Cast: Rekha, Sharman Joshi, Randhir Kapoor, Shweta Kumar, Anupam Kher
Rating :*1/2
We can confidently assume that Rekha was watching a DVD of her Khoon Bhari Maang days when she signed Indra Kumar’s Super Nani. Even in this done to death family-drama setting, where she plays this ‘ever-goody-books’ grandma to a ‘Yo Yo man’ NRI grandson, who comes to India to shoot a documentary on the country’s culture, she sweeps us with her charm. But, why something like Super Nani for this fond nostalgia? The film, constantly in a liftoff tone of degraded ‘saas-bahu’ soap, partially coming to life in the second hour also seems like a 70’s venture that found no buyers and having a delayed release now.
Rekha, as the Nani, Bharti Bhatia, has an introduction with an ‘Oh god, protect my family’ song that reminds us of a Nirupa Roy-lookalike. She has an ‘upvaas’ every Monday on behalf of her family members and goes to the temple every evening for a puja, only to be ridiculed at home. This ‘goddess-equivalent’ sketch for the actress isn’t a tribute to the earlier times of Bollywood or her career, but an excuse for the plot to show off its consistent laziness. She has a talkative maid, the only one boasting of some empathy for the old lady. This is followed by a song, enters a ‘ladki’ for the NRI who inevitably happens to be her ‘padosan’. They meet at a temple, where their ‘bells’ ring.
The film’s magical instance lies in the bit where an opulently dressed Rekha dances to Pyaar Kiya to Darna Kya and Pyaar Hua Iqraar Hua in a mini-photo-shoot session. We in that moment literally forget the fact this is a wrong film for her and just let her take center stage. Without much fuss, she screams with confidence in the next few minutes that’ll have her contemporaries put to shame. But, how long can a show run with glimpses and the grace of her past?
Sharman Joshi, barely the man of his ‘3 Idiots’ days, in serious need of some form, is reduced to a sobbing caricature that appears to be carrying a bountiful stock of glycerin throughout. Apparently, named Mann Mehra (he has a lot of heart, you know), he acts a savior to an apathetic grandma. Anupam Kher does injustice to his aging as an actor, literally being one of the buffoons, such stories need. Ranadhir Kapoor isn’t any better here either. May be, a wrong director or a wrong film altogether? For a viewer, it’s bound to be a wrong choice anyways. We deserve better, Rekha.
Review by Srivathsan N. First published in Cinegoer.net