Mr and Mrs Mahi (Hindi) - "Unpaid" Movie Review

TL;DR - While not a must watch, it was a very fine movie and totally worth my time and a visit to the theatre. If you are looking for a movie to watch at the theatres, go for it. The script, direction and the acting of the two leads (Rajkumar Rao and Janhvi Kapoor) are top-notch. Unlike a lot of other sports movies, this is high on drama and less on sports and that's actually a good thing. Ghoomer is the closest match to this one in recent times but I liked this one more. Ghoomer was a little 'filmy'.

Long Version -

There have been so many sports dramas / biopics in the last 15 years ever since Chak De! India came out in 2007 that a kind of fatigue has set in personally - the same old trope about underdog(s) making it big and winning a dramatic final with a special move / shot at the last moment. This movie on the other hand simply takes us on a fictional journey of a late-bloomer female cricketer coached by her husband. The focus here is more on the coach, his demons / shortcomings, the husband-wife, coach-coachee and parent-child relationships which make it more of drama and less of sports.

It is a Dharma Production and though KJo isn't directing here, some of the scenes get pretty emotional which means they have been well written and acted. Rajkumar Rao looks very different from olden times (that chin job stands out) but still delivers the goods. The parts where he has to cry or be emotionally charged just come naturally to him. He's in a league of his own. I saw Srikanth a couple of weeks ago and now this. So, it is a good time to be a Rajkumar Rao fan! Janhvi Kapoor though is a revelation. I have always had a bias against her as a nepo-kid and becoming an actress despite not looking like one. That actually works to her advantage here as she does a non-metro middle class girl role-play to a tee. The dialogue delivery, the expressions were all top-notch and she matched Rajkumar scene for scene. Her eyes speak. My opinion of her had already changed when I saw her for the first time in Bawaal but now she's got me really respecting her. Enough said. 

The movie also makes you think of the mostly forgotten people behind all the successful / famous people, the need to be recognized for your work / getting credit, ego, being content and selfless, and through one particular scene, how moms are exactly that - selfless. A large theme of the movie is doing what your parents wanted you do instead of listening to your calling. For a so called sports movie to achieve all of that, that's a big deal.

One thing that annoys me is the need to show heavy weight lifting and running like crazy even before the sun has come out to prepare for any sport. That thing is getting really old. Also, spoiler alert! - there are no special appearances of MSD if you were hoping for that.