Star Cast: Akshay Kumar, Fardeen Khan, Taapsee Pannu, Vaani Kapoor, Aditya Seal, Ammy Virk, Pragya Jaiswal

Director: Mudassar Aziz

What’s Good: As mentioned in an earlier review, “Unalloyed fun in this sugar-coated social medicine”

What’s Bad: The Punjabi language in all the songs and some incomprehensible Punjabi dialogues—every Indian is not a Punjabi.

Loo Break: None, because there is no ‘toilet’ humor!

Watch or Not?: Of course, seriously, and not just khel khel mein! I would not even mind a revisit!

Language: Hindi

Available On: Theatrical release

Runtime: 134 Minutes

 

User Rating:

Three couples that are friends, played by Akshay Kumar and Vaani Kapoor, Ammy Virk and Taapsee Pannu, and Aditya Seal and Pragya Jaiswal, come together for a wedding. On the night before the banns, when the six (along with their bachelor friend, Kabir, played by Fardeen Khan) assemble in a room for drinks, they decide to play a game. All of them will “surrender” their mobiles for a day on the table and they are all free to read or listen to or watch whatever message, call or video comes during that time. The idea is: if you do not have a secret you wish to hide, you will not be scared of participating in the game!

But the game boomerangs after some initial fun, as murky secrets come up along with the denials and twisted acceptances. And no one there is innocent…

Khel Khel Mein Movie Review: Script Analysis

Adapted from an Italian dramedy, Perfetti Sconoscuiti, (translated as Perfect Strangers) by Paulo Genovese, the film spotlights how people in a marriage can keep secrets from partners and friends that can be suspicious, if not guilty. Mudassar Aziz, the writer and director, puts a nice spin on societal institutions of marriage and highlights the weaknesses and strengths that pervade normal human beings. The use of an old chartbuster Hindi song with thematic relevance heightens the anticipation of the audience when a new skeleton is set to tumble out of the ‘mobilephone’ closet!

Relationships as well as issues like infertility, teenage sex, escorts, homosexuality, fantasies, and even sexual abuse are all subtly discussed and treated. There is sensitivity there, as well as inbuilt messages. Only the last speech that Dr. Rishabh gives, thought apt in the Indian context, sounds needlessly preachy in part.

Khel Khel Mein Movie Review: Star Performance

As the salt-and-pepper-haired Dr. Rishabh, the plastic surgeon, Akshay returns to the comedy genre with a vengeance and still manages to infuse freshness into his character of a husband whose wife (Vaani Kapoor) has given their marriage three months to work—or end. He is in top form throughout and his opening sequence is hilarious. Vaani herself puts in a very fetching performance and looks amazing.

The female show is stolen by Taapsee Pannu as Harpreet, the beleaguered wife of a man also named Harpreet (Ammy Virk), whose mother wants a grandchild from them but who conceals a vital fact from her. The way she goes into a blue funk later is actually hilarious for the viewer, and her one-liners are delicious, as are her expressions when her friend on the phone (during the game) details what Harpreet actually thinks of some of the others—good and bad!

Fardeen Khan makes an impressive comeback in a role where he initially does not seem to have anything much to contribute. Pragya Jaiswal makes a very impressive start to her career as a glamor-obsessed wife. Ammy Virk is alright, and so is Aditya Seal.

 

Khel Khel Mein Movie Review: Direction, Music

Mudassar Aziz has done a slew of films so far of which the only one I had thoroughly enjoyed was Happy Bhag Jayegi (2016). He is back in (even better) form this time and has a tight grip on the adaptation into the Indian context, making Khel Khel Mein just right as a mix of traditional and contemporary values. The talk that Dr. Rishabh gives to his daughter over the phone about physical intimacy is a brilliant highlight.

Khel Khel Mein Movie Review Out ( Photo Credit – YouTube )

The comic buildup and the crazy interspersing of whacky drama and emotions are brilliantly done. The characters come across as memorable, flawed human beings whose antics we enjoy as much as their follies. In short, Mudassar is in strict command overall, for isn’t any director the captain of the cinematic ship?

A pain in the art (!) are the multiple music makers (not composers—that’s too exalted a term) and word-spinners (not lyricists—ditto!) who score only Punjabi songs here with Hindi tossed in almost by default! High time T-Series and our filmmakers jettisoned Punjabi words for at least a year! I am sure there is a market for such ditties (not songs—that’s too high a label!) outside Hindi cinema. For at the end, the only song that remains with you is the Shankar-Jaikishan Shikar classic from 1968, “Parde mein rehne do” that is used as the thematic riff throughout, even if this re-creation has been comically rendered!

Khel Khel Mein Movie Review: The Last Word

In general tone, tenor and humor, the film resembles the 2005 classic, No Entry, with its clean, hilarious and ensemble marital fun. Now, that does augur well for this movie’s box-office. And for sure, Khel Khel Mein will be the dark horse among this month’s releases! And please, this is not a paid review!

Four stars!

Khel Khel Mein Trailer