Kriti Sanon, Pankaj Tripathi's Mimi is layered with emotions & faint laughter and is close to what you expect

Directed by Laxman Utekar, written by Rohan Shankar, and produced by Dinesh Vijan, Mimi stars Kriti Sanon in the titular role along with Pankaj Tripathi, Sai Tamhankar, Manoj Pahwa, Supriya Pathak in pivotal roles. Originally scheduled for a release on July 30, the movie streamed early on Netflix after the film was leaked online. The film reviews have been pouring in and they've been decent.

It narrates the tale of Mimi, who is a dancer by profession and has dreams to go to Bollywood. When Bhanu (Pankaj) lays his eyes on her in search of a surrogate mother for an American couple, things take a turn. While Mimi is not aware of what surrogacy is, it is the money aspect that does draw her attention and she eventually agrees, hoping to make her dreams of Bollywood come true. However, the couple decides to ghost her, and that is when the real trouble begins. Trying to hide her bump and coping with what is going on, things get complicated. All of this, in a small city in Rajasthan. One can only imagine how things are about to take a turn from here.

Performances

Kriti as Mimi does a good job. While some feel that her accent is off, it is only so much that one can do while picking up on a dialect. While I would have liked to see her in a different look, but it aligns with her dream to go to Bollywood someday. And for that, one can give her the credits due because this sure counts for a great performance from her, especially in the second half. Though Tripathi as Bhanu does not have a lot to explore, he does make his screen presence felt, and that works just fine. Sai as the best friend or Manoj and Supriya as Mimi's parents do exactly what they are asked to, and add material to the narrative in certain ways. However, we would've liked to see more of Sai, as hers is a job well done.

The Good

For a movie that is based on Mala Aai Vhhaychay, Mimi brings humour to it. The Marathi film was rather serious, and adding some bits of humour did seem like a good idea. And well, we do have Pankaj Tripathi to thank for that. The first half does well with a good screenplay and decent performances. Though not very unexpected, it kind of goes along well with the theme and as you watch it, you kind of like how things go around.

The background score also goes well and adds to the look and feel to Akash Agarwal's cinematography and editing by Manish Pradhan. The emotions do get overwhelming and you might drop a tear or two if you are as emotional.

The Bad

While adding emotions is never a problem, making it dramatic as one would expect in Bollywood films, is the problem. For a movie that tries to take to a social cause and awareness, the message isn't kept at the center. Since surrogacy as a theme is no secret to Indian cinema, a lot could've been executed better, and the onus of that lies in the writing. The approach to a subject of absolute importance could've been better, even while trying to add a sense of humour to it. Not to forget, all the 'khet' references and some rather not so progressive terms, don't go well. (when bhanu says 'maal' is just one of them)

Verdict

Well, you can watch Mimi on Netflix as it makes for a decent watch. However, don't go in expecting it to be very strong in its message delivery, however, you will see good performances and an entertainment quotient that works in its favour.

Ratings: *** stars (3/5)