The Great Indian Family Movie Review: Vicky Kaushal & Kumud Mishra save a mediocre film

Language: Hindi

Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Manushi Chhillar, Kumud Mishra, Manoj Pahwa, Bhuvan Arora, Shristi Dixit

Director: Vijay Krishna Acharya

The initial part didn’t have much to talk about, just the making of Bhajan Kumar. It was a long wait for the story to pick up and it did happen with a letter coming in. A letter that decides the caste and religion of a boy who was born on December 7, Bhajan Kumar played by Vicky Kaushal.

Set in a small town of India, where being a Pandit is a very powerful position and a lucrative business too. Bhajan Kumar’s father played by Kumud Mishra is a leading priest and in a position of power where he conducts all the rituals starting from the planning of the dates to the big weddings in the city.  Many times we judge a person by the caste he/she belongs to. We believe that a caste decides on the way we eat, sleep, drink, the choice of clothes and even the way we live. But that isn’t the truth, caste and religion doesn’t decide that. Religion is not a way of life, in fact peace and friendship is a way of life. And that’s exactly what Vicky Kaushal’s The Great Indian Family is trying to convey. The message is bright and brave, but lacks meat.

The idea is repetitive and it could have been done in a better way. At some point you feel that the movie does get preachy. Since, the running time is less than two hours, there is nothing much to explore and there aren’t any layers in any of the characters. Sometimes it does get boring too. Once you are exposed to movies and shows with depth, this kind of plain story tastes a bit too pedestrian for your refined taste buds.

I am not trying to run down the efforts of the actors and the directors. But this same topic of finding peace in diversity could have been done in an engaging way. The only saviours of the The Great Indian Family are Vicky Kaushal and Kumud Mishra. But they too are underused. Manushi Chhillar plays a typical ornamental role like the heroines of the 90s with not much screen time.

Somehow, identity politics which is the main theme of the film has not been handled in a mature manner. The Great Indian Family is a very lazily made film and not much thought or hard work has been put in the making of the film. The script is much below average and I feel that filmmakers need to understand that the cinema viewers are much more enlightened now. They want a story that will make them think. This is a movie that you will forget the moment you leave the theatre itself. Bollywood failed us again!

Rating: 2 out of 5

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