Atrangi Re film assessment: Sara Ali Khan-Akshay Kumar’s magical thriller tour is a misfire. But thank God for Dhanush

Runaway woman. Sincere, confused boy. And a charismatic man with a number of magic tips up his big sleeve. The nice Bollywood love triangle will get a special approach. But wait. How contemporary is the coat of paint? And, most significantly, does it sweep us off our ft, as it’s meant to? Sadly, no. The premise holds out promise. But the execution is a relentlessly downward spiral.
Take, as an example, Rinku Sooryavanshi (Sara Ali Khan). When we see her first, she is working away, with some males chasing after her. Instantly, we’re frightened. Who is she? What is she working from? Who are these males?

As quickly because the solutions begin changing into clear, with a heavy grandmother determine (Seema Biswas) respiration down her neck, the intrigue degree begins fading. And we’re confronted with yet one more model of the manic pixie dream woman, busy channelling her inside Geet (Imtiaz Ali’s hottest main woman has loads to reply for) as she finds herself on a transferring practice, heading from Siwan to New Delhi, with the sober, regular Vishu (Dhanush).
Bisu (Rinku is from Bihar, she can not pronounce the V) Babu, learning to be a physician, has his personal private preoccupations. But in the most effective custom of the manic pixie dream woman, all the pieces else is swept apart, leaving solely Rinku and her troubles centre-stage, the most important being the person she has been obsessive about for a few years, ‘jaadugar’ Sajjad Ali Khan (Akshay Kumar).Much of ‘Atrangi Re’ is filled with these barely off moments, which in one other film would have been an ideal tonal match for a number one woman who is supposed to be a bit of off kilter. ‘Atrangi’ means bizarre, however in an affectionate, good method: Sara Ali Khan tries very arduous to be different-persons-in-one-person, however neither the author nor the actor offers sufficient depth to the character. She comes off exaggerated as a substitute.

In between, Bisu Babu’s BFF (Ashish Verma actually must get different kinds of roles), additionally a physician, traces up a bunch of individuals he labels as ‘schizophrenics and bipolars’ to clarify away a number of the ‘atrangi’-ness on show. I believe psychiatrists ought to sue Bollywood for the sweeping ignoramuses they create for ‘dimaag ka doctors’: that one scene is sufficient to make you cringe-watch the remaining.
Why is it necessary for a Muslim character to be proven in a Moharram procession? Just in order that one other character can whip herself right into a frenzy? If you are attempting to interrupt stereotypes (Anand L Rai and Himanshu Sharma have been the architects of the female-forward ‘Tanu Weds Manu’ movies), then why this? Something stronger ought to have come out of this Muslim-Hindu ‘milan’: Akshay steps into his personal ‘atrangi’ half with a level of zest, however there’s no method that he doesn’t look a mismatch with the a lot youthful Sara Ali Khan.
Thank the nice lord, whichever faith you imagine in, for Dhanush. He was one of many nicer components of ‘Raanjhna’, which got here from the identical group. Here, he rises above the clunkiness of his character, treading between a dutiful familial union and falling in love with an odd stranger, and treats us to an actor who works by his beats to get to the place he must be going.This was meant to be a magical thriller tour, however finally ends up as a misfire.
Atrangi Re film solid: Akshay Kumar, Sara Ali Khan, Dhanush, Ashish Verma, Seema BiswasAtrangi Re film assessment director: Anand L RaiAtrangi Re film ranking: 1.5 stars