Curious case of amusement

Nonika Singh

At one level, it’s theatre of the absurd. At another it is director Vasan Bala’s tribute to the movies we all have grown up seeing count Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan’s films too. And then if we look at it at micro level it tells the story of Surya born with medical disorder, namely congenital insensitivity to pain. Hence the title Mard Ko Dard Nahi Hota, which could well be a hat off to our superheroes and superstars who can brace it all without grimacing.

Only, here this super heroic attribute could also be our hero’s Achilles’ heel. For, if you feel no pain how do you sense and avert danger. And if it doesn’t hurt at all it could well be awfully hurtful. So learns Surya whose story takes off from his childhood years where he is bullied by class-fellows, finds an ally in a girl class mate and is literally fed on video cassettes duly supplied by his indulgent grandfather. Cinema shapes our sensibilities we all know in his case it is also local martial arts hero Karate Mani who has an equally interesting back-story. Gulshan Devaiah appears in a double role like Ram Aur Shyam, good vs bad or clichéd villain as the film puts it and in which Devaiah impresses as much as the vulnerable good man. 

Maine Pyar Kiya fame actress Bhagyashree’s son Abhimanyu Dassani son makes an endearing debut and his innocence is a perfect foil to his strength and weakness. Here is a superhero with a difference, carrying a backpack filled with water which he keeps sipping with the same guilelessness with which he fights. Radhika Madan comes across as a girl of substance and Mahesh Manjerkar anchors not just Surya’s life but the film too. 

A whole lot of lives collide here. As Surya rediscovers his childhood sweetheart, there are some fun moments and equally funny one-liners; teasing and intelligent. Also packed in is some high flying action; karate chops and more and the heroine Radhika Madan gets her pound of flesh, ahem action too, and packs more than a mean punch. Dreams fuse with reality and reality with cinema and net result is director’s cut; experimental and wacky. Madcap and bizarre just the stuff our Bollywood dreams are made of, where hero must avenge injustice and stand invincible. 

Only this is no typical Bollywood fare rather a different stretch and yarn of imagination that breaks a few rules and follows a few. It dittoes and defies Bollywood stereotypes all at one go. 

Premiered in the Midnight Madness section of the 2018 Toronto International Film Festival, where it won the People’s Choice Award, it sure isn’t every cinegoer’s cup of tea. But if you like it unique and idiosyncratic and care for some crazy fun this ride won’t hurt at all.