Film: Mard Ko Dard Nahi Hota (Action, Comedy)
Critic’s Rating: 3/5
Cast: Abhimanyu Dassani, Radhika Madan, Gulshan Devaiah, Mahesh Manjrekar and Jimit Trivedi
Direction: Vasan Bala
Written by: Vasan Bala
Duration: 2 hrs 18 mins
Language: Hindi (U/A)
Story: Born with a rare medical disorder called congenital insensitivity to pain, Surya (Abhimanyu) grows up ‘painlessly’ under the care of his father (Jimit) and mischievous grandfather (Mahesh). School life isn’t easy for Surya, who is often targeted by bullies for being ‘a freak’ and he finds an unlikely ally in Supri (Radhika). Even as he tends to his own medical condition, he binges on a collection of martial arts and masala Bollywood films that Grandpa helps him to source. He’s mesmerised by a 100-man karate kumite fought by a mysterious one-legged man called Karate Mani (Gulshan Devaiah). Surya’s foray into vigilantism to help Supri against her abusive-alcoholic father and a jerk-partner, his chance meeting with Karate Mani and adventures form the crux of the story.
Review: Irreverence goes a long way in Hindi cinema today. In fact, you are less likely to succeed if you follow an orthodox path in storytelling. In that sense, Mard Ko Dard Nahi Hota passes muster. Vasan Bala (from the Anurag Kashyap school) makes his version of a desi Deadpool, digs at Hindi potboilers to it (mostly the action parts) and serves up a humorous film.
However, even irreverence needs a method in the madness. When the premise is stretched to over two hours, some of the weird humour comes unstuck. After all, how many times can you laugh at the same funniness?
This is, in fact, where this ‘bastardised’ version of Deadpool fails. You see, the Ryan Reynolds film and sequel had the prerogative of saying outrageous things, using the ‘F’ word freely, abusing, etc. In Hindi, one has sanitised writing, so you have only that many stock phrases that keep getting repeated.
In the acting department--everyone is competent. Debutant Abhimanyu Dassani has a warm personality and delivers a decent act. Radhika Madan is pretty, pleasant and kicks ass convincingly.
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Mahesh Manjrekar and Jimit Trivedi are in fine fettle. But the scene stealer is Gulshan Devaiah who does a twin act, like Jean-Claude Van Damme in Double Impact (1991). His Karate Mani and Bad Boy Jimmy are both outrageous. And he keeps you invested in him all throughout because he has the best lines in the film.
The dialogue is funny and Bala shows you how he is seeped enough in mainstream Bollywood to be able to bring you in-house industry jokes.
Verdict: The humour here is infectious, but doesn’t hold throughout. This is a film more suited for OTT viewing, which you can enjoy during a Sunday brunch with a group of buddies.
