My Friend Pinto Review

Leaving aside the fact that this is a Sanjay Leela Bhansali production, even as a standalone film 'My Friend Pinto' hardly manages to leave any impression whatsoever and goes down as a film that could have possibly seemed reasonably promising at a concept level but just couldn't bring in good enough meat that could have been relished.

Prateik plays Pinto, a simpleton from a Goan village who gets into 'Kya maaan', 'apun ko maagta hai', 'mera mumma yeh kya kehta hai' kind of stuff at the drop of the hat. Miles away from 'yo dude' culture of Mumbai, he comes over to stay with his friend, only to find himself in the midst of some bizarre series of incidents, all of them taking place on one eventful night. With a dozen odd characters filling the frames and each of them having their own story to tell, a film like MFP could have either become a riotous affair or get entirely messed up. Unfortunately, it turns out to be the latter.

So what one sees is Pinto coming across characters like his friend who is become too busy in the city of Mumbai, a pair of gangsters, their boss (Raj Zutshi), their super-boss (Makrand Deshpande), his girlfriend (Divya Dutta), her favourite puppy, a few street kids, a gambler, his taxi driver father, a couple of foes turned friends, a dancer (Kalki) and many more. In their heart the makers would have indeed felt that what they are making is an engaging story. However what comes across on screen is something that just can't be comprehended as the story just fails to engage you.

So whether it is the entire kidnapping episode, the chase on the roads that follow, friends stuck in a traffic jam, first meeting between Prateik and Makrand, Divya's road accident, the sequence that takes place in her bedroom, Kalki's attempted suicide, the song that immediately follows or that climax where Prateik gets into a jazz mode - all of it turns out to be so haphazard that you just don't feel engaged at all. In fact it won't be wrong to say that especially the first half of the film seems to have a narrative similar to that of 'Saawariya' since Prateik is shown to be as goody-goody as was the case with Ranbir.

For the first time in his career, Prateik has been entrusted with the responsibility of playing a central role and he plays his part fairly well. Yes, his inexperience shows but he tries and at a few places does come up with an endearing act as well. Amongst other actors, Divya Dutta does show some sparkle. However Kalki is let down by patchy characterisation. On the other hand Raj Zutshi as well as Makrand Deshpande fail to leave any impact. Music is boring, cinematography is ordinary while special effects tacky, especially at points where Mumbai skyline is shown.

At the very onset, 'My Friend Pinto' wasn't exuding any great vibes. The film not just looked a little weird from the very onsite, it also made one feel if there would be any genuine entertainment whatsoever. Now for a film which sells itself as a heart warming light hearted tale, it could be nothing more catastrophic than boring the audience, something that MFP manages to do right through those 100 odd minutes.

Rating : *1/2