‘Laxmii’ movie review: Akshay Kumar’s movie bombs on arrival

Are jumpscares working in 2020? But nevertheless, Laxmii ‘Absolute reliance on this deadly editing technique isn’t the only thing that doesn’t work in your favor. During its 140-minute runtime, Akshay Kumar’s lead is boring, largely unhilarious, and repeatedly reproduces stereotypes that should have already been extinguished from the movies.

It’s okay if a director wants to stick to the fine print of an original work, especially one of his own creativity, while remaking a movie. But apparently Raghava Lawrence never took into account issues such as the passage of time (Kanchana released in 2011) and as a result, audience sensibilities evolved, or even the fact that he was making this film for a broader national audience.

Also read: Get ‘First Day First Show’, our weekly newsletter from the world of cinema, delivered to your inbox. You can subscribe for free here

There are some things it does differently in Laxmii. Unlike Raghava in Kanchana, Aasif, played by Akshay Kumar, the standard bearer of populist nationalism in Bollywood in the rare role of a Muslim, dispels superstition, especially among people who believe that ghosts and angry spirits are real. For a rationalist assumption, Aasif is a bit evolved. His way of countering someone who yells, “Ghost!” on his face is that if proven wrong, he would wear bracelets.

Aasif is married to Rashmi (Kiara Advani) and they are the guardians of Aasif’s nephew, Shaan. It is important to remember Shaan because, unlike Raghava Lawrence, we will not forget the fact that Shaan also moves from Haryana, with Aasif and Rashmi, to Daman when the latter’s parents invite him to visit him. It’s pertinent to remember Shaan because he’s nowhere to be found when strange things start to happen in the house despite witnessing Aasif acting strangely after his initial possession by Laxmmi (because the producers did not consult the vengeful spirit about the title with a different spelling). One wonders, was Shaan asleep the entire time?

But we digress … so Aasif has exactly two comments to make about the Muslim community: one is the unfortunate stigma on a Hindu-Muslim marriage and the other involves his method of prayer, so we know that Aasif is not a rationalist. He is not just a guy who would wear bracelets if he sees a ghost, but also someone who takes offense at wearing a saree, which he does when possessed, but confuses his in-laws with the act after coming to their senses.

What was even the song ‘Burj Khalifa’? Like this paragraph, the songs from the movie are inserted randomly; the transition is jarring and leaves you confused on how to accept Laxmii. Is it a movie that doesn’t take itself seriously, but wants us to? Also, is everyone in Daman aware of a pregnant woman named Anjali?

Despite the cliched storytelling and similar use of stereotypes, Kanchana he was not lacking in humor. It spawned a decade full of horror comedies in Tamil cinema, a trend that has recently evolved into adult horror comedies. What worked in his favor was Raghava, the main character, as someone who was inherently afraid of ghosts. It allowed many slapstick comedy moments to be added to the script.

Raghava was also the continuation of a character established in a previous film; so, Kanchana it was a franchise in full swing. Laxmii it doesn’t have that advantage; it also doesn’t have a strong supporting cast whose antics complement the central lead arc.

In Laxmii, Aasif is alone once he’s in the house, and Akshay Kumar crashes with shock because other cast members don’t offer him anything to play with. Kiara Advani seems lost throughout the movie.

The icing on the cake is undoubtedly the song ‘Bam Bholle’. It was outrageous to imagine the trans community as people gathering to dance around a campfire on a full moon day in Kanchana. But Lawrence’s audacity to repeat the idea almost a decade later must be frowned upon.

By presenting more stereotypical ideas of an oppressed community and representing it on a larger scale, neither the filmmaker nor Akshay Kumar (as the ‘Ab Hamari Baari Hai’ campaign would have us believe) are doing the trans community any favors. . Such representations only increase the division. Perhaps the best thing we could all do to help heal the many oppressed communities in this country is not to allow half-assed ideas, which are based on milking stereotypes, to become reality.

Laxmii It is what happens when an idea that is not worth the amount of its original investment gets more money and a bigger canvas, and is expected to evolve on its own to adapt to the new larger scale. That does not happen; vengeful spirits certainly cannot.

The presence of intelligent human life is what was needed, but Laxmii I never had it to begin with.

Laxmii is currently broadcasting on Disney + Hotstar