The meaning of the word malang in Urdu is mad. This romantic thriller, packed with Bollywood masala, fits that definition quite well. So what happens in this film? It centers around Advait (Aditya Roy Kapur), an introvert from Mumbai and Sara (Disha Patani), a free-spirited girl from London who wants to live life on her own terms (yes, the characters are insanely cliche).
They meet in Goa and when two insanely attractive people are placed in such close proximity, you can guess what happens. They make a pact to spend all their time together and then suddenly you’re taken forward 5 years in the future where Advait goes on a random killing spree. The entire premise of the movie is figuring out what motivated this and the people who are tasked with this are two cops, Michael Rodriguez (Kunal Kemmu) and Anjanay Agashe (Anil Kapoor), who are as different as chalk and cheese. Therefore, they have to look back at his love story.
The first half of the film is fun, because Advait and Sara have electric chemistry, not to mention insanely toned bodies that you constantly get to see. Unfortunately, there’s not much more to it. The movie lacks substance, and this is really apparent in the second half, which drags on painfully. Kapoor’s character says “yeh raat bohot lambi hone vaali hai” and that’s exactly what the second half feels like.
There are some interesting nuggets introduced, but none of those dots are connected, creating a messy, tangled web of a movie. Also, the Goa stereotypes of it only being a place for partying or murder, are downright annoying (please Bollywood, get over it!). The last few minutes of the film have some random feminist teachings, which seem to just have been placed there to increase box office collection. Even the amazing ‘plot twists’ were insanely predictable, just by seeing Malang’s trailer. By the end, I really just wanted it to be over.
Malang’s cast, however, is its saving grace. Each actor performs exceptionally well. Roy Kapur has an amazing intensity that is both terrifying yet makes you swoon. Patani plays this role much better than any of her previous ones, although her lines are vapid. Kemmu does well as the righteous, rule-following ‘good cop’ but the real star of the show, as always, is Anil Kapoor. Kapoor is a gun-totting, coke snorting ‘bad cop’… yet somehow I still liked him? The songs in this movie are also great and its safe to say that Amit Trivedi has done his magic again.
Malang is definitely not a piece of cinematic brilliance. On the contrary, it’s an absolute mess but redeemed by its stellar actors. So watch it for them. And Aditya and Disha’s abs, which are stars in their own right.
