Directed by: Mathukutty Xavier
Imdb link -> Mili (2022) - IMDb
"thande aansun peena hoga, phir bhi tujhko jeena hoga..”
Spoilers ahead...
Plot of Mili: A True Story of Survival in Tough Conditions
Based on
true events, the story is about Mili Naudiyal (Janhvi Kapoor), a 24-year-old
girl who works at Doon's Kitchen in a Pacific Mall of Dehradun. One night,
after the end of her shift, she accidentally gets locked in the freezer room
with no one outside to rescue her. Knowing she has to survive at least 6-7
hours, if not more, before the kitchen opens in the morning, she must find a
way to stay alive somehow in a temperature as low as minus 17 degrees.
Manoj Pahwa and Janhvi Kapoor Delight to Watch
Having
not seen the original 'Helen,' I won't make any comparisons. The initial
portions of the movie are fun to watch because of the great father-daughter
bonding between Mili and her father, Niranjan Naudiyal (Manoj Pahwa). The use
of 'Aap' and 'Hum' while talking to each other is something I really like. Some
might find it old-fashioned or criticize that no one talks like that, but I
personally enjoy it since the 'Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak' days.
Amazing Build-Up: Mili’s Emotional Low Point
Before
the scary incident happens, I like how the emotional drama is built up, leaving
no stone unturned, making everyone affected by what is to happen really angry
at themselves for behaving like that. We see Mili's father not talking to her
ever since he learned about her affair with a different caste guy, Sameer Kumar
(Sunny Kaushal), and some embarrassment faced while getting her home from the
police station. Mili isn't willing to talk to Sameer anymore because of his
irresponsible attitude that landed them in the police station the previous
night when he drove without a helmet and had consumed some alcohol. On the day
Mili gets trapped in the freezer room, she gets scolded by the manager and
later taunted by him again for eating food, which she then throws away, not
knowing that energy would have come in handy later on.
All of
this is very good writing and makes you feel more for Mili and her well-wishers
when they are all trying to find her. The entire freezer scenes are beautifully
handled. I won't question a single thing that Mili tries to free herself
because, honestly, if I got stuck in there, I would lose my mind even in 5
degrees cold. It was very tough to watch the part where she injures her foot
and tries to use her nursing experience to help herself. I also enjoyed the
little bonding she has with the rat, trying to keep it alive for as long as she
could.
Issues in Mili: Irritating Inspector and Forced Conflicts
Some
unwanted hiccups spoil the movie. There seem to be a few hallucination scenes
because clearly staying even one hour in over -10 degrees would lead to the
mind going blank and insane thoughts arriving. The inspector part was overdone;
it felt unnecessary to see him not send the location just to show how corrupt
some policemen can be or to let a certain cameo of Jackie Shroff come in, which
felt so out of place.
Conflicts
are necessary in survival-based movies, but there are too many here. If the bad
cop wasn't enough, we see Sameer, who knows where Mili is stuck, go through an
accident to delay saving Mili further. Also, when they all find Mili in the
freezer room, it was poorly written to show none of them had the sense to
quickly take her out of the room before checking if she was alive, as she was
fighting the cold and needed to be out of it ASAP.
Janhvi Kapoor with Another Impressive Performance
Performance-wise,
Janhvi Kapoor delivers another good performance, even though it's not at the
level I felt in Gunjan Saxena. It's a very challenging role, and I like that
she is taking up such movies. In fact, she hasn't yet done a routine masala
genre movie, which many new actresses love to be part of.
Sunny
Kaushal is also very good in the supporting role. I have seen him in just
'Gold' before this. It's good to see Vikram Kochhar in a slightly different
role; he still gets some comic moments. Sanjay Suri is efficient in the final
act of the film.
AR Rahman Music: Not Great, But Works with Narrative
The music
of AR Rahman, even though not as special as we are used to, still fits well
with the narrative, especially the 'Jeena Hoga' track that shows Mili fighting
until her last possible breath. I also like how the 'Hum Bhi Raahi' song is
used in the opening credits, where we see an ant freely moving until it
accidentally falls into the ice-cube tray, a metaphor for what Mili is soon
going to face. The background theme that runs when Mili is locked inside the
freezer room is pretty good too, though not 'Trapped' level good.
Verdict on Mili
Overall,
'Mili' is a very good survival thriller movie with performances from Janhvi
Kapoor, Manoj Pahwa, and Sunny Kaushal lifting the narrative even more. Some
flaws aside, I quite enjoyed it.
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