So the most crowd pleasing title Matru Ki Bijlee Ka Mandola having a distinctive casting, offbeat music and the film which grabbed most of the attention towards, Vishal Bhardwaj after his terrible 7 Khoon Maaf returns with this original story of MKBKM. Bhardwaj has always tried to be original towards his plot, think of Kaminey where the film worked with critics along with the masses too. Bhardwaj is a kind of director who gets adjusted to his surroundings vividly. Bhardwaj's music is unique having a typical title track, Matru Ki Bijlee Ka Mandola starring Imran Khan ( Matru ), Anushka Sharma ( Bijlee ) and Pankaj Kapoor ( Mandola ). Though this casting is different from anyone's point of view but worked brilliantly at this piece of cinema.
The plot displays unrefined rural locales of Haryana where a kinky, odd industrialist Harry Mandola ( Pankaj Kapoor ). The village is named after his surname Mandola. He himself, known as Mandola most oftenly, is a personality with acuteness in his thinking regarding money, serious, cunning and slick. Mandola wanted his area to be announced as an economic ward obliged to which he forces the native residents who had their farmlands, to sell and leave the village. But Politician Chaudhari Devi ( Shabana Azmi ) who appeals him into thwarting off the villagers. Mandola's MONEY while Chaudhari Devi's POWER can only unite when their offspring's get married to each other. In the midst of all, Mandola's Man Friday Matru ( Imran Khan ) who has nothing to do with these situations enters them, tends to bring some drastic change against land extortion and defends the villagers.
The scenery is captured beautifully, though it is unrefined, raw but that's the beauty of this film. Bhardwaj puts the best comical scenes between the breathtaking star Pankaj Kapoor and Imran Khan, who just sets the cinema on the right track. Imran Khan gets the mood for watching such a type of genre while Pankaj traps everyone in his histrionics. The Director then ( itself in the first half ) tries to bring a mysterious character Gulabi Bhains ( Mao ) but the balloon burst right before the interval leaving nothing to forecast in the second half. Practicality is what Vishal Bhardwaj tends to assure in 'Matri Ki Bijlee Ka Mandola' and it forces him to choose for a midway which was more apt towards deep red before pink. The abusive manner doesn't consent an impact pretty much like the odd and unusual presence of Gulabi bains (Buffalo). The song 'Jiski kheti uski zameen, hatt lootne wale' conjointly imitates the same emotions.
All in all to be a Vishal Bhardwaj's film you expect some twists in the second half but the plot is empty making everyone go predictably right and have a banausic continuity. The man who stands alone in the film is Pankaj Kapoor with his stupendous drama. He just fills the glass which was emptied by the storyline to the way it had to be. Pankaj Kapoor's drama win right from the very first shot where he is in his drunken amazement scowling some Haryanvi dialogues. Shabana Azmi gets an easy role but stills does as if she has somnambulism problem.Anushka is good, peppy and cheerful.
Pankaj Kapoor saves this film with his acclaimed acting but still Matru Ki Bijlee Ka Mandola departs you displeasedly. In all the second half is sluggish and most foreseeable without any twist and turns.
