Eros International and NextGen Films’ Munna Michael (UA) is the story of Munna Michael who is passionate about dance and is a huge Michael Jackson fan.
Michael (Ronit Roy) lives in Bombay and is a fantastic dancer. He idolises Michael Jackson. After doing very well for himself for many years, he is one day shown the door because he has become outdated. Obviously, he is crest-fallen. On the same day, he finds a new-born child abandoned in a dust bin, and brings him home. He christens the child Munna and raises him as his own son.
Munna Michael (Tiger Shroff) grows up to be as passionate about dance as Michael. But Michael doesn’t want Munna to pursue dancing as a career because of his bitter memories of the abrupt end to his own career. On his part, Munna can think of nothing but dance.
One day, Munna defeats and insults a young boy in a discotheque, because of which the influential boy ensures that Munna is debarred from every discotheque and club in the city. Munna, therefore, shifts base to Delhi, giving the impression to his father that he was going to the capital city to take up a job in a corporate set-up. Munna wants to earn a lot of money for the medication of his dad who has been diagnosed with a deadly disease.
In Delhi, Munna gets into a fight with Balli (Pankaj Tripathi) in a discotheque. As it turns out, Balli is the brother of Mahindar (Nawazuddin Siddiqui) who is an underworld don of sorts. Swearing revenge, Mahindar meets Munna but is soon bowled over by his dancing. Since the married Mahindar is in love with a dancer, Dolly (Nidhi Agerwal), he pleads with Munna to teach him to dance as he feels, he would be able to woo Dolly if he mastered the art of dancing.
Since Munna is in need of big money, he begins to teach dance to Mahindar. Over a few days, Mahindar and Munna become very close to one another and are as good as brothers now. Munna meets Mahindar’s weakness, Dolly, and before long, he starts falling in love with her. Dolly also loves Munna.
One day, Dolly runs away from Delhi. A manhunt is launched for her but when she can’t be traced, Mahindar sends Munna to Bombay to track her down and bring her to him. Mahindar is clueless about Munna and Dolly’s fondness for one another. Aware that she was to take part in a dance show on television, Munna locates Dolly in Bombay. The two are happy in each other’s company. Dolly is doing very well in the dance show and has been clearing elimination rounds. She reveals to Munna that she had to make it to the final round to prove to her father that the career she wants to opt for was not wrong. Meanwhile, Munna has never so far mentioned to Dolly that he, too, is an extraordinary dancer.
Soon, Mahindar gets to know that Munna is hiding Dolly from him. He abducts Munna’s ailing father and gives Munna a notice of just 24 hours to hand over Dolly to him and take away his father in return. If Munna returns Dolly to Mahindar, her dream of proving herself before her father would remain unfulfilled as the final round is still a few days away. On the other hand, if he doesn’t take Dolly to Mahindar, his own father’s life would be in danger.
So what does Munna do? Does he let Dolly realise her long-cherished dream or does he stop her so that he can save his own father’s life? Does Dolly participate in the finals or not? If not, why not? If yes, does she win? Does Munna adopt a constructive or destructive approach? Does Dolly get to know about Munna’s dancing brilliance? Does she enlist Munna’s support for her dance competition? Does Dolly marry Munna or Mahindar?
Vimmi Datta has penned a very routine story which borrows liberally from films of the past. There is no novelty in the story which sometimes reminds of R… Rajkumar. The basic point of the girl’s approval for marriage is overlooked till the climax. And this point is introduced in the end in such a way that it appears as if the point is the trump card! The audience wonders how Mahindar and Munna never thought of it beforehand as it is such a basic point!
Since Munna and Mahindar are like brothers, there is no real antagonist for the hero, for a good part of the drama. Vimmi Datta’s screenplay caters to the masses but it won’t appeal to the classes and the multiplex-frequenting audience. The unfortunate part is that Nawazuddin Siddiqui, who plays a key role in the film, has a huge following among the multiplex audience. Actually, the screenplay is so designed that the scenes will be liked by the single-screen cinema viewers but they would find minimal acceptance among the multiplex audience. Dolly’s silence even after being aware that Mahindar is in love with her is baffling, to say the least. Why would any girl, with her silence, lead on a guy if she is not in the least interested in him? What’s worse is that she doesn’t even discuss this point with Munna whom she is in love with. Again, for Mahindar to assume that he could easily woo Dolly by his dance even though she is not interested in him is the height of foolishess. In the climax, Munna’s dance looks out of place because Dolly – rather than Munna – is in competition. But it must be added here that the masses wouldn’t care much for the screenplay; they would feel entertained with the good doses of dances and action, provided regularly. While on this point, it must be explained that the screenplay seems to have been written in a formulaic manner – dance, followed by action, followed by dance, followed by action, and so on and so forth – rather than in a free-flowing drama.
Although a love story, the romantic track is not too heart-warming. Mahindar’s comedy is entertaining but again, for the masses rather than the classes. Emotions are completely missing. Action and dances are abundant.
Vimmi Datta’s dialogues are good at places.
Tiger Shroff shines in dances and action sequences but gets limited scope to act. Even otherwise, his mediocre acting is overshadowed by his dances and stunts. Nidhi Agerwal looks quite good, dances well and is a fair performer in her debut film. Nawazuddin Siddiqui is terrific as Mahindar but making him a dancing villain will not go down too well with his hardcore fans. Ronit Roy is good in a light role as Michael. Pankaj Tripathi has his entertaining moments in the role of Balli. Paresh Shirodkar, Bikram Swain, Jueili Vaidya and Ashish Kanojia (all four as Munna’s fast friends) lend ordinary support. Farah Khan, Chitrangda Singh and Shaan, as judges of the dance show, add star value. Shenaz Treasury and Karan are good as hosts of the dance show. Anas Chaudhary (as Michael’s friend), Hitesh Sejpal (as the Parsi doctor), Shreeradha (as the airhostess), Richa Rai (as Mahindar’s wife), Lata Shukla (as Mahindar’s mother), Sunny Charla (as Mahindar’s father) and the others provide the necessary support.
Sabbir Khan’s direction is ordinary. He has concentrated mainly on the single-screen cinema audiences while not caring for what the multiplex viewers want. Music (Meet Bros., Tanishk Bagchi, Pranaay, Vishal Mishra, Javed-Mohsin and Gourov-Roshin) is very good. ‘Main hoon’ (by Tanishk Bagchi), ‘Ding Dang’ (by Javed-Mohsin) and ‘Beparwah’ (by Gourov-Roshin) are hit numbers. A couple of other songs are also appealing. Lyrics (by Kumaar, Danish Sabri, Sabbir Khan, Pranaay and Tanishk-Vayu) go with the film’s mood. Ganesh Acharya’s choreography is excellent. Sandeep Shirodkar’s background music should’ve been more forceful. Hari Vedantam’s cinematography is good. Action scenes (by Anl Arasu and K. Ravi Verma) are excellent for the masses. Rajat Poddar’s production designing is fair. Manan Sagar’s editing is reasonably sharp.
On the whole, Munna Michael has entertainment for the single-screen cinema audiences but not much for the multiplex audiences. As such, it will not be able to reach the safety mark without the full support of multiplex viewers.