Mimi movie review rating: Three stars out of five
Once upon a time in Rajasthan, an American couple, John (Aidan Whytock) and Summer (Evelyn Edwards), descend for a healthy-woman-search to conceive their child through surrogacy. Their eyes-on-money taxi driver Bhanu (Pankaj Tripathi) lures in Bollywood aspirant and local dancer Mimi (Kriti Sanon), who casually agrees to a dream-fulfilling 20 lakh rupees arrangement.
Mimi moves to her best friend and singer Shama’s (Sai Tamhankar) home for the nine pregnant months. Her parents (Supriya Pathak, Manoj Pahwa) are led to believe she is temporarily moving for a city movie shoot. The first few months pass breezily to passable A.R. Rahman songs.
But when the local doctor informs John and Summer about Down Syndrome having inflicted the unborn child, they are heartbroken. They abandon Mimi, leaving Bhanu to break the message – Abort the child. Mimi’s world and dreams are crushed in one instant. What will she do next?
Mimi review: Avoiding the road not taken:Â Based on the national award winning 2011 Marathi movie, Mala Aai Vhhaychy! (I Want To Be a Mother!), director Laxman Utekar’s Mimi never goes offtrack by staying safe.
No questions are posed on the morality of surrogacy. The American couple come off as innocent do-gooders, probably meant to improve bilateral relations between the two countries? Eh?
Income sources are seldom a Bollywood dikkat (issue), its partly convincing that Mimi and Shama are shown earning a living (kind of), that money is a dikkat for them. Otherwise, Yash Raj and Dharma movies keep whirring with private helicopters and dinosaur-sized mansions from unknown income sources.
How about India’s nasty, conservative society not uttering one mean comment on Mimi’s unwed mother status? Clearly Mimi is set in a country called Perfection, not India.
Spoiler alert (ft. ambulance siren wails): Raising a child born out of surrogacy with Down Syndrome, tougher story to tell, only Mimi‘s writers don’t go there. That still leaves the tantalizing premise of whose child is it – The mother who gave birth or the biological mother? Mimi works on this premise, the emotional parts never go overboard, the initial humour, good passing fun (courtesy Pankaj Tripathi).
Performances, music, editing, visuals: Kriti Sanon does a good one as Mimi, the underwritten Sai Tamhankar is graceful as Mimi’s dearest friend. Pankaj Tripathi aces the sly, funny driver and helpful friend act, he deserves more fascinating characters for his rich, perpetual talent.
Manoj Pahwa and Supriya Pathak fit aptly as Mimi’s parents. Evelyn Edwards as Summer is extraordinary in a brief role. A rare example of how to convey much in moments. Aidan Whytock is good, despite nothing to play with.
A.R. Rahman’s soundtrack is largely a miss, featuring four bearable songs and three misses. A rare exception for the musical maestro. The background score is good, if not uplifting. As a lifelong ARR fan, let me say – Form is temporary, class is permanent.
Akash Agarwal’s cinematography is neat, while Manish Pradhan’s editing is largely crisp.
The finale even if an easy-peasy resolution holds because of the motherhood theme.    Â
Mimi review: Mimi floats on its universal emotional take of a mother’s rights on a child, good humour, sane drama and decent resolution. The makers limit the story boundaries and keep the drama controlled to infuse Mimi with enough satisfactory entertainment, despite missing on a social message.
Mimi has its heart at the right place, makes a good one-time watch.    Â
Endnote: Shout out to dialogues writer Rohan Shankar for letting Shama sum up life – Tum jo sochte ho woh zindagi nahi hoti. Hamare saath jo hota hai woh zindagi hai. (What you think is not life. What happens with us in life.)
A lovely instance of legendary comedian Mehmood’s rendition of Sabse Bada Rupaiya (Money is bigger than everything else) to go with Mimi rashly opting to become a surrogate mother. The nods to Naseeeruddin Shah and Nawazuddin Siddiqui, nice teeny-weeny touches.
(As seen on Netflix)Â Â Â Â Â Â
