Movie Review: Mithya

Name: Mithya Genre: (Dark) Comedy ! Director: Rajat Kapoor Cast: Ranvir Shorey, Neha Dhupia, Naseeruddin Shah, Harsh Chaya, Saurabh Shukla, Vinay Pathak, Irawati Harshe My rating: 3.5/5

Now that I’ve watched the movie, I agree with Rajeev Masand, the movie critic of team CNN-IBN that this is one such movie, where telling almost anything in the plot is like killing the fun of watching it. Masand’s 4-star review of this movie was what prompted me to try it, and although I do take his overtly harsh reviews of movies with a pinch of salt, I didn’t mind having taken his word on this one.

So, bearing in mind not to let the cat of the bag – here’s a bird’s-eye-view of the landscape of the story. ‘Mithya’ is the story of VK (Ranvir Shorey) who is a struggling actor like thousands of other aspirants like him, in Bollywood, and nurses ambitions of making it big in the film industry, while working for tidbit roles as a junior artiste if few of the movies. A strange tryst with destiny makes him an object of interest of underworld dons Gawde (Naseeruddin Shah) and Shetty (Saurabh Shukla). A cleverly plotted plan by them, sees VK, on his looks and acting prowess, being inducted into another gang headed by ‘Bhaisahab’. The rest of the story is about how VK walks the tight rope of conducting himself so as to not be identified by the rival camp, while being forced to being a puppet of Gawde & Co, to save his own neck.

The movie is studded with some of the best and classic actors in Bollywood, and even better, is superbly cast by director Rajath Kapoor. Leading the pack, is Ranvir Shorey, who for the first time as the sole lead character, carries the film on his shoulder with his aplomb and fantabulous display of acting. From his days as a stand-up-comedian to this powerful role, Ranvir Shorey shows that he not just has a brilliant comic sense, but is also a class act, a complete actor. While he fills life into the humor scenes, his acting of the sad scenes really makes your heart go out for him. All the other actors around him, rightly look like supporting cast – and to take nothing away from them – Naseeruddin Shah, Saurabh Shukla, Neha Dhupia, Irawati Harshe and Harsh Chayya – do perfect justice to their respective roles.

The movie, although does not make you laugh as much as, say Bheja-fry – Rajat Kapoor’s previous comic flick which was a hit, and which would probably be a reference for you to try out this movie – has its moments of good natured humor that would evoke a lot of laughs. But while humor rules for most part of the movie till slightly beyond the interval, from then on, the movie takes a serious turn, and becomes more grim and dark towards the end. The screenplay of the movie, is imaginative and rides the story well.

On the flip side, I felt that the ending was almost abrupt, and that for the magic it initially creates, the movie needed a smoother landing at the end. The movie, although runs for about 100 minutes, feels much more longer than that, and could have been stitched closer, by cutting down a few ambling sequences in between. And Vinay Pathak, is utterly wasted and this would surely disappoint many of his fans, including me.

But barring these few glitches, the movie is a well made- movie, worth a watch.