Streaming on Disney +
Govinda Waghmare (Vicky) is married to Gauri (Bhumi) who dominates him and has created a ruckus in his life. His girlfriend Suku (Kiara) dreams to become a choreographer with Govinda. Amid all of this is his destiny that decides to turn the world upside down and begins the comedy of error where everything goes wrong until a master plan is hatched.
It is the year of experimentation in cinema and the audience especially in India is finally opening their gates for content that is away from the staple fodder they are used to. But time and again a filmmaker decides to revisit the past and bring back the style of his predecessors and almost wins the show. It is a tricky way to adapt an over-tried style from the past decade, you either ace it or go haywire completely. Govinda Naam Mera is surprisingly a very smart movie that draws the blueprint of the past but also realises the time it is made in.
Written by Shashank Khaitan who has a pretty good track record of entertaining his audience in the commercial space with his original stories, Govinda Naam Mera is one of those films that doesn’t take itself seriously till the last 10 minutes where it finally decides to unfold all its cards. But that doesn’t mean the rest 2 hours or so are supposed to be entirely banal. It is built up and Khaitan knows better how to do it. With a highly efficient and impressive Vicky Kaushal in the frame, he shapes an overtly dramatic world and one that cannot exist but sells it.
The biggest takeaway from Govinda Naam Mera is the fact that Vicky Kaushal can be a David Dhawan hero too (the David of the 90s I meant). The actor so effortlessly blends in this setup and believes in Govinda Waghmare, that at no point do you see Vicky Kaushal. His approach to playing this part is more original than inspired or copied from the actors who have aced this genre. He is a surprise package in this one and more of this Mr Kaushal please! Kiara Advani is growing immensely as an actor. She is not just a glamourous girlfriend here but does have a whole lot to do. The actor impresses in whatever she is given and you are invested in what part she has in the story. Bhumi Pednekar is fun to watch as she dominates every single person around her with her devil-may-care attitude. I hope there was more screen time given to her because she manages to turn heads even with the limited space. More of her could have added more flavour.
Govinda Naam Mera is a harmless absurd comedy that doesn’t take itself seriously but is also clever. You need to watch this for Vicky Kaushal and his range.
Rating: 6.5/10