Mr & Mrs Mahi review: Janhvi, Rajkummar's earnest performances can't save film that doesn't really get cricket or women

Director: Sharan Sharma

Cast: Rajkummar Rao, Janhvi Kapoor, Kumud Mishra, Rajesh Sharma, Zarina Wahab, Purnendu Bhattacharya, Yamini Das, and Arjit Taneja

Where to watch: Theatres

Rating: 2.5 stars

Mr & Mrs Mahi is a film that gets a lot right. It is high on emotion. For a change (for Hindi films), it depicts cricket on the field quite well. It even boasts of strong performances from its two leads. But all that is almost negated by a basic flaw in its premise. For a story that is about a female cricketer’s rise, it does not understand the essence of cricket, or what women are like. A conflicting, somewhat illogical plot lets this film down, preventing it from becoming a truly great sports film for all ages.

As the title suggests, Mr & Mrs Mahi is the story of a married couple – failed cricketer Mahendra Aggarwal (Rajkummar Rao) and his doctor wife Mahima Sharma (Janhvi Kapoor). Mahendra is resigned to work in his father’s sports goods shop having failed to become a professional cricketer. But after he discovers his wife has a hidden cricket talent, he takes it upon himself to train her so that she can fulfil his dream. But is he doing it for her, or just piggybacking her to become a star himself? Mr & Mrs Mahi attempts to answer these questions.

The premise of Mr & Mrs Mahi is an interesting one. It is not a straightforward sports film as it presents a flawed protagonist, one who is not averse to manipulating others to get what he wants. He is self-aware but also justifies his actions, both to himself and the world. That makes him a not-so sympathetic protagonist. Rajkummar Rao brings his A-game in this layered portrayal of Mahendra and his psyche, a broken man riding on others’ coat-tails for his 30 seconds of fame. The actor is so earnest and competent in his art that he makes this otherwise loathsome character even slightly likable.

And he has a worthy foil in Janhvi Kapoor, an actress who seems to be maturing greatly with each film. There is no doubt that Janhvi has been lucky with the films that she has gotten, be it Good Luck Jerry or Bawaal, as all have scope for performances. In Mr & Mrs Mahi, paired opposite an actor at the top of his game, Janhvi too, rises. As Mahima, she is sensitive, vulnerable, and strong all at once. The actress has clearly worked on the physical aspect of her character too, acing the cricketing shots even if some of her drives look too picture-perfect for a movie.

And these two are ably supported by a strong support cast. Kumud Mishra yet again shines in a good role, bringing a father’s irrational expectations from his son to the fore quite well. Zarina Wahab does well with her criminally less screen time. Wish we saw more of her. And Rajesh Sharma infuses life in the film with a rooted portrayal of a coach, a man who knows the world all too well.

But even as the actors bring their best, the film lets them down. The chief problem is that for a film about cricket, it never evokes the love for the game that a sports film needs to. Even Kai Po Che, one of Rajkummar’s early films, which was only partially about the game, managed to capture the game’s essence. Mr & Mrs Mahi gets the technical aspects right but fails to capture that mythical ‘spirit of cricket’. It then looks and appears like any other film where a husband is jealous of his wife’s success (read: everything from Abhimaan to Aashiqui 2).

Another problem with Mr & Mrs Mahi is the character arc of Mahendra. He goes from a wide-eyed hopeful to a bitter man, only to get ‘cured’ by his wife and then again rebound to become a jealous, vindictive person. But his second reversal, one where he needs to convince both his wife and the audience, that he has reformed and learnt his lesson, is not convincing at all. And here, the film fails women. For all that Mahendra puts Mahima through, shattering her confidence and faith, he wins her over a little too easily. And sure, there are people who get won over easily enough, for the audience, who were invested in Mahima’s struggle, Mahendra’s quick cheat code of a redemption, seems like a blow in the face.

Mr & Mrs Mahi may connect with the audience in the end. It is a film that knows how to present its emotionally high moments. It presents a simple story rather aesthetically too, and touches upon some nice points about self awareness, knowing one’s ceiling, and most importantly, what makes one happy in life. It is a good film but could have been so much better.

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