Super Nani
Genre : Family Drama
Director : Indra Kumar
Cast : Rekha, Randhir Kapoor, Sharman Joshi, Anupam Kher, Shweta Kumar, Rajesh Kumar, Shreya Narayan
After every few years, Bollywood turns the focus on the homemaker. Be it Ghar Dwar or Ghar Ek Mandir , motherly love has been regularly milked at the box office.
Director Indra Kumar, who was known to excel in this genre with films like Beta to his credit before taking the Masti route, returns to his core strength with a film dedicated to all those mothers who are reduced to doormats in Indian homes. In such films the format is almost the same. The selfish husband and the children don’t realise the importance of the selfless work of the lady who sacrifices her interests so that the family blossoms. And then comes the servant or the step son or, in this case, the grandson who makes her understand her value. And when she bounces back, everybody listens.
With age no longer just a number Rekha returns to the Biwi Ho To Aisi space as Super Nani . As Bharti Bhatia she wants to have her share of Baghban in her repertoire. She retains the charm and the grace that has made her glow all these years. In Sharman Joshi she has the perfect foil to play out the melodramatic moments but alas, they don’t have the material to play with. Kumar has put together the ’80s style high-pitched sob story which fails to uncork the tear ducts.
The points that he makes on self seeking kids, uncaring husband, live in relationships are all fine but Kumar deals in absolutes. It makes you wonder why Bharti is living with these idiots in the first place. There is no middle ground, no nuance here. We know such films require a little exaggeration to make an impact but Kumar is addressing the Facebook generation with the tools of VCR era.
A couple of years back Sridevi and Gauri Shinde showed how it can be done in today’s context. In fact in a scene
Rekha calls up Boney Kapoor and conveys her wishes for Shri.
Perhaps she inspired her to make a comeback but she has chosen a dated vehicle. Change the driver and the diva still has it in her to stop us in our stride.
Bottomline : A shrill family melodrama whose essence is lost in execution
