Movie Review: Mard Ko Dard Nahi Hota
Surya (Abhimanyu Dassani) was born with a rare medical disorder called Congenital insensitivity to pain. He lost his mother to an accident and is brought up by a worrisome dad (Jimit Trivedi) and a rather mischievous grandpa (Mahesh Manjrekar). He was bullied by his schoolmates as a kid and is defended by his neighbour Supri (Radhika Madan). They separate when he pushes her abusive dad off a building’s roof. He grows up idolising one-legged karate expert, Karate-Mani (Gulshan Devaiah) and learns martial arts on the sly by watching martial arts films day and night. Supri, on the other hand, actually meets Karate-Mani and learns from him. Years later, they meet when she’s saving a girl from being abducted. He learns that she’s marrying a control-freak as she has no money and her mother is suffering from cancer. Karate-Mani meanwhile has become a drunkard and is harassed all the time by his evil twin Jimmy (Gulshan Devaiah). Jimmy snatches away a chain given to Mani by their father. That triggers off a desire in Surya to avenge Mani as his mother had lost her life while fending off an attack by a chain snatcher. How the rather simplistic Surya goes about his plan forms the crux of the film.
The film looks inspired by the cult hit superhero comedy Kick-Ass (2010) but isn’t a frame-to-frame copy. In that film too the rather dorky leading man wants to be a superhero and save the world and doesn’t feel pain -- but apart from these reference points the treatment is totally different. Vasan Bala has created a world around the rather naive hero where everyone is carrying the burden of some weakness. Karate-Mani doesn’t fight back because he slept with his brother’s girlfriend when the brother was in jail, Surya’s father feels guilty about being in a relationship while Supri has to compromise for the sake of her parents. The only totally absurd character is Jimmy, who is being a sociopath just for the fun of it. He is a caricature of all the over-the-top Hindi film villains we have seen over the years. Gulshan Devaiah seems to be having lots of fun essaying the role, and has kind of run away with the limelight.
Humour is the film’s strong point. Even the action choreography is peppered with a liberal dose of humour. There are enough one-liners and situational gag to keep the audience laughing throughout. The film is structured in such a way that the hero is more or less the narrator and as a result doesn’t have a direct speaking role. The device kind of works because the narration lets us know what’s exactly going on in his mind first hand. His child-like honesty wouldn’t have come across otherwise. Abhimanyu has a nice screen presence and has fielded the action scenes with aplomb. He possess a chiselled physique as well -- there is a shirtless scene in the film attributing the fad to Bruce Lee -- which lets us notice his fab bod. After her remarkable debut in Pataakha, Radhika Madan has vowed us once more in her second film. She’s a delight as a worldly-wise girl who discovers she doesn’t have to follow her brain all the time and sometimes needs to follow her heart as well. She’s good in the action scenes as well. Gulshan Devaiah really has a ball in both his roles. Mahesh Manjrekar, as the maverick grandfather, and Jimit Trivedi, as the rather timid dad offer able support.
All-all-all, the film’s gags don’t travel well outside the context. It’s one of those -- ‘you’ve to be there’ -- kind of films. But within those two hours, you’ll surely laugh your head off. At another level, the film is a homage to Hong Kong action films, HIndi film villains and Hindi film music of the ’80s. It’s as absurd and campy as they come. Vasan Bala has kind of made an origin film for Surya and Supri and if the last scene is any indication, one should be prepared for sequels to follow...
Surya (Abhimanyu Dassani) was born with a rare medical disorder called Congenital insensitivity to pain. He lost his mother to an accident and is brought up by a worrisome dad (Jimit Trivedi) and a rather mischievous grandpa (Mahesh Manjrekar). He was bullied by his schoolmates as a kid and is defended by his neighbour Supri (Radhika Madan). They separate when he pushes her abusive dad off a building’s roof. He grows up idolising one-legged karate expert, Karate-Mani (Gulshan Devaiah) and learns martial arts on the sly by watching martial arts films day and night. Supri, on the other hand, actually meets Karate-Mani and learns from him. Years later, they meet when she’s saving a girl from being abducted. He learns that she’s marrying a control-freak as she has no money and her mother is suffering from cancer. Karate-Mani meanwhile has become a drunkard and is harassed all the time by his evil twin Jimmy (Gulshan Devaiah). Jimmy snatches away a chain given to Mani by their father. That triggers off a desire in Surya to avenge Mani as his mother had lost her life while fending off an attack by a chain snatcher. How the rather simplistic Surya goes about his plan forms the crux of the film.
The film looks inspired by the cult hit superhero comedy Kick-Ass (2010) but isn’t a frame-to-frame copy. In that film too the rather dorky leading man wants to be a superhero and save the world and doesn’t feel pain -- but apart from these reference points the treatment is totally different. Vasan Bala has created a world around the rather naive hero where everyone is carrying the burden of some weakness. Karate-Mani doesn’t fight back because he slept with his brother’s girlfriend when the brother was in jail, Surya’s father feels guilty about being in a relationship while Supri has to compromise for the sake of her parents. The only totally absurd character is Jimmy, who is being a sociopath just for the fun of it. He is a caricature of all the over-the-top Hindi film villains we have seen over the years. Gulshan Devaiah seems to be having lots of fun essaying the role, and has kind of run away with the limelight.
Humour is the film’s strong point. Even the action choreography is peppered with a liberal dose of humour. There are enough one-liners and situational gag to keep the audience laughing throughout. The film is structured in such a way that the hero is more or less the narrator and as a result doesn’t have a direct speaking role. The device kind of works because the narration lets us know what’s exactly going on in his mind first hand. His child-like honesty wouldn’t have come across otherwise. Abhimanyu has a nice screen presence and has fielded the action scenes with aplomb. He possess a chiselled physique as well -- there is a shirtless scene in the film attributing the fad to Bruce Lee -- which lets us notice his fab bod. After her remarkable debut in Pataakha, Radhika Madan has vowed us once more in her second film. She’s a delight as a worldly-wise girl who discovers she doesn’t have to follow her brain all the time and sometimes needs to follow her heart as well. She’s good in the action scenes as well. Gulshan Devaiah really has a ball in both his roles. Mahesh Manjrekar, as the maverick grandfather, and Jimit Trivedi, as the rather timid dad offer able support.
All-all-all, the film’s gags don’t travel well outside the context. It’s one of those -- ‘you’ve to be there’ -- kind of films. But within those two hours, you’ll surely laugh your head off. At another level, the film is a homage to Hong Kong action films, HIndi film villains and Hindi film music of the ’80s. It’s as absurd and campy as they come. Vasan Bala has kind of made an origin film for Surya and Supri and if the last scene is any indication, one should be prepared for sequels to follow...
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