Was she honing her skills further in her matrimonial and motherhood bliss? Rani Mukerji returns to Hichki in fourth gear, no hiccups in a performance which is as good as what she delivered in Black and many more movies.
Rani Mukerji In Hichki
The teacher (actually she can be a teacher to few newbies of today who know nothing about acting but are strutting about everywhere) is in top form and you cannot point out one scene where she fails you as a performer. Watch her in the scene where she exults when she first lands up a job at St Notker School. Watch her in the scene where she breaks down thinking that it's all over for her. Watch her in the scene where she blames her father (Sachin Pilgaonkar) for leaving them high and dry. He is naturally fine, and you have his wife (Supriya Pilgaonkar) too who sits on the other side of the fence in this story- and there's very little to choose from them.
The story slackens down at a midway point but then that
is when you realise that the film's director Siddharth P Malhotra does not want
every rejection of Brad Cohen to be brought on celluloid. The story is simply
how Rani finds social acceptance for herself and the poor, underprivileged
children ( The 9F batch which she is assigned to reform is just what
the kids in poor homes are- extremely insecure and hence rebellious) at St
Notker.
Rani Mukerji In Hichki
The climax is wonderful, and that man Neeraj Kabi
(Detective Byomkesh Bakshy, Ship Of Theseus) once again stands out. It is a
delight to see him as the professor, who is willing to bet his last shirt on
Rani's failure.
And then the end is pretty Chak De type, where two people who don't get along
join hands at the most unexpected point to save their institution. Wish
this was true in every sphere of life though. Anyway.
Rani Mukerji As Naina Mathur
What stands out in the
script is that at no point it tries to make you empathise with Rani or her
Tourette Syndrome--- which is the real victory of Malhotra as it is very easy
in such kind of an underdog tale that you force sympathy down the throats of
your audience to be with your protagonist--- in an attempt to get sell a few
more tickets.
I am going with FOUR for this engaging and inspirational film, an extra half
included for Mrs Chopra.
Image Source: youtube/yrf & instagram/hichkithemovie