The Legend of Michael Mishra: Torturous nonsensical drama

By Prachi Nagar on August 5, 2016 at 4:18 PM

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The Legend of Michael Mishra has been produced by Kishor Arora and Shareen Mantri Kedia of Eyecandy Films. This film is directed and written by Manish Jha. The film stars Arshad Warsi, Aditi Rao Hydari, Boman Irani and Kayoze Irani. It is an Indian comedy film presented by Ponty Chadha’s Waves cinemas.

The Legend of Michael Mishra follows the monotonous plot with nothing interesting to offer. It is a plot with meaningless twists and mindless turns. The film is touted to be a quirky romantic comedy film but is an utter nonsensical act.

A fool hardy kidnapper based out of Bihar who has a very big heart and an extremely small brain faces the roller coaster journey in his quest for love. His efforts coupled with crazy twists of fate makes this one of the most anticipated desi rom-coms of the year. While Arshad Warsi plays the titular role of Michael Mishra, Boman Irani is seen playing Full Pant, and his son Kayoze Irani plays his younger counterpart Half Pant. Aditi Rao Hydari essays the role of a dancer, Varsha Shukla. Michael accidentally sees a young girl dancing, and falls for her at first sight as teenager but is jailed soon after. The only way to track her is through the tone of how she first uttered the word “hello” to him. With the memory of the sound, tone and manner etched in his mind, he fetches for her in the city years later after he is released. Basically, its a sinister sinner who takes the pledge to become a better person when he falls in love with a girl.

Punches of typical Bollywood action might hit you in the chest and poppycock phooey hooeys may make you dizzy. But, don’t lose your spirit. You can take a little more. A good actor otherwise, Arshad simply wrecks his image with overacting and awful expressions. Boman Irani is bearable in his narrator stint. His son, Kayoze, is not bad, but the father-son duo deserve a much better script to star together. Aditi looks lovely in bright anarkalis but her inane characterisation makes her presence pointless.

‘The Legend of Michael Mishra’ has music that complements its theme. There are few enthralling pieces and some damp squibs. ‘Love letter’ by Kanika Kapoor has a pretty good start with some sensational lyrics. Sakina Khan for ‘Phir Tu’, is indeed well-sung but the composition feels dated. ‘Ishq Di Gaadi’ is a soothing romantic song with soft lyrics, which makes this one a pleasing listen. Kartik Dhiman’s singing adds heft to the song. The next number, ‘Nikhatoo’, has two versions. It is a quirky song that Som Riggs enhances with his interesting voice. Meet Bros layer the lines with their funky beats but at its core. ‘Filam Shuru Hui Hai’ follows the same style but it fails to fit in seamlessly with the rest of the album. Rishi-Siddharth do an average job but there is nothing that can save this number. Overall an interesting assortment but has little repeat value.

Neither quirky nor edgy, the film fails to qualify as a “comedy flick”. Forget about laughter, there’s not even a slight smile on the face throughout the torturous experience. Love is not in the air in the ludicrous story, and The Legend of Michael Mishra is a blemish in the face of romance.