Zee Studios and Dharma Productions’ Mr. & Mrs. Mahi is the story of pursuing one’s dreams. Mahendra Agarwal a.k.a. Mahi (Rajkumar Rao) lives with his parents (Kumud Mishra and Zarina Wahab). His brother lives abroad and he is the favourite of his materialistic father. On the other hand, Mahi’s father is constantly taunting Mahi for being obsessed with cricket. Mahi is convinced that had it not been for his father, he would’ve been a cricketer playing in the Indian team. Since his dream of playing international cricket was dashed to the ground, Mahi now very reluctantly helps his father in running his shop which sells sports goods. Mahi marries Mahima a.k.a. Mahi (Janhvi Kapoor), a doctor by profession. After prompting her to quit the hospital in which she is working, Mahendra reignites Mahima’s passion in cricket and trains her in the game. But is Mahima able to play for the state or the country?
Nikhil Mehrotra and Sharan Sharma have written a simple story and screenplay. The story has its heart in the right place. Having said that, it must be added that the story line is thin. The writers could’ve padded it with more layers and sub-plots but they concentrate only on the main subject. Resultantly, the first half appears slow. The pace picks up just a little before interval. The second half is far more fast-paced. The emotional undercurrent is the best part of the drama. Although the drama doesn’t make the audience cry (which is an opportunity missed), it, nevertheless, does create an emotional impact. The message about the need to be selfless and, therefore, not expect anything in return for one’s good actions is well-conveyed. For that reason, the scene between Mahendra and his mother, especially the last part of it, touches the heart. Mahendra’s rock-solid support to Mahima is also well conveyed post-interval. Nikhil Mehrotra and Sharan Sharma’s dialogues are simple but weighty.
Rajkumar Rao does a lovely job as Mahendra Agarwal. He portrays his frustrations very effectively. His acceptance of the reality, after his conversation with his mother, is impactful. Janhvi Kapoor delivers a heartfelt performance as Mahima. She is wonderful in the emotional outbursts and uses her voice acting skills to great advantage. The day she gets a role loaded with emotions, she will shine on a different level altogether. Kumud Mishra lends fantastic support as Mahendra’s overbearing father. Zarina Wahab stands her own in a brief role as Mahendra’s mother. Her performance in the scene with son Mahendra, in which she subtly explains the realities of life to him, is superb. Arjit Taneja (in a special appearance) makes a fair impression as Mahendra’s brother. Purnendu Bhattacharya makes his mark in the role of Mahima’s father. Yamini Das hardly gets any scope as Mahima’s mother but she is still good. Rajesh Sharma has his moments as coach Shukla. Sandesh Kulkarni is fantastic as coach Mangesh. Ahaan Saboo (as young Mahendra) and Harshita Dubey (as young Mahima) lend fine support.
Sharan Sharma’s direction is sensitive. He has extracted very good work out of his actors. For better results, he needed to have more layers in his script. Music (Dekha tenu by Aadesh Shrivastava and Jaani, Roya jab tu by Vishal Mishra, Agar ho tum by Tanishk Bagchi, Junoon hai by Achint-Yuva, Tu hai toh by Hunny-Bunny, and Ranjhana by Dhruv Dhalla) is an asset. All the songs, including the hit Agar ho tum and the end titles song, are melodious. The remixed version of Dekha tenu song is very good but there should’ve been more of it in the film. Lyrics (Dekha tenu by Sameer Anjaan and Jaani, Agar ho tum by Kausar Munir, Roya jab tu by Vishal Mishra and Azeem Dayani, Tu hai toh by Sagar, Ranjhana by Devendra Kafir, and Junoon hai by Arushi Kaushal) are weighty. Song picturisation (of Agar ho tum by Vijay Ganguly) is fairly nice. John Stewart Eduri’s background music is suitably effective. Anay Om Goswamy’s cinematography is of a fine standard. Production designing (Sharanya Menon) is nice. Nitin Baid’s editing is sharp.
On the whole, Mr. & Mrs. Mahi is a fair entertainer with its heart in the right place. It will do business ranging from the average to good-average.
Released on 31-5-’24 at Inox (daily 9 shows) and other cinemas of Bombay by Zee Studios. Publicity: good. Opening: fair (aided by the low admission rates throughout the country for a day today). …….Also released all over. Opening was okay at many places.
