Monica, O My Darling
Cast: Rajkummar Rao, Huma Qureshi, Radhika Apte, Sikandar Kher, Sukant Goel
Director: Vasan Bala
Rating: 3/5
Pulp fictions have a different charm to it, especially when you’re watching it on a lazy Sunday afternoon. You never wanted something heavy on mind, neither something so lacklustred that would force you to sleep. Director Vasan Bala’s new dark comedy — Monica O My Darling — fits in just the right bracket where you enjoy the music, certain references, dimly lit spaces and a milieu that would take you back to films such as Johnny Gaddar, Badlapur and Andhadhun. You know how you enjoyed those films for various reasons, and how you could also give this one a chance even before the first scene takes place.
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It's again Pune. There’s a tech company where Jayant (Rajkummar Rao) is the brightest new robotic expert on the block. As luck would have it, he is about to get married to the owner’s daughter. I mean, what a poor but brilliant IIT graduate is good for otherwise!
Then there is the office secretary Monica (Huma Qureshi), the pivot of the story, because that’s what hot secretaries do! So many cliches but all of them set at just the right spots.
A mystery unfolds and every underdog’s dreams come crashing down. Here’s the point when the director needs to hold everything together. The audience anticipates everything, but how the mystery is going to unfold is the point. Is it impactful enough to not make you regret spending 130 not-so-important minutes of your life?
Huma Qureshi, Sikandar Kher and Rajkummar Rao ensure you give them a chance. Qureshi is not an inch out of place. From her introduction in a Helen-like song to her weirdly hilarious fistfight with Rajkummar Rao, she is the cohesive material this film needed. Maybe ten years down the line, her fans would reflect upon her acting in this film.
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Sikandar Kher as a derailed prince-in-waiting is another solid character. His eccentric act is effortlessly funny, and he deserves more sketched out roles for sure.
By now, it’s quite obvious that Rajkummar Rao doesn’t mind if his fellow actors are getting an edge in a particular scene. He would just wait for his opportunity and then do one scene that would give a sneak peek into his enormous latent potential.
Vasan Bala’s ode to retro-Bollywood noir is candidly explained by Radhika Apte in the film. She says, “Kahaani ko tight nahi pakadne ka. Thoda dheel de.”
Well, that’s the art which makes pulpy Bollywood such fun in the second decade of the new millennium.
Watch it for fun!
