Mister Mummy review: Riteish Deshmukh-Genelia D'Souza's flaw-full film with Shaad Ali might be rejected even in the 80s

1.5/5

Story:

An Indian husband Amol does not like kids. However, one day, he gets his wife pregnant and starts showing symptoms of pregnancy himself. What will this journey be like?

Review:

Male pregnancies were unheard of back in the 80s. A film like Mister Mummy might have worked in that era. Hell, it might have even blown off minds only for the fact that such a condition exists. In fact, it might have been a hit even in the 90s or early 2000s if all the flaws in the movie are ignored (like more were ignored in that era – you know what we mean). However, in 2022, this movie makes absolutely no sense. Actually, even back in the 80s, this movie would be rejected for the concept and later, when people started evolving, they would reject the movie for its lack of storytelling.

The story of Mister Mummy commences in UK. Riteish and Genelia have a retro drama, hinting that something major is to come up. This is when both Gugloo (Genelia) and Amol (Riteish) are pregnant. The film commences in a lukewarm manner and stays that way for the longest time.

For a major part of the film, you are left confused about what is happening. Riteish tries to be a strict, ruthless teacher but fails miserably. He is also in situations that just don't seem plausible. Imagine an Indian talking to British students in Hindi, they understand him perfectly and even take punishments as he says.

Karishma Kotak is seen in a surprising cameo role. She is sweet in whatever little role offered to her.

Rakesh Bedi and Ila Arun also make a cameo appearance. They are supposed to be important to the story but the two aren’t there for many parts in them. Nonetheless, Ila is one of the best things to happen to this film. Meanwhile, Rakesh is part impressive. He has his moments both in the first and second half.

Riteish and Genelia's seductive song barely makes you feel a thing. Both the actors are not believable in their roles and are forced into the 80s shy, melodramatic kind of story which is really disappointing to watch. Their romantic moments, as expected, are better than most things in the film but unfortunately you get to see only a glimpse of that throughout the approximately two-hour film.

Mahesh Manjrekar plays a gay doctor in the movie. He somehow fits in the role. The actor has another surprise in the film.

Riteish's breakdown with Mahesh Manjrekar is one of the good things in the movie. However, these moments are extremely rare throughout.

The film faces sound issues too. It's almost as if the characters whisper in a few scenes. You need to have a good ear to be able to understand a word or two in sentences. That’s how bad the sound quality is in these scenes.

The second half of the film gets a little hilarious but that absolutely does not make up for what the first half did – drag on without making much sense.

Papaji Pet Se is a cute song but the steps are just one of the things that make you feel unrealistic. However, you wouldn’t even care about that at this point because you’ve seen so many unrealistic things in this movie right from the beginning. And you haven’t even reached the last scene yet.

Gugloo and Amol's love story gets better in the second half. His talks make up for an extended scene and are somewhat worth it. Unfortuantely though, even if adorable, they are not the whole film and at this point, we’re just happy this scene didn’t turn into a whole film.

The end of the film is melodramatic but still works, if you put logic aside and emotions at play. No, we mean it. There’s absolutely no logic to the story. Whatever you saw in the past one and a half hour, goes down the drain with this scene.

Verdict:

Shaad Ali should take a break from filmmaking. There was no way that a couple as awesome as Riteish and Genelia could look bad but they do, thanks to Mister Mummy and its lack of script, execution and moments that just don’t make any sense. My biggest question is, why was the film set in UK when it could very well make slight sense in India? To distract the viewers from the bad story?

Please skip this film if you want to keep loving Riteish-Genelia. Also, if you love going to the movies, stay away from this one or your love can turn to hate real soon.