Mumbai Pune Mumbai 2, 2015 — ★★★½
Mumbai Pune Mumbai 2, or MPM2 is a sequel of a 2010 hit movie of the same name. It was a story of girl meets boy in an arranged marriage setting. In recent times, boys and girls prefer to mingle and talk even in the case of arranged marriage. They want to see how compatible they are for each other. Director Satish Rajwade captured the essence of this practice very well. The success of the film naturally got gave us the sequel, their marriage.
The success of the first movie should be credited to lovely performances by both the leads, Gautam (Swapnil Joshi) and Gauri (Mukta Barve). The entire film revolved around them, with almost no supporting characters. That made the movie personal and much likable. When I first saw the trailer of the sequel, I was skeptical. I thought it would turn out to be a Marathi version of a diabetically sweet, Hum Aapke Hai Kaun. Thankfully, I was wrong.
Some time had passed since they have started liking each other. So naturally, both the families start the next steps of getting to know each other and start the preparations for a grand wedding. Gauri observes gradual changes in Gautam after she has said yes and so has cold feet. She gets nervous about how it would be once she is in a committed marriage. To amplify her confusion, her ex-boyfriend Arnav tries to come back in her life. The story is about her internal dilemma. Unlike the first film, this one focuses on her struggles and Gautam almost goes to a supporting role. Reminds me of Dil Chahta Hai telling Aamir’s story post interval.
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Guys are idiots and girls are princesses. Things don’t really work the same way post marriage as they work in a relationship. I feel they both need to understand that. The movie shows that struggle at least from a girl’s point of view. In earlier days, it was never this complicated. Both guys and girls were fairly adjusting and if I may call, obedient. The trends have changed, the open culture which brings a lot of good things for the society also brings strong, influential, individualism. In one scene, Gauri points out how she became independent after a failed relationship. That highlights both the good and bad shades of today’s times. We are independent, strong willed and confident. We feel certain about taking on the challenges alone, and enjoying the fruits of our toil alone. This has hampered togetherness. The movie subtly points it out. The married lives of parents and the thought processes of the kids, both these things together provide a nice contrast to the setting.
The performances are strong. Mukta excels in some of the scenes when is she really shows how frightened she is about the uncertainties. Swapnil tries to present Gautam like the previous one, but somehow comes off as too amped up. He has his moments which he carries very well. Apart from the two leads, even rest of the cast are industry veterans. Although it is the story of Gautam and Gauri, the most memorable character for me was Gautam’s father, played by Prashant Damle. The guy is so amazingly natural that I can not put his performance in words. He is among the few beacons of good humor in otherwise dull and highly childish state of Marathi comedy these days. He brings a lovely energy to every scene he is in.
Product placements. The movie goes out of the way to advertise a tea brand, a watch brand, a dairy products brand, a jewelry brand. This is so damn annoying that I am going to take points from the film for this. I had first seen it in Poshter Boyz, where we were forced to sit through an entire commercial of a cement company. I had complained then, and I will complain now. This trend needs to stop. We already sit through the sponsors logo fest for the entire first minute, we should not be subjected to how great a certain ghee is. It throws the audience away from the narrative. I remember TVF has done that with Airtel and CommonFloor, but that should not become mainstream. It will always be an irritation.
Apart from the product placements, the movie is enjoyable and agreeable. The problems of the current generations are very well portrayed. I will settle for 3.5 stars and I do recommend it.
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