Parivarik ManuRanjan review: Pankaj Tripathi, Aditi Rao Hydari's slice of life film is too run-of-the-mill to leave an impact

Even the presence of talented actors like Pankaj Tripathi and Aditi Rao Hydari cannot compensate for a screenplay that struggles to find its footing.

Parivarik ManuRanjan

Cast: Pankaj Tripathi, Aditi Rao Hydari, Brijendra Kala, Mukesh Tiwari

Director: Varun V Sharma

Star rating: ★★.5

Can merely casting talented actors save a weak film? Not really. And Parivarik ManuRanjan is proof.

Pankaj Tripathi and Aditi Rao Hydari in a still from Parivarik ManuRanjan.

The premise

Directed by Varun V Sharma, the film revolves around Ranjan Dubey (Pankaj Tripathi), an unmarried government official who has spent most of his life working hard to get his three sisters married, leaving little room to think about his own happiness. His uneventful existence takes an unexpected turn when an advertisement he puts out for a house help brings Helen (Aditi Rao Hydari) into his home. She is efficient at her job, but her presence soon becomes the subject of neighbourhood gossip.

After all, in a small town, a single man and a woman living under the same roof are enough to set tongues wagging. Both insist there is nothing between them, even as Ranjan finds himself falling for her. But Helen has a past of her own. What happens to their budding romance when the truth comes out?

Movie Review

Parivarik ManuRanjan

2.5/5

A middle-aged government employee in Lucknow hires a mysterious young woman as his live-in housekeeper, sparking neighbourhood gossip.

Verdict

Can merely casting talented actors save a weak film? Not really. And Parivarik ManuRanjan is proof.

The film, written by Brijendra Kala, Varun V Sharma, and Ali Abbas Zafar, starts off breezily enough, aided by Tripathi's trademark dry wit and comic timing. In fact, he is perhaps the only engaging aspect of the film. There is a charm to the way he plays Ranjan, a man who has spent so much time fulfilling his responsibilities that he has forgotten what it means to have a life of his own. The actor, however, has played variations of this character many times before, making it difficult to find anything fresh here. Aditi Rao Hydari brings a certain cuteness to Helen, and the sequences involving the two discovering their feelings for each other have some sweetness.

What does not work

Unfortunately, the film soon runs out of steam. The small town comedy genre desperately needs to move beyond its collection of quirky characters. Sunita Rajwar for instance plays the kind of neighborhood nosy aunty we have seen countless times before, poking her nose into other people's lives. Her character also makes vlogs for her grand follower count of nine, which the makers try to turn into a plot progression point later. Instead of being amusing, it becomes exasperating.

Mukesh Tiwari is here as an antagonist, while no prizes for guessing what role Brijendra Kala plays. Yep- a friend/co worker of the lead who exists for some comic relief.

The screenplay also struggles to give its central romance enough emotional depth. While the premise has the potential to explore loneliness and companionship, these ideas remain superficial. The film hints at the sacrifices Ranjan has made for his family and the possibility of finally putting himself first, but never digs deep enough. Similarly, Helen's backstory could have added an interesting emotional dimension to the narrative, but the treatment lacks the impact required to make it truly impactful.

Also, there's the song Chhaap Tilak (which has only been used a million times before in films) inserted for no good reason here. The music by Shamir Tandon is okay.

Final thoughts

Overall, what should have been a charming, funny drama instead becomes a familiar collection of situations that rarely surprise. There are moments when Tripathi's performance manages to make you chuckle, but even his talent cannot compensate for a screenplay that struggles to find its footing.