PremiumThe Great Indian Family review: Vicky Kaushal gives his best in this mediocre attempt at comedy and social issue
Vicky Kaushal starrer The Great Indian Family is a wasted opportunity to showcase the diversity and unity of India.
Last Updated: 02.29 PM, Sep 22, 2023
Story:
Ved Vyas Tripathi (Vicky Kaushal), a devoted Hindu who lives two lives—one as Ved and the other as Bhajan Kumar—centres the plot of The Great Indian Family. Ved, who is the protagonist of the film and is known for singing popular bhajans around the community, lives in a small town. The plot, however, takes a significant turn when Vicky's family receives a letter claiming that Ved is not their biological son and is, in fact, a Muslim by religion. Everyone is stunned, and the narrative continues as a result.
Review:
The Great Indian Family isn't a particularly long movie, but it could certainly have been shortened from 1 hour 52 minutes to 1 hour 30 minutes with ease. The story, which Vijay Krishna Acharya both wrote and directed, is humorous at moments but also overly dramatic at parts. The movie makes a very strong statement, yet it also has many flaws.
The movie's first half is lighter and funnier, and the song "Kanhaiya Twitter Pe Aaja" will undoubtedly get you in the mood. However, as soon as the story has barely begun, a second song featuring Vicky and Manushi's love affair appears, and you start to lose a little interest in the movie because it was completely unnecessary.
The first half of the movie is still entertaining, but as soon as the second half starts, the movie starts to go down an emotional path and forgets to put in a little humor. Our hero has two best friends in the movie, as in every other Bollywood movie; however, they are only present in the first half and are barely noticeable in the second. The same is the case with Manushi; in both the first and second parts, she barely makes an appearance, and her character is barely developed. Apart from these flaws, the film's direction is generic, yet Ayananka Bose's cinematography faithfully conveys the essence of a small village. The editing by Charu Shree Roy could have been more crisp.
Vicky Kaushal portrays his character with the utmost honesty in terms of performances. The actor shines in both serious and comic roles, demonstrating his versatility. Vicky's performance as Bhajan Kumar is the movie's centrepiece.
Kumud Mishra and Manoj Pahwa are without a doubt the film's icing on the cake; their outstanding performances bring all the movie's emotional passages to life and help to make it a compelling narrative.
Manushi Chhillar, as Vicky's love interest, is a character that was least needed in the film. I hate to say this for the female characters, but she was actually used as the only glamour quotient, and her character was not even poorly written but barely written.
Other actors, including Sharma, Sadiya Siddiqui, Alka Amin, Srishti Dixit, Bhuvan Arora, and Aasif Khan, did their parts well.
The music of the film only includes one catchy song, and yes, you guessed it right, it's 'Kanhaiya Twitter Pe Aaja'. Apart from this, all the other songs are easily forgettable.
Verdict
The best part about the film is that it does not shy away from addressing the issues of religion, communalism, and prejudice in our country. However, I believe we are now done with the concept of monologue at the end of every film, where the hero keeps speaking for 2-3 minutes, conveys the message, everyone understands, and the message is delivered.