Cast: Tiger Shroff, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Nidhhi Agerwal,
Ronit Roy
Director: Sabbir Khan
Rating: 1.5 Stars (Out of 5)
This is a classic demonstration of filmmaking by rote. A big
city waif grows up into a young man who adores Michael Jackson and is strong-minded
to follow in the path of the King of Pop. The Mumbai lad hopes that his mouth
as a performer will one day be his ticket out the chawl anyplace he was raised
by Michael (Ronit Roy), a hard-drinking Catholic bloke no different from all
the talkative Catholic characters that we have come across in Hindi films over
the years. The foster-father never graduate beyond the level of a chorus
dancer. Munna, the superfluous boy he rescued off the mean streets, does not
want to end up as one.
So what does the guy do? He does the whole thing that Tiger
Shroff did in his previous two outings under the directorial supervision of
Sabbir Khan (Heropanti and Baaghi) - dance a lot and fight a lot without
achieving anything that could be construed as consequential. The film about a
youngster who has his sights set on winning a dance match is a formulaic and
frenzied mix of over-the-top choreography, action sequence, a forcibly
tagged-on love story and a bad guy who gives no quarters, all which simple fly
by in a blur. In other words, Munna Michael is a mixed-genre evil that never
hits any kind of rhythm.
Matters begin settle down a just a tad when a Rajasthani
dialect-spouting hoodlum Mahinder (Nawazuddin Siddiqui) enters the scene. He requirements
to learn how to dance in organize to impress the girl he loves. The ambitious
protagonist agrees to become the land-grabbing goon's dance instructor because
he sees in the association of expediency the key to his future.
All is hunky-dory until it turns out that the educator and
the trainee are in love with the same girl, Dolly (debutante Nidhhi Agerwal),
who herself is no mean dancer. The rigmarole that ensues is as unappetizing as surveillance
two men jostle for a toehold on a treadmill. After spending a part of the film
delivering gifts to Dolly on behalf of Mahinder, Munna sees improved percentage
in profess love to her. Mahinder, on his part, see red and all hell breaks.
The superwoman has challenges other than competing with two
men vying for her consideration - her father is opposed to her pursuit of
dancing glory. It is obvious that it is men who call the shots in the girl's
life. Mahinder pursues her devoid of as much as a by-your-leave; Munna assumes
the role of a knight in shining armour (again, without Dolly being permissible
much of a say in the matter). And then this 'invisible' father is spring upon
us.
As is obvious, Munna Michael has nothing original or novel
on offer. Tiger Shroff's choice as an actor could fit into a single-toned
miniature - you don't need to see Munna Michael to come to that conclusion. It simply
serves as a aide memoire. The film follows a simple formula: Tiger dances when
he isn't fighting and he fight when he isn't dancing. Why can't the guy just
make up his intelligence whether he wants to be Michael Jackson or Jean-Claude
Van Damme and stick to using either his nimble feet or his electric fists to
make his point? In in quest of to do both with equal gusto he falls between two
stools, transportation the film with him.
This whole dance-action sort is a dubious Bollywood
invention created for actor and screenplay writers whose imagination runs out
of steam as soon as the focus begins to move away from the dance floor or the
action set pieces. It is the straightforward way out. Sadly, the way out here
goes in a single direction - down.
What, then, is Nawazuddin Siddiqui doing in a film like
this? The astounding thing about this actor is that he extracts life out of the
most comatose of scenes, combine menace and comicality to carve out the persona
of a bad guy who is good to watch. Wish one could say the same about Munna
Michael the film. Even if you were in a above all lenient frame of mind, you
wouldn't be able to bring yourself to spot anything at all in the film that
could be held up as a positive feature.
Debutante Nidhhi Agerwal isn't a complete article. Tiger
Shroff, with all his boundaries, is beginning to get there, but what his choice
of roles and films tells us is that dance and action are his scene. But in the
absence of a articulate screenplay to hang all the hyperactivity from, his
grand scenes fizzle out.
Munna Michael is only for fans of Tiger Shroff. All ye that
haven't yet figure out what he is about, stay out of the way. You aren't likely
to go home purring and dancing after watching this one.
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