Available on Netflix.
It follows the story of a couple from the US, Summer (Evelyn Edwards) & John (Aidan Whytock), looking for a healthy Indian woman to be their surrogate prospect. Their driver Bhanu (Pankaj Tripathi), helps them to meet the perfect girl for the job Mimi (Kriti Sanon). They settle on paying Mimi a hefty sum in return for being a surrogate mother for them. Dodging a few roadblocks, Mimi decides to do this for her dream of becoming a star in Bollywood. In an unfortunate twist of the tale, the couple end up not taking any responsibility for the kid, leaving Mimi in emotional turmoil. Would she keep the kid or abort it as suggested by the couple?
Mimi’s world initiates – a contrasting journey of a couple who are emotionally inclined towards having a kid but the protagonist is in just for the money – leading to an emotional growth of an aspiring actress who turns to be an unplanned mother. It’s Utekar & Roshan Shankar’s screenplay that helps in creating a world for this dramedy to flawlessly jump from one sequence to another. Utekar had his bag full of ammo (actors like Pankaj Tripathi, Sai Tamhankar, Manoj Pahwa, Supriya Pathak) & he could’ve easily created a ‘comedic’ blast.
This is Kriti Sanon’s ‘Badhaai Ho‘ moment & my adoration for her during Panipat forces me to scream at you all ‘I told you so’. In the phase of becoming a character, Kriti strips off every inhibition to rise & shine as Mimi. She checks every box from the talk to the walk of her character standing tall in front of stalwarts like Pankaj, Sai, Supriya & Manoj. She masters not only the quirky side of Mimi but also the more humane one, strengthening the connection with the viewers.
Pankaj Tripathi makes things looks so easy that it’s not even funny anymore. It’s getting out of the hand how this person can literally take a single expression and get laughter for the same. He has reached a level where all he needs to do is just to appear on-screen. He not only rules the sequences he’s a part of but also creates a certain feeling of ‘glee’ throughout the film every single time. He creates a sense of assurance of how things just can’t go wrong whenever he’s on-screen. This is yet another eclectic addition to the streak of memorable performances.
For the talent Sai Tamhankar possesses, she brilliantly stands out in the sea of solid performances. Despite limited screen space, Sai delivers a purposeful act. Supriya Pathak & Manoj Pahwa are the ones who are hit the most by Laxman Utekar steering towards the drama and not a comedy.
AR Rahman is the ‘MVP’ of this talented crew who injects soul into the drama penned by Laxman Utekar & Rohan Shankar. This, yet again, proves how a good background score and songs actually have the power to lift the feel of any film. Yes, Mimi wouldn’t have been as rousing as it’s without Rahman.
Mimi is the biggest surprise of the year. Laced with stupendous performance, a breezy high-on-emotions story, Rahman’s soothing opera, Sanon’s career-best act & Tripathi being classic for the nth time, Mimi is a delightful blend of humour and emotions.
Rating: 9/10