Film review: Mr Singh Mrs Mehta

Originally for AOL India

Cast: Prroshant Narayanan, Aruna Sheilds, Naved Aslam, Lucy Hassan

Director: Pravesh Bhardwaj

Music: Ustaand Shujaat Husain Khan

Rating: *1/2

Many argue that cinematography does not make a bad film good. But even they will agree that bad cinematography could break a movie! At least in this case I got a headache. Hand held shots have been used to great effects in past films but this time around it looked like the cinematographer is nothing more than an amateur. A few minutes into the film I got a headache… all for the shakes!

Few more minutes into the film I start wondering what is the secret behind the name of the film. The protagonist is neither Mr Singh nor Mrs Mehta. The story does start as an affair between them in establishment. But it quickly moves on to Mrs Singh and Mr Mehta. The two discover their spouses’ illicit affair and get closer while comforting each other and trying to understand each other. From there the story take its own pace to unravel… so slow that it could put you to sleep. While the story of the film is good to start, the pace kills it. Also, apart from the two primary characters, the other two characters are not developed at all.  Mr Singh and Mrs Mehta only seem to be taking off from work for their fling and flying to other cities for the ‘pleasures’. 

Mrs Neera Singh (Aruna) and Mr Ashwin Mehta (Prroshant) not only become friends but they also get into an affair themselves. Their character show distinct changes after that. While Ashwin finds a muse to paint, Neera gains in confidence. One good thing about MSMM is the fact that it shows a relationship beyond what Hindi films have shown so far. It does not restrict itself to guilt and regular melodrama. And it moves towards a very justified end. Just that as it draws towards the end it delves into unnecessary symbolism. Why Mr Singh and Mrs Mehta draw a conclusion to their relationship and the reaction of their respective spouses are question left unattended.

Technically this film is quite weak. It is shot shabbily and editing is nothing noteworthy. The music is however good and works with the pace of the film. On a scale of performance Prroshant does a good job and does justice to his character. Aruna Shields is bad and can’t get any emotions on her face. She appears to be struggling too hard to get the dialogues right. The rest don’t work at all.

Art house cinema has its own audience and that is all that MSMM would be aiming at. And even they might find it boring. For the regular entertainment seeking audience, you could just opt for something else. The much talked about nude scenes are non-existent too, thank to blurring effects.