At times, some films prove you absolutely wrong when you simply ignore them in comparison to a few big films and then end up cursing yourself for making such a weak assumption. MIRCH is definitely one of those few under-estimated films which not only surprised me with its bold content but also made me think several times about all the relevant questions raised in its entertaining yet thought-provoking script, after a long time.
But before praising the movie further, I would first like to mention that MIRCH is not any film heavily relying on its technicalities or any near perfect attempt to be precise. Yet, the reason why I am including it in my MUST SEE MOVIES List is the film being an exceptional project which is both likable as well as hateful in a very strange manner as rarely seen before.
In fact, MIRCH is a novel kind of daring attempt which at one end surely entertains you in a very fresh and mesmerizing style, but on the other, may also seriously offend both the male and female genders equally in a very dishonorable way. Talking about four different stories on the sexual relationship between man and woman in all contrasting backgrounds, and time-periods, the film is a pretty bold sex comedy which strictly calls for an adult viewing without any doubt. Plus, it may also turn out to be a dangerous movie in the end, putting many new unwanted ideas into your mind un-necessarily.
Putting it differently, it’s a Vinay Shukla directed film [writer-director of multiple National Award winning GODMOTHER (1999)] made on a very bold sexual subject, which courageously explores the topic of adultery from the woman’s side with the reference of ‘Triyacharitra’. In all the four stories in the film, it is the woman who betrays and cheats her husband in a very harsh as well as hilarious manner, whereas it’s only the fourth one in which the husband too is doing the similar kind of act (balancing the mostly one sided narrative). In each act of betrayal, the women plays a certain trick and gets away with her unexpected and disrespectful act very smartly. On a controversial note, even after being a fairly entertaining flick, the film may turn out to be both confusing and disturbing for a certain section of viewers who might take the depiction of man and women in its stories in a bad taste.
In simple words, where the women might feel being shown with an intolerably sickening attitude, the men too might feel being portrayed as fools and silly husbands on the screen with a pinch of humor. But at the same time, both the genders would also feel thoroughly entertained deep inside from their heart (which they may choose to hide). And that’s exactly what I liked the best about MIRCH, a movie which can generate such wide diverse reactions among the viewers that may go beyond the imagination of a normal mind.
Elaborating further, the film might appear to be a thought provoking for some and a kind of soft porn for many. It may be enlightening experience for one and a disgusting thought of a pervert mind for the other. It may seem to be a journey into the mind of woman for one and might turn out to be a waste of time for the other. And since there are not many movies which are capable of generating such variety of responses in the viewers, MIRCH becomes an important film to be seen and studied in your own unique way.
Here I would also like to add that in spite of being based on such bold subject, the seducing and intimate scenes in the film never go beyond a certain limit and remain un-objectionable, which indeed is a great job done by the director and his cinematographer together.
Revealing its surprising source material, as mentioned in the film’s opening slide, parts of the narrative are adapted from the Italian Classic “The Decameron” by Giovanni Boccaccio and partly from “The Panchtantra” by Pt. Vishnu Dutt Sharma. The mention of latter certainly confused as well as surprised me like a shock as I could never relate the content matter revolving around sexual relationships coming from something like The Panchtantra. Since my childhood, I had always assumed Panchtantra to be a collection of moral stories mostly focusing on animal kingdom, narrated with a motive of guiding the young minds. May be even the elders who taught us about the same never knew its certain section dealing with such adult tales too. So MIRCH admittedly taught me a new dimension of Panchtantra, about which I would certainly like to know and research a little more.
Moving back to the onscreen adaptation, along with presenting an interesting concept, director Vinay Shukla intelligently uses his entire talented star-cast in a noteworthy manner, wherein no one looks like doing something wrong on the screen or forcibly trying to entertain the audience in any loud manner. It features Konkona Sen Sharma, Raima Sen, Rajpal Yadav, Prem Chopra, Ila Arun, Tisca Chopra, Shahana Goswami, Boman Irani, Arunoday Singh, Sushant Singh and Shreyas Talpade playing the key roles and takes just a few initial moments to move into his actual theme of four different stories. As another worth mentioning merit it has a couple of good songs too composed by Monty Sharma. Personally the track Mann Bhi Hai Pighla Pighla did remind me of the memorable tracks of UTSAV.
On the whole, MIRCH is a movie which should essentially be seen by all adults of various age groups as a must, because one cannot guess what an individual viewer will make out of it in the end. After witnessing the stories, you may possibly feel exactly the same as mentioned in the above notes or go on to discover something new and fresh of your own which others might not have even thought of.
However, for that you essentially got to see it first to reach your own conclusion.
So do watch it at the earliest and give it a thought.
Rating : Movies To See Before You Die
(NOTE - Added in 2020 as the film releases on AMAZON PRIME)
Watching it in the second half of 2020, when the Indian audience is well familiar and habitual of witnessing much bolder (uncensored) content in both Indian films and web-series, MIRCH might appear to be too mild and subtle. But remember this got made more than a decade back in 2010 with a praiseworthy vision, when even android phones had just started and the world was completely different than what it is in the present.
Cheers!
