Simran
Year: 2017
Director: Hansal Mehta
Cast: Kangna Ranaut, Soham Shah

After more than a dozen mediocre movies, director Hansal Mehta hit back through critically acclaimed, serious themed films Shahid, Citylights and Aligarh. Now he teams up with Kangna Ranaut, a self-styled diva, basking in the success of her Queen and Tanu Weds Manu portrayals, and taking on Bollywood’s bigwigs with some hard-hitting controversial interviews.

Already the film is in news for wrong reasons as the writer Apurva Asrani has accused Kangna of making wholesale changes in the script! So how does the altered script fare?

What’s the plot?

Simran (Kangna Ranaut) is a struggler trying to find her niche in US. She is a thirty-plus divorcee, working as a housekeeper in a hotel; staying with her parents and sharing an uneasy relationship with her father. Working hard for seven years, she has saved some money to buy her own house. Then in a bout of madness she loses everything in gambling and ends up in a heavy debt from a loan shark. Cornered from all ends, something snaps inside and she ends up at the wrong side of law! With one understanding nice guy (Apurva Asrani) rooting for her, will Simran turn the corner of her complicated life?

What’s hot?

·        Kangna Ranaut delivers an engaging performance as a vulnerable yet strong single lady taking on the world. On one side, she is clueless about her life and on the other, she fearlessly treads on unknown paths!

·        Soham Shah is likeable as Simran’s supportive boyfriend.

·        Some warm and funny sequences.

What’s not?

·        Hansal Mehta’s balancing act of making the film edgy yet fun fails on both counts.

·        Simran’s central character heavily borrows from Kangna’s Queen and Tanu Weds Manu characters.

·        The Gujju-ness of main characters and overall plotline, both are not too convincing.

·        The dramatic events in the film (particularly Simran’s crime acts!) are presented in a lackluster fashion.

·        The film is too dull paced .

Verdict

It is very difficult not to repeat a successful formula and Simran tries too hard to do that. Unfortunately even though Kangna gives it her best shot, unlike her past triumphs, Simran does not make you root for her! Neither a human drama, nor a crime-comedy, the film lacks the energy to to be really enjoyable.

Rating

2.5 stars