which we have grown up watching. I understand that this is a mass masala entertainer(did I say entertainer?), but you just cannot serve anything in the name of entertainment.
If you really want to know, the screenplay is really disjointed and basically a collection of scenes. Some of the most far fetched and unimaginative scenes are clubbed together like a girl proposing a guy for marriage in the very first meeting! Or a bunch of goons waiting patiently for the protagonist to mouth dialogues instead of killing him right away. Each time you think the film is going to end, a new obstacle continues the screenplay which adds to the trauma. I could literally see my braincells die bit by bit through the film’s duration. The final act is so outrageous and almost laughable, not at the scene but at yourself for wasting your time on this piece of dogsh*t. I literally wanted to shake up the writer and ask him to get his act together. But well….
Dialogues, Music & Direction
The dialogues are so cringy that it made me eyeroll almost a hundred times. If I had charged a dollar for every eyeroll, I would have been rich! The music is plain average and even the songs stall the flow of the drama(which I didn’t mind by the way). The BGM is just unimaginative and I have had enough of “beats” which add to nothing in the storyline. The production design is perhaps the only saving grace. Director Sabbir Khan who directed “gems” like Heropanti, Kambakht Ishq and Munna Michael has officially made the worst film of his career(not that his earlier works were any better but atleast I had some redemption). His direction is way off the mark probably on par with Heropanti 2. How about a collective brain fade in the multiverse of madness??
Performances
The performances are just so bad that it made me facepalm so many times. Abhimanyu Singh(will come to Dassani soon) is generally a dependable actor but here his character is so cliched and typical that he overacts in so many scenes. Shirley Sethia as Nikki looks pretty but all she does is smile. The girl cannot act and even the scenes which requires her to emote even slightly make the audience chuckle(it was not a comedy scene). It will be difficult for producers to sign her after this debacle. Shilpa Shetty as Avni is probably the only actor who genuinely tries to keep it subtle and succeeds mostly except for the climax where even she goes over the top. Which brings me to Abhimanyu Dassani. I have seen the man act and act well in Mard Ko Dard Nahi Hota and Meenakshi Sundareshwar. Why on earth would you sign a film which wants you to overact in every godd*mn scene! This performance made me exhausted and it was simply unbearable! You are better than this, way better!
Conclusion
Nikamma is a SUPER SE BHI OOPAR FLOP, no two ways about it. This was almost like paying to watch my braincells die. Save yourself from this film(and a dose of paracetamol). Avoid! Available in a theatre near you!