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Mard Ko Dard Nahi Hota review: Abhimanyu – Radhika’s film is quirky, zany and not to be missed

Mard Ko Dard Nahi Hota review: Vasan Bala’s brilliantly-crafted narration is the hero of this Abhimanyu Dassani – Radhika Madan starrer which is a hilarious ode to the ’90s kitsch

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mard ko dard nahi hota hai review radhika madan abhimanyu dassani vasan bala

Abhimanyu Dassani, Radhika Madan, Gushan Devaiah’s Mard Ko Dard Nahi Hota Hai is one film you cannot miss! ‘Har mind-blowing kahaani ke peechey ek bad decision hota hai!’ This is a dialogue that the hero (Abhimanyu) of the film mouths early on. Well we certainly do not know what the bad decision was behind this mind-blowing film. But whatever it was, by the hero’s logic, it clearly seemed to have worked here! To be honest, we had not gone in with very high expectations. But we were definitely tickled by the cinematic experience offered by the director Vasan Bala. The film had us hooked from the very first few scenes. And by the climax we were accustomed to the dard we got from laughing too much! Here’s our full Mard Ko Dard Nahi Hota review:

What Mard Ko Dard Nahi Hota is all about? An infant Surya is diagnosed with a rare disorder in which he can’t feel any pain at all. He loses his mother as a toddler, in an accident, after a chain-snatching gone wrong. And so he is brought up by an over-worrisome and protective father (Jimit Trivedi). He also has a feisty grand-dad (Mahesh Manjrekar). The two can hardly see eye-to-eye due to their differences in the upbringing methods of Surya. While the father tries to keep his son safe by tying him up, the grandfather has other ideas. In order to introduce his grandson to ‘normalcy’ and pain, he makes him watch karate and kung-fu films of the ‘70s and the ‘80s, indulging in his fantasy world, while also rooting him in reality. Surya’s condition and his exposure to those films makes him believe that he’s a superhero out to annihilate all villains. A boon and a bane all at once, the precautions needed to make sure he stays alive, also make him a misfit and an easy target for school kids who regularly bully him.

But Surya also has his savior, his best friend Supri, who takes on the bullies trying to protect him. As a kid, Surya accidentally injures Supri’s drunk and violent father. This prompts Surya’s father to move his family to their ancestral house in a small town. Keeping the young Surya company right through his adulthood is his favourite VHS tape featuring Karate Master Mani (Gulshan Devaiah). The tape is of a tournament recording, in which the karate expert is shown to win a 100-man fight alone. Surya studies and masters each and every move and gains all his own martial arts training from Karate Master Mani’s video – in secrecy of course. A chance trip back to the city brings Surya face-to-face with Supri (Radhika Madan) and one-legged Master Mani himself. They are being troubled by Mani’s evil twin Jimmy. How Surya forms an uncanny vigilante team with Supri to fight Jimmy is what follows.

Yay: Performance-wise, Mard Ko Dard Nahi Hota is ably-pulled together by all the actors. Radhika Madan as the ass-kicking Supri is very impressive. Her action sequences are an absolute treat to watch. Abhimanyu Dassani as Surya shines in his debut. His action is top-notch and effortless. The director plays up the young and hunky hero’s plus points really well, while smartly keeping his emotional parts to the bare minimum. Emotional scenes is a department in which Abhimanyu will need to work on a bit more. Though to the newbie’s credit, he does manage to bring about the vulnerability and the innocence of his character really well. But it’s Gulshan Devaiah as the evil twin Jimmy who truly deserves a pat on the back. He is eccentric and insanely funny.

The equation between the father-in-law (Manjrekar) and the widowed son-in-law (Jimit) is equally a treat to watch. Both Jimit and Manjrekar are impressive with their comic-timing and they present some genuinely hilarious moments. However, the highlight of Mard Ko Dard Nahi Hota is the lavish use of music from the ’80s and the ’90s. Right from Chiranjeevi doing the pelvic-thrust hook step of the ’90s to the song, It’s a Challenge, the film is peppered with popular Hindi and South Indian hit tracks in the backdrop reminiscent of the kitsch film culture that most of us grew up watching. The dialogues are an added and work well in tandem with the mood of the film.

Some of the scenes seem inane, but they are brilliantly executed by Bala. Scenes like the one introducing Jimmy (Gulshan Devaiah) as the cliché psychotic evil brother and Mani as the cliché drunk karate master is epic. A scene where a henchman regains consciousness only to pretend to be unconscious again are over-the-top and silly, yet they evoke much laughter.

Nay: The story of Mard Ko Dard Nahi Hota is obviously a bit too far-fetched. Also there are parts that are predictable and just too convenient to digest and may act as a bit of a dampener. A few scenes lack the depth that could’ve made it more impactful, while some seem too frivolous and forced. However, luckily, these scenes are too few and far in between.

CineBlitz Verdict: The hero here is undoubtedly Vasan Bala’s well-crafted direction and his brilliant style of narration. The thought bubbles that the characters think aloud of what is and dreaming of what could have been make for some hilarious moments. The slo-mo action sequences are one of the best we have seen and deserve a special mention. Every frame is a treat for action buffs! In short, if you are in for some quirky, crazy, fun then Mard Ko Dard Nahi Hota is not to be missed.

Star Rating: 3.5 stars

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