City 1016 RJ Lokesh Dharmani gives you the FIRST review of Manish Paul

RATING 3/5

In a country like India, where it takes 60 minutes and a half to download a song, it takes exactly 60 seconds for a movie like Mickey Virus' to hack into the multiple firewalls securing the website of a bank. Well, that's a typical Hindi movie for you. So if you can throw your logic in the attic and surrender to the fun ride of this comic thriller, you might sit on the edge of your seat, trim a few nails under your teeth and trip over a few popcorns.

Let me start with a confession. I expected Mickey Virus' to be a rip off of Vicky Donor'. Think a film that's based in Delhi, speaks a similar Punjabi twanged language and whose title is just a letter shift from the Ayushmann Khurrana's debut; you can't blame me for my presumptions. I confess I was surprised. Besides the setting and the language, the movie has a fresh story to tell.

Mickey Arora is a quintessential Delhi boy: talented, streetsmart yet lazy and unambitious. He sits at his mom's grocery store during the day and moonlights as a hacker. The film starts with Mickey and his gang of friends - Chutney (straight out from an MTV Splitsvilla set), Floppy (it's cool to have a Sardarji in Hindi films these days and Honey/Happy/Lucky are pass as Surdy names) and Pancho (considering Delhi-ites breathe this word in every sentence, it very believably passes off as a name). The Delhi Police seeks Mickey's help to solve a hacking case and how his life gets entangled in a web of hackers and how he manages to wriggle out pretty much sums up the story.

Manish Paul gets full marks for his comic timings. The character is an extension of his role as an anchor on dance reality shows; cool, calm, candid and cheeky and he pulls it off with ease. I remember how Manish and I hosted so many events back in Delhi. Little did we know then that he would end up doing a film and me reviewing it!

The film abounds with subtle humor. I laughed out loud to see a hacker wear a tee that read- Jab Tak Hain Trojan'. The dialogues are both as Delhi and as technical as it gets to suit the flavor of the film. You have gems like "Main kya universal charger hoon jo kahin bhi ghused doge." Or "Aaj kal ki generation kaisi hai - kapde khule rehte hain, phone pe lock laga rehta hain."

Elli Avram, the Swedish Greek actress, is almost unrecognizable as she makes a smooth shift from her sans make-up' avatar on Bigg Boss' to a face that hides behind layers of foundation and extensive make-up. I am most tempted to say she has a long way to go as an actor, but really, whom am I kidding! It's Bollywood where Katrina Kaif is the highest paid actress despite her dyslexia when it comes to phonetically articulating in Hindi. By those standards, Elli is Shabana Azmi and shows promise.

Varun Badola earns a special mention here. He plays the role of a Delhi cop to a T. His lines are funny and his delivery even funnier. It's so heartwarming to see such a great actor finally get his due. This role would win him as many accolades as Vicky Donor' did for Anu Kapoor.

Since giving stars is so main stream, here's my verdict - Let this virus enter your life, it's fun and harmless!