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Nonika Singh
JudgeMentall Hai Kya… should we then judge a film with a title that beseeches us not to? Perhaps no, especially if we were to pay heed to what Shahid Kapoor reminded us only recently. If we were to follow his advice, critics have no business to judge any film for that matter? Ah, sorry Shahid but a job is a job.
So, here we are, trying to make sense of a film that created hullaballoo even before it hit the screens? By now movie buffs are well clued into how Indian Psychiatric Society saw red and Mental in the title gave way to JudgeMentall. The change, by the way, carries more punch and adds another layer to the narrative, which is couched as a thriller and a mind game.
Less of a treatise on mental health problems and more a form of telling an interesting story with some socially correct observations built in, the edgy premise keeps us on the edge as well as pushes us on to it. Yes, it does take us into the life of rather unhinged Bobby Grewal (Kangana Ranaut), a traumatic witness of killing of her parents. Clearly, she is not stable and uses newspaper clippings detailing incidents of violence against women to make her origami art.
Despite her tragic past, it is less of a heartrending or tearjerker take on the plight of those suffering from mental disorders. The central protagonist is someone who defies norms and crosses out all the boxes we consider normal. But Bobby, an unapologetic assertion of who she is, like Kangana in real life, couldn’t care less.
Keeping her character of dubbing artist at the centre of the drama enhances dramatic tension and suffuses it with surreal elements. More so, since she harbours dreams of becoming an actor and gets herself photographed in the garb of the characters she lends voice to. This idiosyncrasy, however, is not her only quirk. Much else about her points to her instability. But before we try to delve into the layers of her troubled mind and draw any conclusion, in walks Keshav (Rajkummmar Rao.) He and his wife Reema (Amyra Dastur) are her tenants and we are led into a mysterious alley high on suspense.
The horror film that Bobby dubs for is not just for effects. As she describes one of her film she lends her voice to; horror bhi hai aur romance bhi, here we get horror of romance. Actually, real life horrors and its perpetrators could be far more horrendous and wicked. The director interweaves real and reel drama, to pep up his slice of fiction. One death, or is it murder, and interval has us wondering and speculating who really is the culprit. Is it the obviously abnormal or seemingly normal?
Second half transports us to London and the ensuing twist we encounter as the two lead actors again come face-to-face comes as no surprise. References to Ramayana abound and analogy to Sita as the saviour comes across as bit of a stretch. Frankly, the need to rope in mythology by way of staging of this futuristic Ramayana in UK is more of an experimental/ bizarre cut than a natural corollary. The confusion and chaos it creates is deliberate and not so convincing. Actors, however, are in top form. Even side parts (Satish Kaushik) excel. Kangana Ranaut gets the high-strung shade of her part bang on and fits into the many shades of her zaniness like a glove. Delusional or real… she keeps you guessing. Rajkummar Rao as Keshav may not get to hog the limelight all the while. But the fine actor that he is, he needs only a gaze, a moment or two to express his inner demon. The film’s denouement has him at his very best. The actor always ready to snap out of his comfort zone once again plays an unconventional part that has as many layers as Bobby’s in-your-face peculiarities.
On more than one count, the film too is no run-of-the mill comedy or thriller. A certain twist (especially in the end) may seem borrowed, but its off-centre gravity and craziness, particularly in the first half, will keep you going.
nonikasingh@tribunemail.com
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