The film tells the story of a 30 plus middle class school teacher, Meera Achrekar (Mandira) whose obsession for cricket crosses all bounds. While on one hand her family comprising of an ever caring parents and a cricket hating brother (Manjrekar) are trying their best to get her married, her craze for cricket is growing manifold.
Starring: Mandira Bedi, Eijaz Khan, Anupam Kher, Mahesh Manjrekar
Director: Chandrakant Kulkarni
Rating: 2/5
Also what rattles everyone is her extreme devotion to Indian spinner Anil Kumble which borders beyond a simple crush. So when handsome doctor, Arjun (Eijaz) enters Meera’s life and is planning to marry her, there comes a twist which throws up things upside down. What follows next forms the rest of the film.
It is a sweet concept and the direction style too reminds you of those medium budget sensible comedies like those of Hrishikesh Mukherjee, Sai Paranjpe and Basu Chatterjee but unfortunately it doesn’t have the matching content. A wonderful premise is spoiled by some unimaginative writing.
Mandira is shown to be cricket crazy but her craziness hasn’t been utilized fully for the audience to feel empathy for her. Also too much time is wasted on some really silly sequences that are supposedly funny but don’t really make you laugh.
First timer, Chandrakant Kulkarni (a big name in the Marathi film industry) appears technically sound but should have given more attention to the content. But full marks to him for the atmosphere creation of a typical middle class Maharashtrian household.
Mandira Bedi gets her first full blown lead role and she does justice to the part. TV heart throb Eijaz Khan not only looks very handsome but acts well too. Anupam Kher playing his dad copies his own DDLJ – SRK’s father act. Vandana Gupte as Mandira’s mom gives able support.
It is Mahesh Manjrekar who towers over them all with his superb act. His frustration of not becoming a cricketer because he wanted to take care of his family is noticeable in every single sequence. He commands great screen presence and makes us wish he pays more attention to his acting career than directing silly films.
All in all it’s an okay one time watch if you have nothing else to do but it does end up giving you a feeling that it could have been better!
