MOTOR MITRAAN DI (Punjabi) - Just noble intentions cannot save a loud, amateurish comedy taking the viewers for granted. (Review by Bobby Sing)

Beginning with the praises, director Amitoj Mann always manages to come up with a fresh and different story idea in his every new film, but his chosen themes (ironically) remain much more interesting and potent only till you watch the film.

In other words, as a writer and thinker, he always hits the right note taking evident clues from the changing social scenario around, but his overall execution and direction falls way short of what he himself might have conceived while writing the script in details.

Repeating the same shortcoming, his latest MOTOR MITRAAN DI also happens to be a film made on an important potential subject with all noble intentions, which otherwise fails to make an impact due to an amateurish and loud kind of execution (mostly) deviating from its core subject. (Spoilers Ahead)

Giving you a clear idea, though its entire publicity and promotional material revolved around exposing the ‘Fake Babey and Dera culture’ in Punjab making some shocking revelations. The film actually doesn’t focus on the same in the major part of its script and keeps revolving around a corpse creating a forced situational comedy that marginally works before the intermission, but falls completely flat in the second half where even the veterans are made to act in a quite amateurish manner.

To be specific, the moment its focus shifts on to a ‘Daayan’ in the bus, the film goes into a silly, pathetic mode and then ends on the same typical note without addressing its core issue in any kind of solid or thought provoking manner. No doubt, its a bold move by Amitoj making a film without any usual romantic angle squeezed in just for the sake of it. But I seriously wish he had taken a different route exploiting the relevant subject, something like GLOBAL BABA tried to do last year without any hiding or conservative handling of the subject revealing it fearlessly.

To be honest, where many instances in MOTOR MITRAAN DI reminded me of GLOBAL BABA itself, the local bus business and special discount to girls reminded me of similar sequences seen in SURYAVANSHAM featuring Amitabh Bachchan and Anupam Kher. Plus the hide and seek with the corpse made me recall the cult comedy JAANE BHI DO YAARON along with Alfred Hitchcock's lesser talked bout gem titled THE TROUBLE WITH HARRY. 

In short, take out Gurpreet Ghuggi out of MMD and the film will look like a poor, B grade attempt with a mediocre soundtrack, average cinematography and many loud, over the top acts by Yograj Singh, Vikram Ranjha, Sonia Maan and more. In fact Ghuggi and Happy Raikoti remain the only performers underplaying it naturally.

Having said that, though a bit loud but there are two other actors in the film, who must have enjoyed every minute of its shoot enacting their unusual challenging roles breaking the image barriers. One is the veteran Sardar Sohi (as a bald sadhu/lama) and the other is Harsharan Singh (as a funny looking PA to the fake Baba), who must have had a great time during the shoot, as you seldom get such experimental opportunities to showcase your skills in Punjabi Cinema.

Summing it all on a serious note, Punjabi community and its flag bearers loudly keep shouting and campaigning against the famous ‘Santa Banta Jokes’ and Hindi films making fun of Sikhs portraying them in a ridiculously comic manner. But I have never heard any person or group raising a voice against fun made by one Sikh of the other in Punjabi films differentiating them in the categories of Bhaapas and Jatts.

Relating the shameful truth with the current MOTOR MITRAAN DI, this is yet another film which continues doing so (with a particular character wearing printed pagdi saying words like ‘Bharaa Ji’) showcasing a sick kind of mindset behind the writing and its on screen presentation.

In fact, it’s this disgraceful discrimination between the community itself, which urgently needs to be addressed by the concerned people, leaders and groups before pointing out the others as I strongly feel.

Rating : 1.5 / 5