Malang Movie – New Wine in the Old Bottle

Director Mohit Suri’s Malang is blend of romance, action and thrill yet it fails to ignite much spark with the audience. Predictable plot, unduly stretched fight sequences, unnecessary tragic scenes and a hero that seeks vengeance appear all too cliché.

The story begins in the prison with Advait (Aditya Kapur) has an outstretched fight sequence over a bracelet that predictably belongs to his lady love Sara (Disha Patani). Anil Kapoor plays Inspector Anjaney Agashe.

Sara meets Advait in Goa. They are poles apart in nature- (no guess work needed)…Advait is an introvert while Sara, an NRI bubbles with energy. The story takes a Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara turn, when the lovebirds let their fears down by indulging in adventure sports. While Sara looks stunning, Aditya does a wonderful job showing off his body. A shout out for the costume designer for the great job! A twist in tale lands Advait in prison and 5 years later he sets out to take the revenge. (We won’t spoil the fun by revealing the twist)

The story drags in the first half with no substance. Disha fails to express emotions and is mostly straight faced even in the intense scenes. Aditya and Anil Kapoor do justice to their jobs. Kunal Khemu who plays the cop does a good job, although his raised eyebrow gets irksome at times. Post interval, the film attempts to reason by joining the dots. But the story lacks any depth. The story does get interesting towards the end.

Malang does have some fine moments, which we wish could have been more. Hands down, Anil Kapoor wins hearts with his flawless performance, ace dialogue delivery and timing. Aditya Kapoor does a brilliant job with expressions, in addition to having a great body (which he shows amply throughout the movie). Disha Patani fails to add much value to the film. Her dialogue delivery often goes flat.

Elli Avram looks chic in her dreadlocks as Jezebel. She plays a Swedish expat who’s on the streets to make a living. She’s the gal with the goldnen heart ( Pretty Woman, eh?)

Other supporting cast include Keith Sequeira, Angela Krislinzki, Shaad Randhawa and Amruta Khanvilkar. All of them do a passable job.

Overall, Malang is a overly simplified movie with too many gaps that can’t be ignored. Anil Kapoor and Aditya Roy Kapur’s fan may still like to watch Malang, but don’t expect any surprises with the thriller….No suspense here! You may give this movie a miss if you love movies with angle and depth!