A Potpourri of Vestiges Review
Featured in IMDb Critic Reviews
By Murtaza Ali Khan
Featured in IMDb Critic Reviews
Hindi
Medium is the name of actor Irrfan Khan’s much awaited comedy-drama film about
a Chandni Chowk couple trying desperately to get their daughter admitted to an
English medium school in Delhi. The film is about their struggles amidst the
widespread corruption and nepotism prevalent in the admission process. The Saket
Chaudhary-directed film co-stars Saba Qamar, Deepak Dobriyal, and Amrita Singh.
The film also features cameo appearances from Sanjay Suri and Neha Dhupia.
While
Hindi Medium has a noble idea at its heart, it unfortunately fails in its
endeavour to propagate it. Let’s look at the various factors that work against the
film:
1.
Film tries to preach in the name of entertainment
It
is a cardinal sin for a film to try and preach in the name of entertainment.
Hindi Medium loses its path half way owing to a preachy narrative that gets
worse at the story progresses ahead. Towards the end it feels like some public
service announcement than a movie.
2. Weak
ending that hampers the movie’s potential
Hindi
medium climaxes in an ending that appears to be straight out of some street
play. Everyone suddenly appears to be morally transformed--a facet that greatly
reduces the movie’s level of conviction and plausibility.
3. Irrfan
Khan’s failure to look convincing as a Chandni Chowk businessman
We
all are aware that Irrfan Khan is a gifted actor with remarkable range. His
exploits are not just limited to Bollywood but he has essayed pivotal roles in
Hollywood blockbusters like Jurassic World and Inferno as well as international
productions like Slumdog Millionaire (winner of 8 Oscars) and Life of Pi
(winner of 4 Oscars). Every time the shape shifting Irrfan play a new character
we expect him to get lost in the character. Alas, in Hindi Medium he fails to
essay a Chandni Chowk businessman with the usual conviction! The mistake is not
just Irrfan’s for the real weakness lies in the screenplay that fails to do
justice to a performer of Irrfan’s pedigree.
4. Miscasting
of Deepak Dobriyal in a rather serious role
Deepak
Dobriyal has a great comic timing as we have seen in films like Tanu Weds Manu,
Prem Ratan Dhan Payo, and Tanu Weds Manu Returns. In Hindi Medium his role
isn’t supposed to be inherently funny and that’s what ruins the character
played by Dobriyal. While Dobriyal seems to have tried his level best to
deliver a convincing performance the end result falls short of his best by some
distance.
5. Pakistani
actress Saba Qamar’s overacting
Saba
Qamar has made a name for herself as a serious actress in Pakistan but her role
in Hindi Medium demanded the exact opposite. By looking at her performance in
the movie one can easily tell that she was trying a bit too hard to get the
comic moments right and as a result ended up delivering an over-the-top performance.
6. Film’s
condescending look at the poor and the needy
Hindi
Medium is an attempt to take swipes at the class divide. But its representation
of the poor and the needy is rather disappointing. Instead of highlighting the
plight of the poor it seems to be taking pleasure out of their abysmal
state.
7. Film’s
overtly negative portrayal of Delhi’s private schools
Hindi
Medium portrays Delhi’s private schools in a negative light. Yes, corruption is
omnipresent but the film’s view that the entire education machinery in the
country is corrupt comes across as not only pessimistic but also deeply disturbing.
To make a sweeping generalization that all the private schools in Delhi are run
by good-for-nothing, corrupt administrators is demeaning to say the least.
Rating: 4.5/10
Hindi Medium Trailer (YouTube)
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