Marjaavaan

Marjaavaan Story: Raised as the right-hand man of a tanker mafia in Mumbai, Raghu’s (Sidharth Malhotra) life changes when he sees Zoya (Tara Sutaria). But this love story is probably destined for doom.

Marjaavaan Review: In one of its early scenes, the film’s leading man Sidharth Malhotra (chewing the rear end of a matchstick) lands up in a shady looking godown to beat up the bad guys. He brings along a first aid kit (a la Big B in Trishul where he brings the ambulance along) and justifies it by saying, “Main todunga bhi aur tod kar jodunga bhi.” He then fires another one that goes, “Main maroonga marr jayega, dobara janam lene se darr jayega.” And thus, follows many such high on drama, low on impact lines and action scenes where grim looking burly men engage in fist fights and throw each other around. Only if this action came with logic and conviction to match.

The film’s plot is reminiscent of many potboilers straight out of the 80s, with barely any novelty in execution. There is love, drama, action and revenge packed in an exhausting two and a half hours of narrative, full of clichés and stereotypes. Thankfully, Marjaavaan has a few good actors, who strive to make their characters work against all odds. Leading them is ironically, the film’s villain Vishnu, played by Riteish Deshmukh. As a midget, who is obsessed with metaphors around height, Riteish doesn’t exactly look dreadful but his performance instills some fear. However, as he constantly mouths over-the-top filmy dialogues, it blunts his villainy making it unintentionally funny.

Sidharth Malhotra, on the other hand, has a fine screen presence and he attempts to put in an honest performance. But his character is one-note and the film’s overall writing lacks the depth to make it impactful. The film’s leading lady, Tara Sutaria, looks beautiful in the role of a mute girl Zoya, but doesn’t have much to work with. Ditto for Rakul Preet Singh (in a special appearance), who plays a bar dancer, Aarzoo. She has little to do than showing off her moves on the dance floor and flaunting her perfect hour-glass figure. Among the character artistes, veteran south actor Nassar and Bhojpuri star Ravi Kishen, impress in their limited screen time. The film’s music is melodious and peppy that blends well with the narrative, but there are far too many songs, adding to an already lengthy runtime. The background score is loud and distracting.

Marjaavaan attempts to check all the boxes for an emotional action rollercoaster, but its dated execution doesn’t quite make the kill.